Goal setting is an art, your success rate and how well you achieve your goals is associated with how good you are at goal setting.
There are multiple factors which count when it comes to making goals that you ought to achieve.
As the new year approaches this article shares some insight into the goal setting process and how to make it more effective.
What is a goal?
A goal is an objective or a desired outcome that you aim to achieve.
What is goal setting?
Goal setting is a directional and purposeful activity where you set an objective, plan an action to make sure you achieve it in a given period of time. Building habits over time can help you to achieve your goals you want to reach. Here is a guide on how to build a habit in 30 days.
Significance of goal setting
Goal setting is important because it helps you distinguish between a genuine goal and normal daily efforts to upgrade your life. Goal setting involves a conscious decision which comes with a detail oriented plan of action to reach a certain outcome. To start goal setting, using a planner can be helpful to refer back to in what you need to do on a daily basis to take the steps towards your goals. One of my favorite planners is the law of attraction planners that really helps to get your mindset in a more abundance and positive mindset.
Outcome to achieve
The first and foremost thing to take care of is to be clear about what results you are looking to achieve. To know what you want is the basis on which you establish your system of goal setting. Ask yourself “what changes are you looking to make?” Or “ what results you expect to meet.”
SMART goals
After getting a clear idea of what you want goal setting should be done against the criteria of smart which means goals should be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-specific
Setting a goal for yourself that is precise, is realistic , attainable and time bound helps achieve it effectively. For instance setting a goal that “I will start running” is not as effective as setting a goal “ I will start running three miles five times a week starting tomorrow.”
Prioritization
After getting done with setting the right goals another important thing to consider is the priority you have to set for each goal. If there are a number of things you want to do, making a list of goals with the consideration of the urgency and priority is effective and helps achieving more goals and more efficiently.
Act on it
Once you have a clear list of goals set according to priority, it is just as principal to the process that you develop an action plan, without a proper strategy and a way , just setting the goals alone will not result in success unless you work for it.
Action plan can be a general overview of how to work on a goal and also the minor steps involved in reaching it. You can innovate and be creative with your plans. It doesn’t have to be a boring linear way to get to a certain outcome.
Track the progress
You should have a checklist or timeline specified notes on which you can mark your progress as you work on your action plan. Each step no matter how small or trivial it seems should be registered as progress. This is helping in keeping and maintaining the motivation for the entire journey until you finally reach a certain goal.
Revise and modify
By keeping the progress in check, you get a clearer picture of what is working and what is not. You should often reevaluate and re-examine your mode of action,strategies and make changes where required to achieve at a faster pace.
In a nutshell, goal setting is a complete process in itself , time, thought, creativity,innovation, action and discipline are key elements that lead to a successful experience. With these points in mind, start working on your goals today and make it in no time.
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