Hello and Welcome to Freedom Cast: Leaving Normal Behind.

Today Miranda and I are going to talk about one of the best ways to actually keep making progress on your goals. An idea that is so exciting, you will want to run laps after hearing about it. Ready?

Weekly Reviews– What What!?

We heard that audible gasp. I know, it sounds about as fun as slicing cheese, but don’t knock it until you try it.

We currently meet every week to discuss our goals, and we actually look forward to this time. It is a great chance for us to reset by discussing what went well and what didn’t over the last week.

It is isn’t the only possible way to take things to the next level, but it is working wonders for us so far. We suggest it to anyone reaching for just a little bit more.

Here is how to go about having weekly meetings:

Step #1: Finding an accountability partner

To do this, you need to find a solid accountability partner. This is absolutely necessary because you can’t have a meeting with yourself.

You can ask your significant other, a good friend, or even a parent or sibling that you are close to. The who doesn’t really matter, but they need to be just as committed as you are. That being said, a spouse works best, because they are often the ones you spend the most time with, and your goals will often be very similar.

Step #2: Pick a Time

Decide together on a time to have the meeting. For us, Sunday afternoons work best, and I recommend that time. It is a great way to start the new week and to plan to be intentional in reaching your overall goals.

Whatever time you choose, meet consistently at that time.

Step #3: Prepare

Prepare for your weekly meetings by getting a notebook dedicated specifically to those meetings. This will enable you to keep track of your goals and to be able to know how you did.

It might be old school to take meeting “minutes” but it is kind of fun.

Before each meeting, make sure you personally brainstorm what your next week’s goals will look like. You don’t have to have it all laid out, but make sure you have a general idea.

Step #4: First Meeting

Spend the first meeting talking about the structure of your meetings. Ask yourselves:

What do we want the focus to be?

For us, the main focus is budget, because we recently moved and there are a lot of unknowns. I bring my laptop to the meeting to check our budget and Miranda writes down our talking points.

Having these weekly budget meetings has allowed both of us to know where we stand at all times, and also to be able to make plans ahead of our money, and be in control.

After we talk budget we then proceed to individual goals. We discuss last week’s goals and then make new ones for the next week.

Spend time brainstorming ideas for how you want things to go. If you need to add in rewards or punishments you can do so, but only if necessary. For us, it is enough to know that we told the other person we were going to do it, so we better find a way to make it happen.

Step #5: The Right Types of Goals (Actionable Goals)

The goals you make for the week should be action steps you can take to reach your main goals. The idea isn’t to write down that you will definitely lose 5 pounds over the next week. A much better goal would be to write HOW you are going to do that.

For example, you could make it a goal for the next week to go to the gym 4 times. For the most part, this is more directly in your control than losing weight.

For my website goals I try to make it things like; write two blog posts, or write two chapters in my new book, versus sell a 100 copies of my old books or make $100 in ad revenue.

An easy way to fail is to set weekly goals that you might not reach.

That being said, definitely challenge yourself! Just make sure the weekly goal is contingent upon things that are in your control.

Step #6: Be Consistent

Meet every week no matter what. Make time for this goal making session and don’t quit.

If things get busy and you aren’t able to meet? Bull crap. Make time for it. Make time for yourself and your partner to flourish. It is a facade that we are too busy, we are only shifting our priorities. Never believe that you are too busy for something that will help you to move forward in your goals.

This is one of the coolest new things that we have been doing, and I love it. It is definitely taking things to the next level.

Go at your own pace, but make sure you meet every week, even if it means meeting for only 15 minutes.

Well, there you have it. This is the next step to reaching your dreams and unlocking your ultimate potential.