We don’t claim to be all-knowing self-help types, but we do know a thing or two about setting goals and how to achieve them. Thanks to our experience, we thought we’d share a few insights that could make a real difference to your process and help you improve the strategy you have in place to achieve your goals.
Having goals and working towards them is an important part of being human. The path towards our goals may not always be smooth or easy, but having goals gives us a sense of meaning and purpose, points us in the right direction and keeps us interested and engaged, all of which are good for our overall happiness (this is scientifically proven).
But setting goals can be hard; sometimes it is hard to differentiate between a dream, hope or a clear, specific goal. If you fail to plan, well, you plan to fail! So here are 5 tips for setting goals and achieving them successfully.
Motivation is key to achieving your goals, so set goals that relate to the high priorities in your life. Work out what is important to you and make sure that there is value in achieving this goal. It helps to have this type of focus, so you stay committed and feel the sense of urgency.
Sometimes it is easier to get going with something small and have a few mini short-term“wins” which can keep you motivated and believing in yourself.
Let’s user home ownership as an example … Your first goal to help you buy your home could be to save an additional $1,000 every three months. This will feel more achievable than just setting your goal as “saving $50,000 for my home deposit”.After you achieve this ‘mini-goal’ in three months (go you!) you will feel a massive sense of achievement, and this will keep you going for the next three and so on until your ultimate $50K goal is reached.
To make sure your goal is motivating write down WHY it is important and what you would tell someone about your goal if they asked. That mini-goal is important because it means you have taken the first steps to your ultimate goal, and you are learning how to be disciplined with your finances.
We cannot emphasise how important this step is! We are all guilty of using the phrases “I wish I was skinnier” or “I wish I had more money”. News flash – these aren’t achievable goals. Let’s try and rephrase these into specific, achievable goals:
· My goal is to lose 5kg over the next five months.
· My goal is to attract 5 new customers each month for three months
These goals are specific, measurable and time-bound. You can write progress in your diary and track it each month to keep you engaged. They aren’t too far in the future, yet also far enough that you will change your habits and still be required to work hard to achieve them.
Everywhere!
The fridge, your bathroom mirror, your calendar. Share the news! Tell your friends and family and ask them to hold you accountable. Writing it down and getting it out there makes your goal real and tangible and increases your chances of sticking to it. Phrase your words positively rather than negatively. Rather than saying“I need to procrastinate less”, phrase it like “I will work 4 hours per day on customer attracting activities” which is more motivating and focuses on what you should be doing instead of what you shouldn’t.
Now for the fun part… (especially if you like budgets like we do!) Breaking down your goal and working out how you will achieve it. What changes can you make in your day-to-day life that will help you reach your goal? If your goal is savings, work out your weekly income and expenses, and where you can spend less. If it’s gaining customers, work out where they spend time and how you can best engage with them.
If we revisit the above examples, let’s give them some “how”:
· My goal is to lose 5kg over the next five months.
I will achieve this by exercising five days a week, and limiting my chocolate to once a day.
· My goal is to attract 5 new customers each month for three months
I will achieve this by spending 2 hours per day, first profiling what my new customers look like, why my business is attractive to them. Then I’ll lock down how I will get my brand in front of them and create a clear method to convert them.
Now these goals are also attainable. We’re not just going to cut carbs out completely and drink only juice for one week. We also aren’t being unrealistic about how much time we spend on the second goal. We have set some clear mini-goals we can follow each week which will give us a feeling of success along the way. All of these things will help us stay on track towards the bigger goal.
Life is always going to throw us curveballs and it is best to be as prepared as you can be. Try and think of some potential options you could try if something gets in your way. If you think other work might get in the way of your 2 hours scheduled for new customer attraction, you could outsource or automate some of your processes.
Use phone or calendar reminders to keep yourself on track, and make the time to review your goals. You may need to tweak your action plan slightly as you go, and this is totally fine! Your end goal will likely remain the same, but how you get there may change as you go. By making sure the relevance, value, and necessity remain high, the purpose and motivation will always be there.
Above all, believe in yourself and your capabilities. You can do this!
If you’d like to discuss your business goals and build strategies to get there, we’d love to chat. Speak with one of the Attune team on 1300 866 113 or click here to start the conversation on email.