Setting and achieving goals can feel overwhelming sometimes but if you know the right techniques to help you push yourself in the right direction you can achieve anything.
In the following article we’ll be discussing how to accomplish your goals in the most effective manner. We will be going over many important points from the things that you should do to what are the things you need to avoid while working towards your goals.
Make SMART Goals
The most basic and significant factor is how you are setting your goal. Setting smart goals helps you accomplish successfully whatever it is that you want to do.
Your goal must be specific. It should be a precise clear thing that you want to achieve. Setting a vague goal such as “I’ll learn a new language” isn’t going to motivate you. Instead, set your specific goal that in this case can look like “I’ll start learning Turkish language from next week”.
A goal that is measurable is easy to achieve because you have a criteria for measuring your success and fulfillment of your goals.
When setting your goals make sure you are realistically seeing the situation, taking into account your available resources, time and energy. Setting an attainable goal is essential for your success.
Goals that are realistic can be fulfilled. If someone is stuck in a fantasy of impossible or unrealistic goals, their time and efforts will be all in vain. Goals should be realistic to be realized.
Time–specific goals provide the right amount of motivation to work for it. Your deadline shouldn’t be so early that it gets you crippled by anxiety or you feel overwhelmed. On the other hand it shouldn’t be so far long that you’ll lose your initial interest and you don’t push yourself through.
Once you have established your smart goals you can start immediately working on them.
Think on Paper
Write down your goals. When setting goals when sure you are thinking on the paper and writing it all down. It lets you observe and plan more accurately. According to a research by Dr. Gail Matthews, individuals who write down their goals and keep track of them, are forty percent more likely to achieve them in comparison to people who don’t write their goals.
Visualize Your Goals
Visualize your achievements, think about the details, make plans for what and how you will be doing things when you accomplish a specific goal of yours. For instance if your goal is to save money to visit your dream country during vacations imagine yourself in the places you want to visit. Keep your vision board, give subtle messages to your brain, be open to receive when you are working on your dreams.
Goal Ladder
Breaking down goals into small steps is crucial to get a clearer picture of what an action plan will be to reach that goal. Make your goal ladder, mention your main goal on the top and list the small steps required to achieve it, what actions you’ll be taking, step by step to realize that goal.
Keep Accountability
Keeping track of your progress and focusing on your own accountability is essential for measuring progress and staying consistent. One thing you can do is share your goal and progress with a close friend and family member who can help you keep yourself accountable. If you are doing a group project you can share progress with your group members to stay on the same page. In his study Dr. Matthews observed participants who shared their goals and action plans with their friends showed more progress and were able to achieve more compared to those who did not.
Prioritize
Sometimes when motivation comes you might feel like doing everything at once, or it might seem that there’s so much more left to do. To avoid feeling overwhelmed or burnout, prioritize your tasks based on their importance and urgency for you. Making a priority list is gonna help you invest your time and energy where it’s most required and productive.
Review and Modify
Don’t get stuck on one action plan, review, reflect and make changes in your action plan if you find a new better way to accomplish the same goal. Be open to change and new ideas.
A Take Home Message
Goal accomplishment is a task that requires many small steps in the right direction. The important thing is to stay focused and determined. One size doesn’t fit all, review and reflect what works best for you and makes you feel productive. Remember things don’t happen unless you act. So, stop thinking start doing and see how your life changes for good.
References
Bailey R. R. (2017). Goal Setting and Action Planning for Health Behavior Change. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 13(6), 615–618. https://doi.org/10.1177/1559827617729634
