If you’re reading this email on the same day I’m sending it, then you’re among the minority of gladiators who are in the saddle between Christmas and the New Year.

You’re in good company. Now is the perfect time to be re-calibrating and finishing up all those neglected projects.

A lot of folks are cynical about new years resolutions, but you should set them. Zero goals = zero personal accountability. Nobody ever drifts into a major accomplishment.

Sure, everybody knows 80% of people ditch their resolutions by mid-February. Still, YOU get to decide whether you’re one of the achieving 20% or not.

Yesterday I spent the entire day and most of the evening ‘getting nekked’ with one of the most expensive business consultants in the country, Paul Lemberg. We met privately and went through my operation with a fine-toothed comb. I told him all the stuff I’m ‘stuck’ on and today I’m truckin’ down interstate 80 with Laura discussing how we’ll implement his plan.

The range of goals you might choose are endless, but I imagine one of yours might be something like “I’m going to be more disciplined about _____.”

I think most people will do well to avoid broad resolutions like “I’m going to be more disciplined” and instead use the time between Christmas and New Years to create structures that *enforce* your desired behavior and direct you away from things that bog you down.

If you want to get more exercise, resolving to go to the gym more often is likely to fail. But selling your car so you have to ride your bike to the office is almost guaranteed to work.

How about if you create a system that puts less trivia on your screen and on your desk on a systematic basis?

How about if you tag-team with an accountability partner who checks in with you to make sure you’re doing the $1000/hour tasks first and handing off your $10/hour tasks to somebody else?

While the world sleeps, don’t just plan. Make tracks for yourself and others to run on.

Perry Marshall

About the Author

Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.

He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.