Set Your Goals
Obviously we all have goals in life, but putting them in black and white will help you focus in on your goals and drive them to completion. Remember “When we fail to plan, we plan to fail”. So set your goals and set a simple plan to achieve each of them.
All we really need here is a pad and paper, however if your like me you’ll want to use some form of spread sheet. I use excel for this as it is what I am comfortable with. I also stumbled across My Goals a web based goal planning system.
Use the SMART acronym when setting goals to help clarify your path to success.
Specific – Be specific when setting your goals, the more specific you are the easier it will be to focus in on your goals and drive them to completion.
Measurable – What does success look like? Set up a way to measure your goals progress ending in completion of your goals. Time is the most common way of measuring goals.
Attainable –Are your goals attainable? Don’t set goals that you can’t possibly reach by the set deadlines or you may find your self frustrated and wanting to give up.
Realistic – Can you realistically reach your goals? Setting realistic goals is a bit different than setting attainable goals. For example: you can set a goal to ride a bike 50 miles in 3 days which is both attainable and realistic. But if you set a goal to ride a bike 50 miles in 3 hours in may be attainable but it would hardly be realistic for the average cyclist.
Time Specific – Set deadlines and then live to them. Setting a deadline will help keep you focused on the task at hand and drive timely completion. If you set a deadline do not change it if you find your self behind schedule. If for some reason you don’t meet your deadline analyze why and then move forward.
Goal setting is the foundation for success, but doesn’t need to be overwhelming.
Just make a list of both short term and long term goals, some long term goals may need to be broken down into sub goals to aid in completion. Making goal setting part of your life will help you achieve success in both your personal
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