Setting Goals

Setting Goals

When you think about it, everything you do or want to do can be considered a goal. Whether it is waking up and starting your day by a certain time, or starting a company, or implementing a procedure, or learning a new skill, your goals require a careful planning and execution process. Read on to learn how to effectively set and stick to your goals.

Big-Picture Goal

 The first step to starting a goal is to see the big picture: What is your goal? There are a few other questions to consider. Why did you pick this goal? How will it enrich your life? Once you determine your big-picture goal, it becomes easier to map out the process of how you will accomplish what you set out to do.

Get it in Writing

 What happens if you don’t write something down, either by hand or digitally (on your phone or computer)? That’s right – you forget it. Once you have your goal in mind, it is extremely important to write it down, and to make sure that you have someone who will hold you accountable.

Set Micro-Goals

Sometimes goals can feel too large or lofty to accomplish, so they fall by the wayside, leading to feelings of guilt and disappointment in oneself. When this happens, break down! No, not into tears – into micro-goals. Giving yourself smaller benchmarks will make your goals feel easier to accomplish, thus jump-starting you into the right mindset to push forward.

Create a Schedule

This goes into the “write it down” category – after you have chosen your goal, picked an “accountability buddy” (“accountability buddy”, someone who will keep you accountable), and set micro-goals, it is time to put everything into a manageable schedule, which includes the all-too-important step of using a calendar or to do list (either of these can be on paper or using an app or website – the important thing is that you do it!) in order to track your progress.

Reward Yourself

This is an optional step, but who doesn’t like a reward? Give yourself little gifts when you’ve made progress on your goal. These can be anything, as long as they make you feel good and do not detract from your goal.

No matter the size of your goals, setting and achieving each goal does not have to be an amorphous endeavor. What is your process for accomplishing your goals? Let me know in the comments!