As a driven entrepreneur, you know that increasing your productivity is key to success.

Shanda Sumpter, Queen Visionary of HeartCore Business™, recently invited Craig Ballantyne to share some of his wisdom surrounding productivity with the HeartCore community.

Craig, the author of The Perfect Day Formula and one of Shanda’s former coaches, shared his advice on the three pillars of coaching—which you can use as a coach or as a goal-driven individual who wants a proven way to reach your goals!

Here are the three pillars—and Craig’s advice for optimizing them.

Pillar 1: Clarity

As coaches, we give people clarity. No matter what your field of interest, your theme, or your industry, your clients most likely struggle with clarity. Why? Because most people who would seek coaching around a certain topic or area are driven, intelligent, and energetic. They have a lot going on … and this often impacts their ability to develop clarity around their goals.

So they’re spinning their wheels, stuck in the mud, uncertain about which actions to take to reach their goals.

Your first step as you strive to reach a goal is to get absolutely clear on what your goal is, why you want to reach it, and the right steps to take to achieve it.

Pillar 2. Direction of Action

So many people become productive at the wrong things in life, Craig said. Most people are successful at the wrong things because they’re taking action in the wrong direction.

To define a direction of action as he pursues a goal, Craig said, he uses a process he calls “reverse goal setting.”

As an example, he used a goal of losing 20 pounds. Some people might set that goal and then immediately cut out all their favorite foods and start exercising like crazy.

But Craig recommends doing something different: breaking a goal down into manageable steps. For example, if someone wanted to lose 20 pounds in 10 weeks, they would first focus on losing two pounds that first week.

To help his clients use this process, he uses a form designed to clear the mental clutter and decide on a direction. They outline a 90-day outcome goal, and action steps or “process goals,” to take in order to reach the outcome goal.

Another example he provided: If he wanted to enroll 35 clients in his mastermind group, he’d have to decide on the three biggest action steps necessary to reach that goal. The first process goal would be for him to create a big event and sell from the stage. The second goal would be to go through all of his contacts and prospects, and send them an email inviting them to join him for a coaching call. The third goal would be to send out his print newsletters, inviting people to attend the event, get on a coaching call, or enroll in the mastermind.

Craig said he takes each goal’s big picture, and then breaks it down: one-year plan, 90-day plan, 30-day plan, and even 72-, 48-, and 24-hour to-do lists.

If you break your tasks down that clearly, then you know what you’re going to be doing every week.

This, Craig said, is a game changer.

Imagine how hectic your life would be if you didn’t have a schedule. Once you know the main events—vacations, birthdays, soccer practices, etc.—you can fill in the other details around them.

This process helps people become productive at the right things—the things that will bring them closer to their goals.

Pillar 3. Accountability

Craig said accountability is the secret to success.

He shared what he said is a really important quote, and we agreed, so we’re sharing it here:

“You must be accountable to somebody that you deeply do not want to disappoint.”

Whether that somebody is a coach, your spouse, a colleague, or even a big brother or sister you look up to, it doesn’t matter.

It’s a strength to recognize that you need accountability as you strive toward your goals, Craig said.

So reach out to someone you admire—someone you don’t want to disappoint—and ask him or her to be your accountability partner.

Craig specializes in being very productive—and it works not because he does more than other people do, but because he does more of the right things. Using the three coaching pillars he outlined, you can increase your productivity, too.

How can YOU be more productive? Which pillar resonates most with you? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll respond to HELP!