Do you remember back at the end of December/early January when you sat down and promised yourself a whole bunch of stuff for 2008? Or maybe you were more organised and professional about it and sat down and wrote SMART goals for the year? Are you still on track with those goals or are you a DIT-OAF?
As we sit here in mid-June, do you remember back at the end of December/early January when you sat down and promised yourself a whole bunch of stuff for 2008? Or maybe you were more organised and professional about it and sat down and wrote SMART goals for the year? Well as we approach the halfway mark of the year, how are those goals going? Are you on track for a good year or a bad year?
We are all different of course and will have differing reactions to the sober thought of almost half the year having elapsed already. For those steaming ahead and striding forward with laser like focus towards their goals, I salute you. However, for the remainder of this article I am going to focus on what is most likely the majority category that I am going to call DIT-OAF’s, which stands for 'Do It Tomorrow – Others At Fault', and the harsh truth is that there’s a bit of a DIT-OAF in all of us.
But let’s not dwell on the failure point too much here. You don’t need me to tell you how to feel about not leading the life you want to lead, as you’re probably doing it every day. Let’s just say that a DIT-OAF likes to put things off for a myriad of reasons ranging from 'It’s not the right time/market' to 'I haven’t got the time'. They also like to blame everyone and everything else for the fact things are not happening for them. The current property market is a prime excuse for OAF’s nationwide right now.
So whether you are an occasional DIT-OAF or a fully paid-up member of the club, what can you do about it to improve your results in the latter half of 2008? Well here are a few ideas:
The first thing to do is to challenge your 'Why' – is it still big enough? Revisit why it is that you are investing in property and see if it still holds true. If its not important enough to you then there’s no way you are going to be motivated enough to find the time for it and to push past the obstacles in order to achieve it!
Henry David Thoreau said,
"It is not enough to be busy. So are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?"
This is without doubt the most common problem in achieving goals in my opinion – being busy, doing nothing – and to compound things we then JUSTIFY it to ourselves… then wonder why we do not get the results we desire!
The point is that we all have the same amount of time in a day, so the trick is in how you spend that time. Break it down honestly with yourself and see how much of your time is truly spent on working purposefully towards your goals and how much time is spent doing things we feel obliged to do, more comfortable doing or that we 'think' are goal-related but in truth add little value towards our end goals. The harsh truth may surprise you and it is a reality check when you realize that what you focus on you get more of and quite simply if you are not giving something sufficient focus then it just won’t happen on its own.
Start by setting yourself up for success. Your mind dictates your results so do whatever works for you to start the day and put yourself in an optimum mindset. The gym, a swim, yoga, planning the day or just 5 minutes jumping around the lounge to your favourite track complete with air guitar! Who cares as long as it has the desired effect?
Next decide on what your one or two 'MUST DO' tasks are for the day. 'To do' lists are fine for brainstorming what needs to be done but then prioritise and be realistic about what can get done and choose the burning task or two that would most move you forward.
Then 'Hit it – until you hit it!'
What works for me is the knowledge that I am most effective first thing in the morning so I focus on my burning task and do not allow myself to get distracted with emails, post, telephone calls or surfing UNTIL I have completed the burning task for the day. I start early and aim to get this done by 11 am or lunchtime depending on the complexity. It then feels like I have stolen time as I have my big thing(s) out of the way and still have the rest of the day ahead to do all the other things.
The bottom line is this: The market might have changed and be presenting challenges for all investors. But that same market is also presenting increased opportunities for those that wish to see them and grab them. Even if the market change is the real reason for lack of action, who is it that controls YOUR strategy and has the power to change it? (Whether inside and/or outside of property.) So is it the market that is the real problem or is it you being a DIT-OAF?
If I have hit any nerves in the slightest with this article then I’m really pleased. Now good luck with getting those New Year resolutions back on track
(c) 2008 John Rattigan
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