Have you been sitting on your rear lately, making excuses as to why you aren’t putting your goals front and center? I know, it’s been a long day, and you’re tired. Or maybe you’re just too busy. (After all, there’s a whole culture of busy.) If you’re nodding along at how reasonable this all sounds, stop.

If you want to actually achieve your goal, you’ve got to make regular progress on it. Ideally daily. And that means dropping the excuses and getting on a roll.

The new stop, drop, and roll

Stop, drop, and roll is a great thing to remember should (God forbid) your clothing ever catch on fire. But the new stop, drop, and roll should light a fire under you. A fire that inspires you to take immediate action — until you’re on a roll and making so much progress that you don’t even want to stop until you’re there, baby.

It’s the kind of fire that causes you to stay up late at night doing taking specific actions that are going to bring you closer to your goal. It makes you drop the stuff you used to do (you know, watching The Walking Dead, having a night out with friends, or even on sleeping) while you focus on what you need to do. And it makes you count down the hours until you can get even a little bit more done.

Get on a roll for a reason

When you’re on a roll, you’re on it for a reason. You’ve got a purpose. You can taste it. Know what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it.

When we were paying off our house I wanted it so bad I could hardly stand it. Not because I think debt is bad. (I don’t. I think it’s risky.) But because I wanted to be able to say “Eh, I don’t feel like having a job anymore.” or “Hey, how about we go live in Paris for a year!” and have my biggest issue be making sure that I can get health coverage. I wanted freedom of choice, and we got it.

Whatever your goal, know that when your reason is front and center, the work it takes to get there isn’t drudgery. Even if it’s not exciting, it’s satisfying on a deep level because you know that it’s bringing you closer to what you really want. It gives you the strength to keep going until you get there.

Do the right things

While you’re do that work, make sure it’s the right kind of work. (You know, not busywork like you might get from a substitute teacher.)

I have a rule lately that I’ve got to do one new thing each day to bring me closer to my goal. Old things sneak in there too of course, and it’s great to do more than one new thing, but since I implemented that rule I’m no longer getting a whole bunch of stuff “done” that’s just going to be there again tomorrow.

For example, suppose your goal is to grow your blog. Sure, posting on Facebook & Pinterest could help drive traffic to it, but those things will always be there. (At least until the next big things come around.) So go beyond that. Do something outside the norm as well to help make your goal happen such as writing 2 posts a week for other blogs, or focusing on improving your headlines.

So what are you waiting for? Stop, drop, and roll. (And if you feel like sharing, post one thing in the comments that you’re going to do today to bring you a little bit closer to your goal.)