How to Really Achieve Your Goals This Year
It’s that time of the year! New year, new you. You’ve set a bunch of goals so you can absolutely slay this year, but then life happens.
SET SMART GOALS
First things first, let’s kick it back to high school and bring back “S.M.A.R.T.” goals. In order for you to achieve your goals it’s so important to level set with how you set out your goals in the first place.
S – Specific: What is it that you want to do? If you’re looking to have a 6-figure (plus) business – set a broader goal than just “growing your business”. Are you trying to develop new strategies to get 10 new clients for the month? Be as specific as you can be. i.e. I want 60 new “loyal” clients by the end of 2020.
M – Measurable: Next step, is to make sure you’re able to track your progress. If you can quantify your goal that’s amazing – if not, try to put some element of measurement around it. i.e. I want to obtain 2-5 new clients per month.
A – Attainable: You want to set challenging goals, but it’s so important to make sure those goals are actually achievable. Be honest with yourself about what you can reasonably accomplish at this point in your life while taking into consideration your current responsibilities.
R – Realistic: It’s got to be doable, real and practical (whatever that means for you). Get 2020 vision. How do you want to operate moving forward? What does your leadership look like in 2020? What goals do you want your business to achieve before 2021? Many people fail to achieve their goals because they’re too harsh or unrealistic. When a goal is actually attainable, you feel motivated and energized.
T – Timely: It is SO IMPORTANT to put a timeline to your goals. Now I know what you’re thinking – the timeline is to achieve the goal by the end of the year, right? Yes, and no. There’s a bit more that goes into the timely aspect – let’s dive deeper in the next section.
BREAK YOUR GOALS DOWN INTO A PLAN WITH MINI GOALS
They say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Alright, a little intense, we know. But TRUE! If your goal is to make $300k by the end of the year, and you have not come up with a plan over the next 12 months, you have to take a step back. We’re all human, get demotivated at times, and a lot happens in an ENTIRE year. To stay on track, you have to keep your goal(s) on top of mind, 24/7. What’s the best way to do that? Create a plan with mini goals.
So, your current goal is to earn $300k by the end of the year. That means in 6 months you want to have earned $150k. Break that down a bit more. Every 3 months, you want to gross $75k. Let’s get even more granular. What your actual goal is, to make $25k every month. Now that, is a SMART goal. It’s achievable, realistic, and is a monthly reminder of how you’re tracking for your goal. You have to make small changes in the short-term to reach your long-term objectives.
Now that you’ve cracked that number, time to set a plan to make those mini goals happen. There are tons of different ways to do this, and you can get creative! When you’re working on a monthly goal, it’s so fun to make them into “4-week challenges”. If you’re trying to make $25k in January, perhaps your plan is to increase visibility to your blog through affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, ad revenue, or selling your products. When it comes to February, set a 4-week challenge that you’ll obtain 1 client per week (but be specific about the product or service that will yield you $25k for the month.) And continue on for March, April, etc., until the end of the year.
When you set 4-week challenges to achieve mini goals, your larger goal becomes so much easier to achieve. With this approach, you’re taking mini steps to create an entire lifestyle change by getting rid of the habits little by little that are impeding you from achieving your goals.
KEEP YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE AND CHECK-IN WITH YOUR MINI GOALS
The last and final step, is to keep yourself accountable. Once you’ve set your mini goals and have created your plan, you can’t just say thank u, next and forget about it. Work it in somewhere in your plan that once a month you evaluate your progress on that mini goal. For this specific goal for example, maybe that includes keeping good records of sales and review at the end of every month, and logging what you could be doing better for the next month. If you’re not achieving your mini goals, you know something needs to change. Re-assess what your current plan is and understand what stopped you from achieving that goal.
Remember, goals are much more than checking something off of a to do list. Sometimes it can be – especially if it’s more of a bucket list type of goal (i.e. I want to go skydiving this year). But when it’s more about personal development and lifestyle changes such as growing your business, saving money, losing weight, eating cleaner, etc.; it’s about changing habits. It’s not an easy thing to do, but hey, if anyone can do it, it’s YOU! Don’t get overwhelmed, keep yourself consistent, be accountable for yourself, and just make it happen. You got this!