How To Set Goals... And Stick To Them

Whether you are setting goals to celebrate the start of a new year or have just started a new venture and want to stay on track, having clear objectives to work towards gives you a burst of motivation and helps to focus your attention. However, with so many competing priorities in day to day life working out exactly what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there can be easier said than done.

You Can Do ANYTHING, but you can’t do EVERYTHING

What area of your life do you want to focus on? Deciding which goals to set for yourself will be easier once you are clear about your priorities. Whether this is your career, wellbeing, personal life, travel, or something else entirely, there are no wrong answers. You may have more than one area you want to focus on, however, avoid trying to work on everything at once. This is likely to end up with you feeling overwhelmed and not meeting your potential.

Getting up early to do meditation and yoga, working a long day, going for a run, cooking a nutritious meal from scratch, working on a side business, and getting 8 hours sleep probably isn’t realistic and definitely isn’t sustainable. Pick 1-3 areas you really want to work on and commit to them. The rest can wait.

Be SMART

You are more likely to hit goals if they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). This strategy helps you to get very clear about what exactly it is that you want to achieve and by when.

Make sure you set regular deadlines to check in on your progress. Rather than considering objectives only in terms of the year ahead, think about where you would like to be in 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, as well as in a year. This will help to keep you motivated and quickly make changes if things aren’t quite going to plan.

Make A Plan

Once you have decided on your areas of focus, objectives, and deadlines, the next stage is to figure out exactly what actions you will need to take to get to where you want to be. Make a list of each action that you will need to take, set a deadline for each one, and write it down either in a planner or on a spreadsheet. Putting things in writing helps to keep you accountable, and ticking each action off once completed will give you a real sense of achievement.

Consider if there are any other steps you may need to take in order to complete your actions. For example, if you want to start studying in the evenings or work on a side business you may want to find some quick and easy meals you can make for dinner on a regular basis, and/or cut down on socialising during the week.

Get Excited

Make sure you are excited, passionate, and committed to each goal. Making changes and realising your ambitions will likely require some effort, sacrifice, and hard work. Remember exactly WHY you want to do this, and what achieving your goals will mean to you. Keep this in mind when things feel tough or you feel like giving up.

Even once the initial excitement wears off, it is important to be persistent and consistently keep taking action. If you feel your motivation levels start to drop, consider treating yourself to something special if you complete your actions for the month or when you hit a quarterly goal. This will help to keep you on track and give you something to look forward to.

Tell Someone

Post what you are working towards on social media, tell family and friends, mention it to colleagues. The more people that know, the more accountable you will feel. You may also find that someone in your network has knowledge or connections that can help to propel you forwards. If you are looking to share your goals with someone but don’t quite feel ready to share with those closest to you, I would love to hear all about it. Reach out to me here or find me on Instagram @clairew_copywriting and drop me a message.

Is one of your goals to grow your business? Whether you are looking to boost sales, increase the range of products and/or services you offer, or build a stronger awareness of your brand, I can help. Reach out to me here and we can arrange a free, no obligation call to discuss what you would like to achieve.