Countdown scoring

I want to elaborate a bit on the last couple of articles I have written about how to motivate yourself through figures. The most obvious figure you can use is money. Monetary goals can be extremely effective because they have the great advantage of being objectively measurable. Other objectively measurable goals include weight, speed and strength.

However there are many goals which it is not possible to express in monetary terms. How can we deal with these? The answer is to think in terms of percentage completion. To do this you need to define exactly what 100 per cent completion of your goal would be. If your goal is to get a project up and running then what would your definition of “up and running” be? The essential thing is that you must be able to recognise it when you see it.

If you are dealing with a fairly simple personal or work goal you can just estimate off the top of your head what percentage completion you have reached. So if your aim is to get a new website up and running, you might say that it is 80% complete. But if you read my article a couple of weeks ago, you will remember that I said it is much more effective to count down than to count up. So don’t say “My website project is 80% complete”, instead say “My website project has still got 20% to go”. That will focus you right back onto the completion of the project. Monitor your project daily and record it visually. This helps to bring your whole brain into focus behind the project.

May all your dreams come true!