Calendar Chain

A great way to motivate yourself to achieve long term goals, is to keep a calendar to track your progress. It doesn't have to be elaborate, nor does it require a great deal of time or effort. This is a strategy that will work for any long term goal to which you are required to work toward on a daily basis. Often, it's things like reading a book, or even writing it in my case, which sometimes doesn't seem manageable with our daily responsibilities and time constraints. But it's all about managing your time wisely.

To use this strategy, you need a goal, a daily aim, a calendar and a marker. Try to use the same colour each time.

For each day you achieve your aim in working toward your goal, you need to mark the day with a cross, or an icon of your choice. The objective of using the calendar is to ensure that you spend a particular amount of time each day working toward your goal. This forms a chain of productivity, you're task is to not break the chain.

Though the calendar doesn't impose any consequences on your lack of productivity or participation, often, just the visual representation of your progress is enough to keep you motivated and on track.

Remember to keep daily aims simple. For example, as an author, sitting down to write a book can be an overwhelming and daunting task. I start by setting myself a time limit on how long I expect myself to write each day. It usually starts with something small, such as thirty minutes, and then gradually as my confidence and motivation grows, I increase it to forty-five or even sixty minutes. Once you get into the swing of things you'll fine that you're achieving much more than you've set for your limit. Just don't lose focus, don't give up, and hold yourself accountable. It'll be worth it in the end.

You can use this strategy for multiple goals at the one time, just remember to colour co-ordinate your task progressions.