5 Steps in Setting Goals Effectively
July is fast approaching and we are officially halfway through the year! Many of us have started this year with a set of goals and new year's resolutions. A big pat-in-the-back for those who stayed on track but if you fell off your "goals" wagon, you've come to the right place!
Finishing your year strong is just as important as starting it strong! And July is the perfect month to re-evaluate your goals and make adjustments. In this blog post, you will learn how to set goals effectively! You will also be able to write a formal written goal statement.
Tips Before Beginning
I highly recommend that you block out a few hours (or an entire day) before continuing. Go to a quiet and comfortable place where you can allow your mind to roam freely. Goal-setting begins with what you can dream of and for this to happen, you need to create or be in a space that is conducive to daydreaming.
Bring a notepad and handwrite your thoughts instead of using your phone. Physical is memorable and the act of physically writing your goals makes it personal. You can always type your goals on your phone once you're done.
Clarity is power! To get clarity will require honesty from you during this process.
Know your why! Having a strong sense of purpose helps us push through our hardest hurdles! The bigger the why, the bigger the how!
5 Steps in Setting Goals Effectively
Print the FREE worksheet and guide here! 5 Steps in Setting Goals Effectively (1) Also, pin the worksheet and guide at the bottom of the page.
Step 1 | Begin with an end in mind!
One of my biggest takeaway from the late Stephen Covey is by starting with the end in sight! It simply means to start by imagining the PERFECT result! This is where you need to let your mind be free and imagine what it would be like to achieve your intentions without limiting yourself. Opposite of the Murphy's Law, everything that can work, will work! If the universe absolutely conspired in your favor, what would it be like to achieve your dream?
“To set a goal effectively means to create an effective goal first.”
An effective goal has to serve your why or purpose. Otherwise, it will be a random achievement that doesn't necessarily enrich your life. Let's start by examining what your life vision is. And don't worry, my vision has changed as I matured and yours might too. What's important is to have a baseline idea of what you want out of life in the end!You might ask how does this relate to the goal I want to set right now? As mentioned earlier, the bigger the why, the bigger the how! Goals that are rooted in your why or life vision have a deeper reason to succeed. So let's dig a little deeper!
A Powerful Exercise
The following exercise is the same one I've done while reading the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Find a quiet place and sit comfortably. Close your eyes if you need to. Imagine walking the down the aisle of your own funeral. You look both to the left and the right aisles and see familiar faces. Some are close friends and families and some are acquaintances. There will be 4 people giving your eulogy - a close family member, a close friend, a close associate and a member of your community.
Imagine what you WANT each of them to say about you. Next, ask yourself what legacy you want to leave with. What types of accomplishments and experiences did you want to have?
Then write down the details. From here, formulate your life vision in a few bullets or a paragraph.
Here's what I came up with:
Achieve Financial Freedom
To inspire others to live life with passion
To serve and love my husband
To serve and love my family (and close friends)
To live the adventure
Whew! I know that was a lot to take on! You can do this exercise again later if you were feeling a little lost! Now, let's set some goals! Don't forget to pin this post to come back to later on!
Step 2 | Create an Effective Goal
What is an effective goal?
SMART - specific | measurable | achievable | relevant | time-based
It aligns with your life vision
Limit to 1 or 2 goals at a time
It has a deadline
It defines how you will give back
Here's an example of an effective goal for me as a blogger:
Earn $30,000 per month by December 2020 through blogging. (Later, I will include how and what I will give back during this journey.)
Notice that this goal is specific ($50k monthly), measurable by its dollar amount, achievable (not too far-fetched and doable for my line of work as achieved by many bloggers that inspires me), has a deadline (December 2021) and relevant to my life vision as a platform to earn income, inspire others and live the adventure.
Step 3 | Create a Road Map to Success
A timeline is essential to an effective road map to success. Road maps break the goal down to smaller goals (micro-goals) in a linear timeline setting. Much like what we did earlier, beginning with the end in mind is the next step in creating your road map. Taking the example in step 2, the desired end result is earning $30,000 per month by December 2021. Start creating the road map with this goal and break it down to micro monthly goals.Here's an example of an effective road map to success:
December 2021 $30k monthly income
September 2021 $20k monthly income
January 2021 $15k monthly income
September 2020 $10k monthly income
January 2020 $10k monthly income
August 2019 $3k monthly income (MINIMUM)
The trick to creating an effective roadmap is by breaking down the goal into smaller manageable goals with a monthly or weekly deadline. If the breakdown of your goal seems too hard to reach then consider maybe tweaking your goal to be more achievable! If the micro-goals are too hard to achieve then most likely your main goal is even farther! Remember that success is a habit! To achieve your goal, you have to get in the habit of achieving your micro-goals daily/weekly.
Step 4 | Create an Action Plan
Now that you have a roadmap to success, it's time to create an action plan. Since your goal has been broken down to micro-goals, it's easier to create an action plan for each month. Note that the action you need to take to reach your goal may be different from what you first planned for.
“Be flexible with your method but be stubborn with the goal.”
What I like to do first is to create a general bubble list of actions that I can take to help me achieve these goals.
Here's an example of a list of actions for my line of work to help me achieve my goal:
sponsored post, ebooks, webinars, online courses, drop shipping, affiliate marketing, e-commerce, advertising, paid social media post, paid public engagements, consultation services, vlogging ads, online business, PR events and local events
Once I have the list of actions written down, I examine my roadmap and create a specific and strategic action plan per month/week. You will find yourself having to adjust your action plan quite a bit. Some of these actions just aren't the right fit for the goal.
Here's an example of my action plan for the goal of earning $3000 in the month of August:
Apply to 20 networks
Publish 15 sponsored posts
Post 10 sponsored social media posts
Increase my following to 5000 total across all platforms
Establish a relationship with brands that are a match for my niche with social media interactions
Launch an ebook for sale and etc.
Step 5 | Write Your Goal Statement
“Setting a goal effectively = SMART goal + serves your life vision + plan of action + written goal statement”
The goal statement is a summary of all the 5 steps that we went through. Print this statement and post it close to your vision board or anywhere where you can see it every day. In my goal statement sample, I've included what I will give back in funds and in time. Giving back is very important to me and adding it to my goal statement reminds me of my commitment.
Tip: Write your statement in the present terms.
Here's an example of an effective goal statement:
I will earn $30,000 monthly by December 2021 through my blog “The Sweet Savory Life” by applying various marketing efforts than includes (list actions defined earlier). Through this journey, I will give back _% of my income and _% of my time in helping others to live a purposeful and passionate life. I will achieve this goal by being accountable for my own actions and keeping track of my goals on a daily basis.
Print this statement and post it somewhere you can see easily on a daily basis. You can also take a screenshot to have it handy on your phone. In another blog post, we will go through the steps to achieving your goals. One of those steps is memorizing this statement until it is achieved.
I hope this helped you in setting goals for the rest of the year!
This is part 1 of the 3 blog post series about setting and achieving goals. Up next are "How to Make an Effective Vision Board" & "How to Achieve Your Goals".
Cheers!