Achieving consistency: Tips & tricks

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” – Dwayne Johnson

When it comes to success, consistency is key. Whether you’re looking to make progress in your career, relationships, or any other aspect of life, staying consistent in your actions is essential.

Consistency allows you to build momentum and start to make real progress. But achieving and maintaining consistency can be difficult. 

Before I share some tips about how to make being consistent easier, I want to talk about the 3 most common barriers to consistency that I encounter with clients in my practice. Without addressing the barriers to consistency, it is hard to implement strategies that help you to become more consistent. So, I’ll first discuss the barriers to consistency, particularly the roles of self-trust, planning and attaching meaning to your goal. 

3 Barriers to consistency

1. Self-trust

The biggest barrier I encounter from clients is their lack of self-trust that they will be able to carry out what is needed to achieve their goal. Often, clients describe their goal in aspirational terms as if they don’t expect to achieve it or they have started to second guess it because their plan hasn’t unfolded how they thought it would, leaving them to feel disappointed in themselves even though they have achieved much in their life to date. 

According to Psychology Today, self-trust is about having the conviction that you will be kind and respectful to yourself regardless of the outcome of your efforts. People who have self-trust enjoy clarity and self-confidence that their actions will get them closer to their goal and possibly outstripping it.

2. Planning 

This is often considered a boring aspect of consistency because it could take away from spontaneity and the ability to be flexible in light of new information. However, if you don’t plan for consistency then how can you hope to achieve it? 

For the last 2 years I have organised my week such that I can write a blog every Monday, for my newsletter that goes out every Tuesday. Now if I didn’t plan to write my blog on a Monday, chances are I wouldn’t have a blog for a Tuesday. 

If your goal is to consistently wake at 5am every day then you need to put structures in place to help you achieve it, like going to bed at a reasonable time, waking when the alarm goes off and having something meaningful to do when you wake up at that time. 

3. Meaningful goals

Often clients will tell me about their goals and get a bit flustered when I ask them why they care about that goal so much. If you haven’t tapped into a deeper meaning for your goal and identified the process you need to engage with to achieve it then it’s possible that you’ve got the wrong goal. Meaningful goals are goals that you are emotionally attached to, that you are willing to prioritise because you value what the achievement of that goal will bring. 

If you can identify with one or all of those barriers to consistency, then I urge you to reflect on how you might overcome them before getting annoyed with yourself for not being able to consistently apply the tips and tricks I am going to share with you to help you stay consistent and achieve your goals. 

We’ll discuss the importance of setting achievable goals, breaking down tasks into achievable chunks, using helpful tools and technology, and more. You will definitely have some ideas on how to maintain consistency to make progress in any area of your life.

8 suggestions on how you can become more consistent.

1. Identify the goals you wish to achieve.

Before beginning any endeavour, it is important to identify the goals that you wish to achieve. This is key to achieving consistency and success. When setting goals, it is important to make sure that they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Once you have that, then you can consider what actions you will need to consistently apply to achieve your goals. Find out how to do that here. 

SMART goals will help you be accountable to your goals. They will help you stay focused and on track, as well as evaluate your progress and successes. Additionally, if your goal is too frightening once you have it in the SMART format, it is a sign that it needs to be broken down into smaller goals. Often smaller goals have more manageable tasks that don’t seem overwhelming. This will help keep you motivated and engaged in the process and make the journey towards your goal more manageable.

2. Break down your goals into attainable steps.

Taking on too much at once is overwhelming, so it’s important to break down each goal into more manageable pieces. Whether you are working towards a long-term career goal or seeking to improve your physical fitness, creating achievable steps along the way will help you stay motivated and reach your desired result. 

Begin by writing out all of your long-term goals and then consider each one individually.

Breaking down your goals into attainable steps is a great way to stay motivated and consistent when working towards achieving them. This can help you stay on track and take the necessary steps to reach the desired outcome. If you struggle with self-trust your goals may be even smaller at first to help you build confidence in your abilities. 

Before you start, set up a timeline of when you want to achieve each goal. This will give you something to strive for and keep you accountable. Then, create smaller goals that you can work on each day, week, or month to ensure that you’re moving toward your larger goals. 

Making smaller, achievable goals will make your goal appear less daunting and will help you stay motivated to make consistent progress.

Once you have developed your timeline, sense check it so that you are not overloading yourself. If need be, space your activities out and possibly give yourself more time. It’s better to approach your activities knowing you have the time to do them properly, giving yourself a good chance of achieving them.  

3. Develop a long-term plan to reach your goals.

Developing a long-term plan to reach your goals is a crucial step in achieving success. A good plan should be consistent and effective, while also being achievable. Building this type of plan takes time and dedication, but the end result can have far-reaching effects.

To do this, you should create a plan that outlines the steps needed to reach your goals and the timeline in which you will do so. This plan should also include measurable milestones that you can track your progress against.

As your plan starts to take shape it is important to surround yourself with people who will support and motivate you. It will make it easier to keep track of progress and make adjustments as needed. With self-discipline, determination and focus you will be able to create a roadmap that will chart out the path to achieving those dreams.

Finally, be sure to include methods of self-motivation and rewards to help you stay on track with your plan. No matter small and insignificant they may seem. 

One of my clients has set himself a goal of abstaining from alcohol most of the time and only having two or three beers on special occasions. He didn’t have a drinking problem, but he noticed how much happier and productive he was not nursing a hangover the following day. Since working towards his goal he has noticed which of his friends and colleagues support him and who is on the sidelines hoping he’ll fail. This has surprised him and lead him to make some adjustments to his goal and who he chooses to spend his time with. This wasn’t something he planned for however because his goals has more meaning that just giving up alcohol he is even more determined to deal with challenges as they arise. 

4. Set small deadlines for yourself.

When setting deadlines, it’s important to think realistically about how long tasks may take you. Setting a deadline that is too tight will only lead to frustration and stress if it isn’t met. On the other hand, setting a deadline that’s too lenient can lead to procrastination and devaluing of the goal. 

To make sure you stay on track with your goals, set mini-deadlines for each step of the task or project until its completion.

Setting small deadlines for yourself is an effective way to stay consistent and make progress. Small deadlines help you stay focused and motivated, as they provide you with a sense of structure and progress.

Your deadlines should be realistic and attainable, and you should make sure to reward yourself when you reach them. This will create a positive feedback loop that will help you stay motivated and on track.

Additionally, it’s important to hold yourself accountable by tracking and monitoring your progress. Doing so will help you identify areas in which you need to improve and identify potential issues before they become real problems.

5. Make use of routines.

Establishing a routine and sticking to it is key to achieving consistency. Even the most dedicated among us can slip up, and that’s why it’s important to make use of tools to help you stay on track, if they help. 

There are numerous options available, from apps that help you keep track of goals and deadlines to online calendars that allow you to plan out your day in advance.

Additionally, you can use online task management tools to set up reminders and to track your progress on projects. 

All of these tools, when used correctly, can help you stay on top of your commitments and increase the likelihood that you’ll achieve your goals.

6. Track and measure your progress.

To track and measure your progress means to monitor elements of performance that are important in helping you reach your goals. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, increase sales or save money, tracking and measuring your progress can help you stay on target by providing a clear picture of what’s working and what isn’t.

To begin, decide which factors will give you the most accurate indication of how close or far away you are from reaching your goal. For example, if you have a fitness goal such as losing 10 pounds in six months, then a good measure would be weekly weigh ins along with body measurements such as waist circumference. If your objective is to double sales within a quarter, then key metrics could include daily customer visits versus purchases for each week or month.

Tracking and measuring your progress is key to achieving consistency. Not only does it allow you to better understand your strengths and weaknesses, but it also gives you a tangible, visual representation of your progress that can be used to motivate and inspire you.

Additionally, tracking your progress can help you to set realistic goals and adjust your strategy as needed. Whether you choose to use an online tool or a pen and paper, tracking and measuring your progress is an important part of the journey to consistency and goal success.

7. Celebrate your successes.

We all have successes in life, but often you don’t pause long enough to reflect on them and give yourself credit. Celebrating your successes not only helps you build confidence, but it allows you to appreciate the progress made towards your goals. Taking a moment to rejoice in your accomplishments will help you stay motivated as you continue working hard towards achieving your goals. 

Enjoying a small victory is important, no matter how big or small that success may be. Acknowledge what you’ve accomplished by rewarding yourself with something special.

Celebrating your successes with a reward is an important part of achieving consistency, read about it here. A lot of the time, you can forget to appreciate the small victories and milestones you reach, instead you tend to focus on your failings and the things you haven’t achieved yet. This can be detrimental to your motivation and morale, and it can keep you from sustaining your efforts. 

It’s important to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate every success you encounter, from meeting a goal to completing a challenging task. This helps you to remain motivated and keeps you feeling positive and empowered as you continue on your journey.

8. Persevere when obstacles arise.

Achieving consistency can be difficult, especially when obstacles arise. It’s important to remember that success is often a long game, and that it may take significant time and effort to achieve the desired outcome. As such, it’s important to persevere even when it feels like nothing is going your way. 

Stay focused on the end goal and don’t give up when the going gets tough. Persevere and keep taking action, even if you don’t feel like it. Keep working towards your goal and eventually, you will get there.