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2020 GoalsHow was your 2019? Was it great and you achieved everything you aimed for? Was it a ‘meh, could have been better’? Or you’d rather not talk about it?

Whether your previous year was great, ok, bad–always aim for a better year ahead. Here in Asian Efficiency, we want to help you, our customers and readers, to always have their best year, every single year without having to sacrifice what’s truly important. By this we mean, time for those you love, time for yourself, and time for what’s important for you.

This is why this blog post’s release is perfect. We want to help you up for success this 2020. Even if you did great last year, we can help you make this new year even more amazing. In a case last year wasn’t great, that’s fine! We will help you with planning and execution and help you avoid the ‘I’m waiting for the perfect time to start’ problem.

There’s always this high during the new year. Who wants to start the year feeling that the year that just started is already going to end up badly? Surely not me and since you’re here, I’m pretty sure that you’re not one of those too. But there’s a sad truth behind the New Year High–after a few weeks, most people would fall back into their old habits and they end up not accomplishing anything. That’s not going to happen to you because you’re on your way to becoming Asian Efficient!

Here are 5 simple steps that you can take to make your 2020 your best year ever:

1. Review last year.

2019 ReviewRather than dwelling on the past–reflect on the past instead. When you review and reflect on what happened, it will give you a better understanding of why you reached your particular outcome. This is also the time that you learn from your mistakes and not to repeat them and to learn from your successes and make it even better.

Learn as much as you can from the past, so that your present and future will be better. Just in case you’re reading this blog post a few months in 2020, it’s fine. Who said you can only start on January 1st? Who said you can only start at the beginning of each month? Who said you can only start on a Monday?

“The best time to start was yesterday. The next best time is now.”

We talked about doing an annual review in detail in The Productivity Show, our weekly podcast. You can check the recording here. In this episode, we discuss the tools you can use when you do your review and how to do it the right way.

Remember, learn from your past year but don’t be defined by it.

2. Find out where you need to improve using the TEA Framework.

If you’ve been following Asian Efficiency for some time now, you would know that we use the TEA Framework to help our customers and readers get to the root cause as to why they are not productive and why they are not reaching their goals. The same is true when you want to have a successful year–find the root cause why your previous years were not successful.

TEA stands for:

T – time
When you have Evergy and Attention but no Time, you are overwhelmed.

E – energy
When you have Time and Attention but no Energy, you are exhausted.

A – attention
When you have Time and Energy but no Attention, you are distracted.

Which one describes your situation best?

You can use the TEA framework to pinpoint exactly what you need to work on. For example, for you to not feel overwhelmed because you feel you lack the time, what do you need to do? Are you doing mundane tasks that are taking a lot of your time but it can be delegated? Are you feeling exhausted all the time? Perhaps you lack something very basic–sleep! Your thoughts are all over the place? Why not focus on one task at a time.

We talk about the TEA framework in detail in our blog and podcast. Here are some useful links that you can check:

TEA: The 3 Pillars of Productivity You Need To Unlock Your Full Potential
Introducing TEA: A Simple Framework for Getting Unstuck and Achieving Your Goals (TPS218)
Making Time For What’s Important — TEA Framework, Pillar 1
TEA Framework, Level 1: Making the Most of Your Limited Time (TPS219)
Increase Your Energy For a Productivity Breakthrough – TEA Framework, Pillar 2
TEA Framework, Level 2: Maximizing Your Energy (TPS220)
Stop Others From Hijacking Your Attention and You Will Achieve Your Goals – TEA Framework, Pillar 3
TEA Framework, Level 3: Maximizing Your Attention & Focus (TPS221)

3. Write down your #1 goal

Number 1 Goal

When you think about your goal and you just leave it in your thoughts–chances are you’re going to forget about it or not put importance to it. It’s a very simple tip that will help you reach that goal. When you write it down, it’s one way that you commit yourself to it.

Every time you make a goal for yourself, there should be intent. The WHY behind it must also be compelling so that you have more reason to reach it. You need to be excited about it too.

Use a whiteboard, if you have one, to write down your goal so that you see it every day. Or use your goal as your alarm name.

4. Focus on your system

The system that you use will keep you moving in the right direction. Think of your system as your plan of action that will help you achieve your goal. For example, instead of saying I will lose weight this 2020, you can say I will lose 20lbs this 2020 by going to the gym 3 times a week, cut down on sweets and eat healthily but allowing myself one cheat meal a week. Now it’s not just a goal but a goal with a plan on how to achieve it.

5. Marry your system and your calendar

Calendar app on tablet computer with planning of the week with appointments, events, tasks, and meeting. Hands holding device, time management concept, organization of working hours planner, schedule

Most of us use the calendar. It’s something that we look at every single day. It’s a great tool that you can be 10x more effective when you combine it with your system. The great thing about this? You can get it for free.

You can use your calendar to filter against distractions, especially if you work in an office. Make time for your tasks within your calendar so that when your colleagues check your availability, they will see that you are busy. This is not to avoid people but to make sure that you get to work on your most important tasks.

Let’s say your goal for the year is to read 10 non-fiction books. You can add a time block in your calendar just to read. Maybe your goal is to run a marathon. Add your training to your calendar as well. Remember, your calendar is a sacred place of what’s important in your life–things that you need to make time for.

Those are the 5 simple tips that you can do to make your 2020 awesome.

Action Steps

  1. Set aside time this week to review last year.
  2. Go over the TEA Framework and find out where you need improvement on.
  3. Write down your goals.
  4. Plan how you’re going to reach your goals.
  5. Add all important events and tasks in your calendar.

For more awesome content this 2020, be sure to subscribe to our productivity newsletter:

To an Asian Efficient 2020!


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marmel Becerial


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