Productive goal setting can keep you motivated, give you direction and help you to grow your business faster. Especially when your goals are well-thought out.
Most people plan and set goals at the end/start of a new year but that doesn’t mean it’s the only time you could set them….
I prefer to set monthly, weekly and sometimes daily goals. All of which take me one step closer to accomplishing my overall goals.
Goals are a simple (and free) tool for measuring your business growth, progress and success!
Identify your goals…
First, you need a clear vision of what you want your business and life to be and look like.
Second, establish exactly where you are now in relation to where you want to be.
Third, think about what needs to happen to move you closer to this vision. These are your goals.
You could also ask yourself what steps do you need to take and set these ‘steps’ as the weekly, monthly, quarterly (or whatever fits your time-frame) sub-goals.
Set goals that will aid your progress!
Here’s my top tips for setting business goals:
Set goals that excite you
If your goals don’t light you up inside you will lose the motivation and drive to keep going through the tough times. We all have bad days at one point or another in our business, they are pretty much guaranteed. They can catch you off guard and leave you wondering if it’s all worth it! However, when you set a goal that you genuinely want to achieve, this excitement will provide the determination, focus and direction that keeps you working towards it.
Be Specific
Give your goals a number AND a deadline. Being specific makes it easier to measure your progress and see if you are on track to reach it.
A numbered goal with a deadline makes it straighforwad to assess your results. Either yes you accomplished it or no you didn’t.
For example – ‘I will earn £5000 by January 31st’. OR ‘I will book 10 clients in the next 7 days’.
Set Goals That Stretch Your Ability
If you set a goal that you know is easily achieved you won’t progress as far or as fast as you could with a more stretching goal. This is something a business coach can help you with.
When your goals challenge you (but are still within your reach) they will help you to grow not only your business but also in other areas of your life.
Don’t set goals that are too easy!
Be Realistic
Its ok to dream but keep your goals realistic. If your goal is too big, it can feel like you’re not making any progress and this can kill your motivation like a lead balloon.
With that said, there is nothing wrong with having massive goals if you can break them down into stages or smaller goals that feel more achievable but still make you work to achieve them.
Don’t set goals that are too big for where you are right now!
Prioritise Your Goals
Working on too many goals all at the same will leave you feeling overwhelmed, like you’re going round in circles without actually achieving anything.
Instead, prioritise your goals and work on just one at a time, one step at a time and soon you’ll be flying through them all and ticking them off as you go.
Focus on ONE goal at a time!
Frame your Goals in Positive Terms
To increase your chances of reaching your goals consider the positive results and focus on those positive phrases. Choose the words you use carefully. Avoid words such as won’t, stop, never, quit, or even limit, reduce, etc.
Negative goals produce negative results. For example, ‘I will stop eating chocolate” automatically makes you think about eating chocolate. Instead, your goal could be “I will eat healthy snacks.”
Write your Goals Down
Studies show that people who write down their goals are more likely to accomplish them. Having a written goal, in a visible place, where you see it everyday can also help to keep you focused and motivated towards reaching it.
That could be a screensaver on your mobile/laptop, a post-it note on your desk or a poster on the wall above your work-space. All of these will serve as a reminder of what you want to achieve.
I hope this post has given you some helpful hints to set goals that will move you forward.
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Including how you can get better results for your efforts, how to create your personalised plan and how to implement strategies that will increase your income.
We'll also take a look at how you can use the planning process to improve your productivity.
