You don’t have to have goals in place to actually get things done. However, they can push you to get the important things done and help you track your progress. Revisiting my goals regularly reminds me what I want to accomplish and helps me say no to things that aren’t working towards them. Here is how I actually set goals and what works for me. 1. I know you’ve probably heard this before, but set SMART goals. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely. This is actually easier said than done. I’ve known about this principle for years, but I still have a hard time doing this. The measurable and realistic parts are normally my sticking points. 2. Set goals for different time periods. I set SMART goals for 1 week, 3 months, 1 year, and 3 years. Seem a bit excessive? I don’t have too many goals for each time period, but having separate goals helps me stay on track of what I want to accomplish and what is actually achievable. That leads to the next point… 3. But don’t set too many goals. Setting too many goals will lead to overwhelm and not being able to track your goals. Pick a few important goals that you can remember and keep up with and leave it at that. 4. Break them down into manageable pieces and set due dates on your calendar. Sit down with your goals and brainstorm all the steps that need to happen for them to occur. Then add dates (but remember to keep them within your goal time frame). I do this by mind mapping, either on paper or software. The Passion Planner has good instructions for setting goals at the beginning of the planner. (You can get a digital copy for free!). This is the part that really helps with actually achieving your goals. Instead of having a broad sweeping goal that you forget about, a goal with action items and deadlines helps you track it and keep it fresh on your mind. 5. Tell someone about your goals. There’s nothing like accountability for getting things done. If no one but you knows if you don’t accomplish your goals, what difference does it make? Having someone else know about your goals puts you under more pressure to finish them. 6. Keep track. I personally use an excel file to track my goals and deadlines, but you can use anything: notebook, poster on the wall, software, etc. After my weekly review, I fill in the cell for each goal with green, yellow, or red. Green means I’m on schedule for the goal, yellow means there was a delay for the week, and red means the goal is not on track. This color coding helps me quickly look at the spreadsheet and see what I need to be focusing on. 7. Continually reevaluate. Periodically, I do a check in about the goal: is it still viable or has something changed? You can decide how often to reevaluate your goals, but the point is to reevaluate them regularly. 8. Prioritize. Set up your list of goals based on priority. That way, if you have multiple things to work on for multiple goals, you can work on the one that is the most important to you. 9. Be ready to chunk a goal. If a goal doesn’t work for you anymore, get rid of it. There is no shame in not accomplishing a goal, especially if your priorities have changed. You can’t be too hung up on finishing everything just for the sake of completion. 10. Celebrate your accomplishments! All I can say is: Treat yo’ self. Source
