Where are you with obtaining your goals and aspirations today?
Are you where you want to be with your business, personal, or other intentions?
Many of us set goals at the end of the year—in an effort to begin the new year with a fresh start. This is a good starting point, but unfortunately unless there are solid check points in place, the achievement of our goals dwindle away as the months float by.
Specific goal setting must go hand-in-hand with exact planning and implementation.
For each goal:
- Determine an “achieve by” date
- Determine stopping points to review progress (monthly, weekly, or daily)
- Record these check-in dates (electronically—in an app, in a paper planner, in an inexpensive notebook…on paper)
- Commit to checking your progress as scheduled, and ensure action is being taken for each goal
So, let’s look at an example of a goal. You want to finish writing and self-publish your book in the next 4 months. This would be the outline of your steps in obtaining your goal:
- Determine and record the “finish by” date
- Record each specific step of the book that you must complete (write/proof/edit/obtain cover/submit to self-publisher)
- Break the complete-by time frame down into monthly increments—which will be your check-in points. Ask yourself, where do I need to be at each monthly check in?
- In order to obtain your monthly goals, what do you need to do weekly? Daily? How often will you working on the book (especially if not daily)? How many hours/minutes can you devote to the book each day? Make a record of your weekly and daily goals.
- Make yourself accountable. Who is your support person? Choose someone that will not let you off the hook. If you aren’t where you are supposed to be at your weekly or monthly check-ins, the person you have chosen (and has agreed to do this—ask them beforehand) must not sugar-coat their reaction to any lack of momentum you might share with them. On the other hand, celebrate some of the set points you successfully reach! Remember: when you are achieving your goals, celebration isn’t designed just for the end!
Where are you today with your goals for 2017? We are beyond mid-year (yes…already)!
Reliance Outsourcing 