Christmas Day just passed by and another year is approaching in just 5 days. Did you set goals for the New Year or do you think they are just a waste of time? You are probably right either way, but if you do set goals, there are ways to increase your odds of actually achieving them. This is a twist on the SMART acronym of goal setting.
Make goals that you are passionate about: Do you want to run a marathon, grow your business, or start a business? If you are not passionate about your goal then trying to achieve it will feel like drudgery. Another way of looking at your goals is to determine the reason why you want to achieve it. If it would be nice for you to run a marathon without the reason, then your drive will not be strong enough.
Be able to achieve your goals: If your goal is nearly impossible to achieve then how do you continue working towards it when it is futile? This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have some stretch goals, but the more realistic your goals, then the higher your chance of success. On the other hand, if the goal is too easy, then you may not even bother to work towards it. Also, too many goals will dilute your focus so try to stick with a handful of goals.
Create an action plan and habits: Goals are achieved by the constant actions we take on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. For example, if you want to increase sales by 20%, then develop key actions to implement and then review them weekly. If you want to lose weight, then make it a habit to exercise on a daily basis. Habits and actions are so important, that you can commit to certain actions, while ignoring everything else, and still achieve spectacular results.
Be clear: Put a number and timeframe on a goal, which allows you to work backwards and determine achievement. A bad goal is to say that you want to lose weight, while a good goal would be to lose 24 pounds in one year. To achieve losing 24 pounds, you can then break the goal into monthly targets to lose 2 pounds per month or approximately half a pound per week.
Review your progress: Periodically access where you are with your goals to see if your actions are working. If so, then continue, but if not, then make changes.
There you have it. Simple ways of setting and achieving goals so you do not waste your time.
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