I’ve finally gotten the 2007 Edition of the Concrete Goals Tracker uploaded. If you haven’t tried it before, it’s a form designed to motivate high value behavior that gets you to your goals. It was the first form I published here, and it’s what started the whole Printable CEO™ series back in September 2005.

The original Concrete Goals Tracker was designed for focusing my freelancing goals, but the same ideas are applicable to anything.

So What Is It?

Big Idea #1: If you choose the right tasks to focus on, you will make progress toward your goal.

Big Idea #2: The right tasks are ones that produce a concrete result. That is, it’s got to be something you can count, see, and share. That is an asset that doesn’t go away, that you can use later.

Big Idea #3: By measuring concrete results, you build the missing link to achieving goals like “Become a better artist.” Instead of flopping along, you “Draw a picture” (countable, and seeable) and “Show it to someone” (the sharing part).

Big Idea #4: Assign points to each task. Make the difficult/rare accomplishments worth more points. Assign tasks you already do a few times a day worth 1 or 2 points.

Big Idea #5: Track the points on a daily basis using an easy-to-use sheet of paper that covers the entire week. You’ll be able to see, at a glance, how your week is going. The natural human instinct is to maximize the collection of points.

Big Idea #6: Since the tasks, results, and point system revolve around you, the CGT becomes a kind of accounting system that measures your accrual of progress toward your goal. It’s designed so that the data logging itself, through the filling in of bubbles, always gives you the up-to-date status of your progress. There’s no need to run a report. It is self-evident, at a glance, how well you’re doing.

I haven’t been using the CGT for a while since I’ve been focused more on individual projects, but I’m about to shift my own goals again for the coming year and give it a run. People have reported that they used the CGT for 4-6 weeks, then it becomes a habit. When goals shift to a new direction, it’s probably a good idea to run another round of CGT.

2007 Standard Versions

The following downloads require Acrobat Reader 5 or above.

» 2007 Standard Original Form for freelancers » PCEO-CGT01-Standard.pdf

» 2007 Editable Standard Form with editable interactive fields » PCEO-CGT02-AcroEdit.pdf

2007 Folding Versions

The Minibook forms are compatible with PocketMod-style folding.

» 2007 MiniBook for freelancers » PCEO-CGT01-MiniBook.pdf

If you want to integrate these pages into your own PocketMod, download the forms below and then read this post.

» 2007 MiniBook pages 1-2, or 5-6 » PCEO-CGT01-MiniBook12.pdf

» 2007 MiniBook pages 3-4 » PCEO-CGT01-MiniBook34.pdf

Other Editable Versions

There are still editable Excel and PowerPoint versions of the files available, for those of you who require more customization. If it absolutely has to be pretty, drop me an email and I’ll price out a custom version for you.

More Information

For more on the design of the form, read The Making of the Printable CEO. Or visit the The Printable CEO™ Series Page to find more forms to dig through.

Here’s the first of the daily forms to get a slight cosmetic 2007 update: The Emergent Task Timer. If you get distracted a lot in your workplace, the ETT is designed to keep you on-task and pace the day. It consists of two pieces:

• A paper tracking form that splits the day into 15-minute increments
• A kitchen timer that goes off every 15 minutes.

Then follow these steps:

1. At the start of the day, write down what tasks you are planning to get done, then set the timer for 15 minutes and GO.

2. Every time the timer goes off, you check what you were doing and fill in a bubble.

3. If an unexpected task or event takes you away from what you were doing—or you catch yourself doing something you’re not supposed to do—add a new line and fill in the appropriate bubbles.

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p>Here’s an example:

I’m easily distracted, and when I really need to focus I will break out this form or use the online prototype. The kitchen timer is key to making sure that a quick “email check” turns DOESN’T TURN into a 2 hour surfing expedition.

You can read more about the design behind the Emergent Task Timer, or just download the 2007 editions below:

» Download The Emergent Task Timer 8 hours » PCEO-ETT01-Standard.pdf

» Download The Emergent Task Timer 12 hours » PCEO-ETT02-StandardWide.pdf

» Download The Emergent Task Timer 12 hours, 5min bubbles » PCEO-ETT02A-StandardWide.pdf

» Download The Emergent Task Timer 12 hours, laser-friendly » PCEO-ETT03-PowerUserWideBW.pdf

If you prefer online tools, then give the Flash Prototype a spin. It’s still pretty rough, but it gives you the 15-minute timer and a way of noting your time. The finished tool will allow you rearranging items, scroll, and so forth, but for now this is what’s available. You can print out the forms at the end of the day.