The dawn of a new idea or goal. Initially exciting but then you realise just how much you don’t know. You realise the massive amount of work to make it happen. Some of that is going to need focus and method. For some, I guess it means taking a little longer to find something out than usual, or doing a little bit more looking that they would usually do. But for others, research is something of epic proportions, complete with surveys and ending in something called a ‘PhD’.

For success in something that really matters, you want to strike a point somewhere in between these two extremes. Here’s where I’d like to introduce my four point research technique with you.

Question 4: What is your research framework?

Imagine a jigsaw you are putting together. You would immediately take the corners first wouldn’t you? Then the pieces with straight edges. This helps to frame the picture you are trying to put together. To give everything some kind of coherency. It’s the same with researching your goal and idealised end point.

How do you know where the corners of your goal are? These four questions represent the corners.

What is it you are trying to achieve?

How are you going to achieve it?

Who are you doing it for?

How do they know about it?

If you can’t answer any one of those questions, then your goal is in trouble.

To take the jigsaw metaphor one step further, to ”fill in the blanks” and complete the puzzle, you should imagine that you are starting in the middle of the picture, and working towards each corner. Your aim is to try and answer each of those questions by doing repeated searching and following up on any interesting leads you come across. These could be books, web articles, conversations with friends. Anything really. As you progress, you will gain a deeper insight into the answer to each of the four questions as your image becomes more detailed.

For example, ”how am I going to achieve it” might initially be really simple. You’re just going to get on and do it, right? But wait a second – each day in life is different. You’re going to need some serious commitment to wake up each morning for years on end and prioritise where in the day you are going to take action on your goal, especially if it is considered a non-essential. This is the small but vital step required that many people just struggle to keep on doing. Each day ahead is a blank canvas, if you think about it. Sure, you might have things stacked in a diary, or an important meeting etc. But really, there’s a lot of time where you can sit down and think, ”OK, I’ve got 15 minutes free. What do I do with it?” It’s time you will never get back, so why not prioritise something really meaningful and act on it? Having a research focus and parameters can massively help you.

There has been much discussion about the 10000 hour rule and achieving mastery of something. Completing a goal could take you as long as that. What if every hour represented a piece of the puzzle? That might sound daunting but actually totally worth it when you imagine the richly detailed image you would gain from working towards those corners.

I’m about to start a fantastic new outdoor project putting this advice directly into practice. Follow me on Instagram if you would like to keep up with my adventures @lead_for_a_living

Until November…