“If a ship does not know which port it’s sailing to,
then no wind is favourable.”
In 2008, Dr. Gail Matthews of the Dominican University of California recruited 149 participants for a study on assessing the power of writing goals versus not.
The participants ranged in age from 23 to 72, with 37 males and 112 females.
Participants came from the United States, Belgium, England, India, Australia and Japan and included a variety of entrepreneurs, educators, healthcare professionals, artists, lawyers, bankers, marketers, human services providers, managers, vice presidents, directors of non-profits, etc.
The research confirmed the power of three things:
1. The Power of Accountability:
Those who sent weekly progress reports to a friend or colleague accomplished significantly more than those who had unwritten goals, wrote their goals, had clear actions or sent those actions to a friend.
2. The Power of Public Commitment:
Those who sent their commitments to a friend or colleague accomplished significantly more than those who wrote actions or did not write their goals.
3. The Power of Written Goals:
Those who wrote their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals. In fact, 39.5% more likely to achieve them. (Importantly, their goals were also prioritised).
If you’re sceptical, maybe test all three yourself over the coming weeks?
If you want to make a tangible jump in your productivity and results, my workshop ‘TimeShift – How To Boost Your Productivity, Mindset And Life’ takes place in Dublin from 15th April and runs over 3 morning in 4 weeks to help build real habits. All details here.
