Your End-of-Year Progress Plan (Focus on ONE Thing) (Pt. 1of 6)
Make 2023 A Year of Explosive Growth
This Winter, I’m dishing out a 6-week Instagram Live Training + Blog Post series around the topic of “Your ‘23 Plan of Attack—A Year of Explosive Growth.”
This theme will scale each week setting you up to thrive going into the upcoming ‘23 Q1 3-Week Boot Camp. (Saturday, Jan. 14th through Friday, Feb. 3rd) 🗓
In this 21-day group coaching workshop, you’ll get crystal clear on WHAT you want, WHY you want it, and HOW you'll make it happen.
Note: Click the image to watch the replay. Continue below to read the blog.
Click to watch the Instagram Live Training Replay
Why One Thing?
On my most recent “End of the Month” November call I had with my Monthly Alumni Mastermind Students…
I had them come prepared to answer one question:
“What’s ONE thing you can do in December that would be a big accomplishment?”
It’s easy to get wrapped up in thinking you have to do a million things to consider yourself productive.
When in reality, you gain even more traction when you simplify and go deeper.
Instead of doing a wide range of little things well this month to see progress…
Consider going all-in with an A++ effort on doing ONE thing well.
Some students on the call had bigger plans to ride the wave of their recent success going into 2023 goals.
Other students were battling burnout, imposter syndrome, comparison traps, etc.
For them, it's more important to end the year with a small, manageable win.
“Why just ONE thing?” you may be wondering.
I learned about the power of the ONE thing by reading the book The ONE Thing by Gary Keller.
Focusing on ONE thing simplifies the game—like bowling with bumpers.
It makes the game easier to play and win because you’re keeping it objective.
It’s less overwhelming when you focus on ONE…
ONE season, ONE goal, ONE priority, ONE project, ONE month, ONE week, ONE day, and ONE task at a time.
Within that ONE thing, of course, you’ll have smaller tasks that combine to accomplish the final end result.
I like to think of the ONE thing as the tree, with all the smaller action items and tasks being the branches.
This concept of ONE can easily carry over into every facet of your life—that’s the goal!
Next Step? Write it Down
The next step I had my students take is just as important as narrowing it down to ONE thing.
I had them…
WRITE THAT SHIT DOWN.
The majority of people will never narrow their focus and wonder why they have a hard time gaining traction.
However, the majority of people who then narrow their focus will often fail to write it down—they think it’s enough to just say and think it to themselves in their head.
When you go the extra step and write down your goal/focus, it hits you differently—I don’t know the correct way to articulate this, it’s just SCIENCE. 🔬
It becomes more actionable and real when you can see what you’re thinking and saying.
Writing it down will keep you more focused and accountable versus something you “hope” to do.
Let’s see this all in action.
Student Examples
Here are a few examples from each Monthly Alumni Mastermind Student along with my own ONE thing in December.
The goal is to leverage these references as a model to get clear about your ONE thing this chaotic month.
—-
Brad Stoneking - “The ONE thing I will accomplish before January is to complete the outline for my free “Path to Freelance” course. That way I can focus on my Creative Burnout Activity Book over the first quarter of 2023.”
Melissa Marzan - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is to complete my first paid mural project based on my personal style.” 🥳
Marvin Nuñez - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is getting back into the habit of creating for myself by letting go of any expectations and creating something fun.”
Isaac Hanson - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is to find a home for my art in the Web 3 / Solana NFT community space where I can connect with other artists and have conversations around my work. I’m entering a season of shifting to find true fulfillment in my art because my art and I deserve more.”
Britt Hoffman - “The one thing I will accomplish this December is to pursue my art while growing my craft and building relationships in the Web 3 Solana Art Community. While continuing to spread love to all.”
Blake DeHart - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is to complete one piece of personal art that goes toward building a world around my skating mantis character.”
Trev El. Viz - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is to begin on the journey of learning After Effects so in 2023 I can bring complex animations to my art.”
Me - “The ONE thing I will accomplish this December is to lock down and batch my Q1 Boot Camp promotion schedule before the week of Christmas. That way I can take some time off to recharge with the family (and draw a LOT).”
One Tree With Many Branches
While I have a lot of things to do (like wrap up my 12-week program, drop 2 podcast episodes, and hit some other deadlines)…
If I were only able to knock out that ONE thing, that would make December 2022, a wild month a measurable success despite the crazy distraction that comes with the Holidays.
This ONE target would put me on track to crush it going into January—that’s progress I should be geeked about.
This is my ONE priority because the Q1 Boot Camp in January 2023 will be my first primary source of income going into the year.
It’s how I make the biggest impact right away while also providing for my family.
And this ONE priority and focus consists of a lot of action items and tasks to hit before this due date I’ve given myself.
Now that I have a measurable priority/deliverable…
A sense of urgency combined with deadlines helps me break down all the tasks I need to do to hit the target:
Plan out the dates for enrollment week AND the start + stop dates of Boot Camp.
Plan and create outlines for a 5-part IG Live + Blog Post Series and the dates they release.
Create and batch content (Social + Emails) that provides value and drives interest to the Waitlist.
Creating the plan is one part of the formula…
Putting the plan into action is the other part.
This is how my students and I show up and be intentional during a chaotic season full of distractions.
We simplify the game by focusing on the ONE thing we need that’ll drive the biggest results for whatever season we’re in.
What’s Your One Thing?
So now I ask you…
“What’s ONE thing you can do in December that would be a big accomplishment?”
Something that will help you build a little momentum you can carry through the Holiday distractions into the New Year?
That way, you’re not going radio silent this month and trying to dig yourself out of a hole come January with no foundation set.
Remember, keep it simple, measurable, and objective.
Set yourself up to see some actual progress and finish this year off with a win you can build on in 2023.
Because the goal should be at the end of each year and look back on measurable growth.
Action Item: Duh—WRITE down your ONE thing for this month and get to work!
Keep showing, keep putting in the work, and keep creating—YOU GOT THIS! ✌🏻🍕
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