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Having strong follow-through skills will help you at work, at home, and in your educational endeavors. Get 15 practical strategies you can put to use today!
People are in a continuous cycle of professional and personal improvement. The more knowledge and skills they acquire to do things more accurately, effectively, and efficiently, the more they can achieve and accomplish. More accomplishments and achievements not only build self-esteem and self-confidence but also open up doors to opportunities.
What does it mean to follow through with something?
Following through on something means seeing it come to fruition. You don't just have a vision, a thought, a goal, or a project; you actually see it through to its end. You do not give up on the idea or project, no matter how difficult, overwhelming, or daunting. Essentially, it's about keeping your promise to yourself and others: Doing what you say you will do in a timely manner.
How is following through different from following up?
Following up means setting out to do something and checking to make sure the proper steps and plans are being implemented. It is more prevalent in project management, where you see that each part of the project takes place accurately and on time.
This article focuses on following through skills to help you reap the many benefits of it. Like 92% of people, you may have goals and plans to do something but never actually do them. Our brains prefer to get instant rewards rather than delayed rewards. This means if a project, task, or goal is going to take a while to achieve (we will see delayed rewards, not instant rewards), our brain will tell us to put off or procrastinate. Developing better follow-through skills sets you apart from others.
Here are 15 ways to follow through with work and projects to see them completed as efficiently as possible. Select up to 3 from this list to focus on for the next 30 days to help turn them into your daily habits and routines.
Do not rely on your memory to recall everything. Your chances of "dropping the ball" are far more likely if you do not write things down. Write down things that come your way either on paper or electronically. You can write tasks and reminders using any of the following:
As you finish each task, cross off your list!
Once you write down your tasks and projects, set a priority order. You cannot do everything at once. Some things are more important than others. Use the following to come up with your priorities:
Learning prioritizing is an essential time management skill. Learn to choose what's important and impactful, then focus on those tasks first.
Some projects, tasks, and goals are extensive and intricate. They have many parts! You will be highly overwhelmed if you consider the project a vast, overwhelming, and daunting endeavor. Write down the many smaller parts and pieces needed to combine the entire thing. For example, think of each chapter as a stand-alone if you are writing a book. If you are writing a research paper, think of the research first, the introduction next, the body of the paragraph, and then the conclusion. In other words, each part should be done on its own.
Before going to bed each day (or leaving work for the night), take about 30 minutes to put all your tasks in a neat, priority order. You cannot have too many items sitting on your desk or workspace to overwhelm you. Keep only items you need to work on immediately, putting the rest out of sight.
Mindset is critical when it comes to self-improvement. It will be difficult to change and improve without the proper mindset, attitude, and self-motivation. Here are some examples of what you can do to improve and motivate yourself:
If lack of motivation is a big task-completion issue, gamify them! In other words, play a game with yourself. Write a list of 3 to 10 things you want to accomplish each day and check off each as you finish. Give yourself a little pat on the back each time. Celebrate your successes along the way in your "game" to make it fun and exciting. Gamify tasks to follow through successfully and accomplish more.
Having organized spaces cannot be understated. You must be as organized as possible to be more productive and efficient with time. What should you organize? Here are some areas:
The items you use frequently throughout the day should be neat, organized, decluttered, and tidy so that you can be as effective and efficient as possible.
Write down steps and procedures for projects and large, intricate tasks. For example, let's say you have a client at work who places an order. What is the first step? What is the second step? What is the third step? Who must you contact, and by when? These are all steps and procedures that need to be followed carefully to create effective systems. These systems will help tremendously with your follow-through skills.
If you promise someone you will get back to them by a specific date and time, you must do so. Otherwise, you are losing credibility and reliability. Trust is everything! Follow through on things so you can continue to be seen as a trustworthy and reliable person in your personal and professional life. If you are running behind, contact the person to say you need a bit more time.
You are more likely to postpone and put off doing things if they are challenging or less desirable than others. It's simply human nature. Fight this urge by tackling those tasks first each day. Develop a strong sense of self-discipline to accomplish the more undesirable and challenging tasks first, then moving on to others.
You must fight off distractions to stay on track and stay on task. The minor distractions all day long will stand in your way of achieving, accomplishing, and finishing on time. Distractions include the following:
The more you limit distractions, the better you'll focus and follow through on tasks.
Want to go get yourself a cup of coffee? Are you waiting to get your favorite snack? Hold off! Use those "rewards" until you finish your tasks and necessary projects. Follow through on tasks, then give yourself small rewards to celebrate your small wins. Your self-confidence will increase as a result!
If you are having difficulty staying on course, get an accountability partner! Have someone you can reach out to each day on your commute home to tell them how well you did, what you need to improve, and if you had a bad day. Let your accountability partner inspire and motivate you to keep pushing ahead and making positive changes in your life.
Positive peer pressure could be a game-changer in your life! If you surround yourself with like-minded, action-oriented, task-oriented, and goal-oriented people, you will work as a team to push yourselves. You can hold one another accountable for following through, being productive, and efficient wtih your time.
To keep learning and developing, read self-help books. Each time you read, you'll either get new ideas or get inspired to act on old ideas. Here are topics of interest you can explore:
Are you ready to improve your follow-through skills and accomplish more in the next month than you have for the past 6 months? Awesome! To really hold yourself accountable and committed, review these SMART goals. Select one to three to work on at one time. Write the goals down and post them somewhere highly visible to refer to at least once a week. Use the downloadable template on Efficiency and Organization's website or click the image below.
These SMART goals are written as "I will statements" to hold yourself accountable for following through with them. Each one is specific and time-bound. Be sure to select one to three to work on at one time.
1) For the next 30 days, I will use a notebook to write down every task that comes my way and give myself a maximum of 48 hours to complete each.
2) Each night before I go to bed, I will write down 3 to 5 things I absolutely want to accomplish the next day and focus on those first.
3) I will use a checklist to stay organized daily with all my tasks for the next 60 days.
4) I will read 4 self-help books on time management and productivity in the next 12 months.
5) For the next 3 months, I will use project folders to stay as organized as possible.
6) Each morning for the next 30 days, I will give myself a positive mindset to motivate myself to be as productive as possible all day and have the right mindset to follow through on tasks.
7) I will turn off notifications when I am time-blocking to focus on the tasks at hand and follow through on things.
8) I will return all emails within 48 hours, maximum, unless the replies can take less than a minute to complete.
9) To stay on tasks and follow through, I will use a timer to stay on tasks and projects for short periods.
10) I will use my schedule and planner daily for the next 60 days.
11) Each week I meet a deadline, I will give myself a small reward or treat.
12) For the next 30 days, I will set deadlines for projects and tasks to accomplish them in a timely fashion.
13) For the next 60 days, I will not leave an area or a workstation until the main tasks that need to be done get done.
14) For the next 30 days, I will wake up 1 hour early to follow through on tasks from the day or week before.
15) For the next 30 days, I will do a nightly self-reflection to honestly account for how effectively I followed through on things during the day.
For more on goal setting, visit the ALL ABOUT GOALS page. Learn how to write SMART goals and monitor them periodically. Get in the habit of forming 1 to 3 short-term and long-term SMART goals to make significant changes and improvements in your personal and professional life.
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Ruzanna Krdilyan Hernandez, Ed.D. is an award-winning educator and content creator writing books/articles on efficiency, organizing skills, productivity, goal-setting, time management, planning, self-development, and achieving more in life. Hernandez is the author of efficiencyandorganization.com, which focuses on six areas:
She writes in these focus areas on how people in every aspect of life can achieve more by being more organized and efficient with their processes to become consistent, timely, and successful. She is an expert and a lifelong learner of organization, time management, personal efficiency, and goal achievement. This article shares some of her strategies and other researched and proven tips, techniques, and strategies. The book, Efficiency and Organization, is available on Amazon. Her second book, Organization and Efficiency in Personal Finances, is also released and available on Amazon. Efficiency and Organization's YouTube channel has over 80 helpful videos.
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I get earnings on qualified purchases.
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