Last night I had an experience that was a good reminder for me.

While working on a project I decided to write in my calendar in red marker the countdown in days to the end of the year from 90 down to 1. To my surprise it turns out that I miscalculated when day 90 was – Oct. 3 instead of Oct. 4 – and therefore my countdown to the end of the year was off by a day.

When I saw what I had done, I began to laugh. When you’re setting your intentions and outcomes, you should always ‘begin with the end in mind.’ Having a clear vision of the outcome keeps your eyes on the prize and makes it easier for you to hit your mark. Working backwards from the perspective of your outcome also makes the path to take much more apparent.

Had I started writing the countdown from day 1 – December 31st – and worked backwards to day 90, there would be no way that I would have missed my count – not to mention having a lot less scribble marks on my calendar.