Setting goals is usually reserved for the beginning of a new year (New Year’s resolutions), but do you review and check on these goals during the year or do you just push on to the end of the year and just make new ones for the new year like you do every year?
What about a mid-year review (in June, for example) and then again just before you shut down your business for the Christmas/New Year holidays?
Don’t you think it will help you work smarter and give you more focus? Won’t it help set better, more attainable goals for the next year?
Let me ask you this:
- What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
- Which goals have you failed to achieve?
- Did you really give it you all this year?
If you have achieved your goals already or are heading towards achieving them by the end of the year, GREAT! Well done!
If you’ve fallen off the wagon a little and need a little inspiration, here are six steps you could take to get back in line.
- Review the goals you reached and missed this year
Physically write down a list of the goals you reached in the last six months or the last year (depending on whether this is a mid-year or end of year review).
Pat yourself on the back. Well done!
Ask yourself the question of how important those goals were for your own success on a scale of 1 – 10. For example: having the most expensive golf clubs in the neighbourhood may be a 1, while spending quality time with your family may be a 10.
Now, list and rank the goals you did not reach this year.
This will give you a good indication of how well you prioritized the most important goals for your success. If you did a good job, the highest ranking goals should be on the completed list. If not, you have some work to do.
- Ask yourself why you reached or missed those goals:
Look at the goals you have accomplished and write down the reason why you accomplished it. Possible reasons could be because your boss told you to do it, it was an important income generating task, your wife or children wanted you to do it, etc. Then do the same with what you have not accomplished. The reasons could be you didn’t have time, you didn’t feel like it, it was too challenging, procrastination, etc.
- Create your goals for this year
If this is a mid-year review, look at what you still need to accomplish for this year, write it down and rank it on a scale of 1 – 10. If this is an end of year review, write down the most important goals you want to accomplish in the new year and rank it on a scale of 1 – 10.
- Find your “why”
The main reason we don’t reach our goals is because we don’t really have a strong why. The stronger our desire to do something, the higher the chance of reaching the goal. Your “why” is your inner power that keeps you going.
Write down a strong “why” behind every single goal you want to reach this year. If you can’t find a strong why for your goal, then the goal is probably not that important to you, and you should consider finding another goal. Be realistic. If you’ve only reached 5 out of 20 of your important goals this year, you probably won’t reach 15 out of 20 next year, unless you suddenly have more time, or you start delegating or outsourcing some of your work.
- Create your plan
Create a plan for the goals you have set or still need to achieve with a specific deadline. What steps will you take to meet each goal? Having the goal is not enough. You must create actionable steps with specific deadlines to meet the goal.
Stay focused
Once you have a strong “why” and a realistic plan on how to reach the goals, you will have set your mind to completing the tasks in order to reach your goal, no matter what, whether you feel like it or not.
Accountability partner – find a like-minded person who will hold you accountable and increase your chance of succeeding. With a plan and a partner, this year might just be the year that you will accomplish your goals.
How did you do with your goals last year?
What will you do differently this year?
