Effective Milestones

Back in the olden days, travellers would ensure they were still following the right path, judge how far they had come on their journey and the distance still left to travel by referring to a series of numbered stone markers placed along the road at intervals of one mile and sometimes, parts of a mile.

Funnily enough, these were known as Milestones.

The idea of using stone markers when we are travelling may seem a little outdated now we have Sat Nav systems that can pinpoint where we are right now, but milestones are still an incredibly effective tool to guide us on our business adventures, marking out where we would love to be in 30 days, 6 months or a year’s time.

So here are the 5 things to consider when putting milestones in place

1. Keep it Simple

Avoid spending hours, days or even weeks putting a project plan together just so you can be certain of the exact date you intend to reach every milestone over the next two years!

Instead, focus on your vision and then spend 10 minutes in total writing down 7 things you would love to achieve in the next 30 days, 3 things you would love to achieve in 6 months, and 1 thing you would love to achieve in 12 months.

2. Be Specific

Make sure you add a date for each milestone.  Remember, this is your best guess, not an accurate plan

3. Make it Visual

Visual is memorable! So write your milestones on some coloured card or paper and stick them where you will see them every day.

4. Review Regularly

Every day you will be able to see whether you are still on track simply by looking at the milestones around your office.

When you first start using milestones you will probably over or under estimate how long it will take to reach each one.  That’s fine.

The milestones act as a guide. So take stock of how far you have travelled, how long it took you to get there, how much further you have to go, and most importantly whether you are still on the path that will take you to your destination.

When you complete a milestone, write a new one that builds on the last!

5. Celebrate Your Successes

When you complete a milestone take time to acknowledge what you have achieved.

Put a big tick on the milestone on your wall and leave it up there for a couple of days to reinforce what you have accomplished.

Then make sure you do something to celebrate.

If you are part of a team that reaches that milestone then celebrate together as a team or at least make sure every member of that team gets to celebrate in a way that they love.

If you achieve a milestone on your own then do something you love. This could be as simple as giving yourself time to read that book you never have time to read, watching your favourite film or making that phone call to arrange a meeting with old friends.

The important thing is to do it and to do it now.

Leave a comment below and let others know how you use milestones effectively in your business…