Sometimes I wonder how to make things happen faster: new ideas, small and big changes, strategies, new lines of business. Speed is one of the key factors that influence what we do, because many people talk about doing things, but a very few of them are smart enough to make things really happen. The more you create things or initiatives that work, the more you gain self trust. I guess it’s really important to visualize a method, because someone makes things happen and someone else doesn’t.

So, how to make things happen?

For me it is really important to set your goal clearly and define a short amount of time to achieve it. For example, “there’s this new technology called Node.js that I want to learn, to grasp its potential while it’s in its infancy”. Well, say to yourself that you want to learn it and try to do it in 5 days.

Looking at a 5 day time-frame to achieve your goal ahead of you, is something that can help you a lot to measure how focused you can be. Having a clear focus is probably one of the main characteristics that we have to develop, to improve our effectiveness. The more effective you are, the higher you can set the bar. Do you have too many books and magazines to read on your desk? Choose the most interesting amongst them and give yourself 5 days to finish reading it. Do you need to go on a diet before the Summer? Then fix a 5 day time-lapse to change your habits.

Now, this technique is effective, except for one thing: in a small time-frame you can manage small set of goals: let’s say even more than one, but less then three. Therefore two is the maximum I guess you can manage before being overwhelmed.

So, start with one goal and be really focused in achieving it. Then, when you have become use to achieving one goal at a time within 5 days, try two in the same time-frame.

No more than that. Do you think it work?