Hi Cleaning Nation! This is the second part of the episode with our fantastic mindset coach Tracey who is talking about goal setting that actually works. In the first episode, she walked through the process of using the SMART method where you make sure your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and with a timeline. In this next episode, she explains how to break down a goal once you have it spelled out into specific steps so that you know where to start and how to end that goal. This is the part of goal-making we most often fail to do, and it is the difference between writing down goals and actually accomplishing them.
Once you’ve written down all the steps of a goal, how do you start to work on it? Tracey uses the sandwich effect. The sandwich effect has you break down your goal enough that you have a very first step and a very last step. If you have a goal to hire one new employee, step one might be to set aside 20 minutes and write the copy for the ad that a future employee might see. If you tell yourself you need to hire someone this week and never go into detail about how that will happen, it’s just a desire you have, it will never move beyond that.
When completing your goals, you are allowed to shift or adjust things as needed to keep you on track. You may have to adjust your timetable or your goal itself as you see fit, but the sandwich makes sure that you are staying on track and that you have accountability for when something takes you off. For example, one of the members at this training had recently had to step in to do some training even though she has a goal not to physically clean in her business. At this point, it is important that she decides she is married to both her goal and commitment. This allows her to think more creatively about solutions she can use to achieve her goal rather than spinning and giving in because it’s the easiest, most obvious option. In this specific instance, Tracey suggested she hire two or three floaters, create relationships with other service companies who can swap employees in a pinch, and plan E is to shuffle around client schedules. But there is no plan in which she goes out into the field and cleans. It is that commitment to your goal that allows you to really accomplish it. As long as you’re waffling, it will never happen.
