One of the best tips I ever heard about problem solving goes as follows – it really is problem solving made easy.

Consider the main thing holding you back at the moment. It could be that your job is unfulfiling, or you need more money or you want some help and advice, or guidance on overcoming an obstacle.

The only materials you need are peace and quiet, a piece of paper and a pencil.

Then all you do is turn the problem for solving into a question. That makes it action orientated. So for instance I need £3,000 saved up for my summer holiday and it’s now February becomes “how do I save £3,000 before my summer holiday in August ?”

Then of course as soon as you start to answer the question you start to have your answers. It is a great and simple device to stimulate your brain to think. As a solo brainstorming technique it is fantastic. You’ll also find that within 10 minutes or so you’ll have 90% of the answers. So stop there – don’t force yourself to sit there for an hour – it probably won’t contribute much more anyway.

There are many scientific studies that show goal setting works. People in life who set themselves personal goals simply achieve more – it is as simple as that !

After all, it is sort of obvious isn’t it ? If you have a well defined plan, you are more likely to focus on the things that will help you get there. As somebody once famously said “people who are going nowhere, usually get there !”

So spend time regularly writing out details or headlines of your goals. Review them frequently. Ideally you want to have some which are short-term, some which are medium-term, and of course you will need long-term goals.

And one of the other great things about goals is that they are completely personal. It’s all about you ! You decide what is important to achieve the things you want. You can find out more about how to do this using a structured approach with our range of goal setting CDs : follow this link http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=23

It will explain why writing it down works, and why we all need goals and focus.