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ResourcesPodcast

Options Trading Education – The Importance of Setting Deadlines & Goals

It is important to set deadlines and goals for yourself. Our #1 core value here at Option Alpha is that options trading education comes first before anything else. It's why all our trading courses, guides, checklists, podcasts, webinars, etc. are completely open and free.
Options Trading Education – The Importance of Setting Deadlines & Goals
Kirk Du Plessis
Dec 26, 2016

I understand that options trading can be overwhelming and confusing with so much to review and consume. Recently, I found myself in the same situation with a development project for the website, and I thought that it would be a great discussion for the podcast and potentially help you in your options education journey.

About a month ago I was hitting a brick wall in rolling out some improvements and changes to the Option Alpha platform. There was so much to do, and I didn't know where to start first. We needed to update SEO stuff, website navigation menus, page layouts, servers, etc. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with the workload and assumed it would take months to finish. On the recommendation of one of my coaches (yes I have coaches too!) I implemented a couple of deadline and phase strategies that I cover in the show.

The result is that my team and I finished all of our updates and enhancements much faster than I expected and are off to the next project for you all. And as simple as these strategies might sound during the show, I promise you that they made the world of difference for me in quickly educating myself and organizing my time and activities and I know it'll help you if you take action today.

Key Points from Today's Show:

  • The Number One Excuse: "I don't have enough time".
  • We all have enough time if we prioritize what is important to yourself and your goals.
  • If the goal is something you really want to do, you need to cut out everything else that is not important.
  • Be regimented in focusing your time on what is important and getting through it.

1. Set a big, hard deadline

  • When you have a deadline, it motivates you to work harder to get everything completed.
  • For example: leaving for vacation, or when your baby is due - the deadlines are not up for negotiation.
  • The deadline cannot be moved or passed. This forces you to focus on the most critical aspects.

2. Cut your deadline time in half

  • When a deadline is fast, it gives you a burst of adrenaline and anxiety to get it done.
  • What derails most people from reaching their goals is just the aspect of starting.
  • Cutting your deadline in half forces you to start faster, and you complete it much sooner than you would have.

3. Focus on themes, categories, and phases

  • You have to focus on smaller subsets that work towards the big ending goal.
  • Focus on one specific section of education, for example, a theme for the week.
  • This can help you find a starting point, putting your focus on areas of struggle.

4. Be accountable to someone else

  • If you are accountable to yourself, you will always find an excuse for not doing it.
  • Posting publicly allows you to find accountability with your audience or friends and family.
  • Make sure that your accountability partner checks in with you to remind you of your progress.

5. Your goal has to have a reward

  • You have to identify the rewards that are sufficient to motivate you towards your goals.
  • Reward yourself to psychologically reinforce the actions that you took to get to that point.
  • Reflect on the process to allow you to re-motivated to move onto the next phase.
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