Goal Setting for 2010
For the last couple of years I have subscribed to the notion of writing down my goals for the year. Over time, the way I set and achieve my goals has evolved into a format that works for me, and I believe will work for you too!
The first year that I decided to write down my goals I opened a Word document and wrote down 22 goals. Then I saved the document and never opened it or looked at until the end of the year. I accomplished 6 of my goals. Ouch.
The next year I did the same thing, but expanded (in point form) on how I was going to accomplish each goal. I wrote my goals on a big piece of paper and stuck them on the wall so I would be reminded of them throughout the year. Being quite pleased with myself I thought “Now that I’ll be reminded, I will surely accomplish all my goals”. I accomplished less than the first year. Yikes.
Having felt as though I hadn’t hit the nail on the head, this year I took what I have learned in the past few years and dove into goal setting once again. I implemented action steps for each goal, expanded on how I kept track of my progress, and set timelines for each stage.
The bottom line for this article is: Setting goals is more than just writing them down. Just because you write them down doesn’t mean they will be realized (although statistically speaking you have a 98.2% better chance of accomplishing your goals than people who don’t bother to write them down at all).
When you set yourself goals:
- Set yourself a due date for each goal
- Develop a timeline and action steps you will use to accomplish each goal
- Add your goals to your outlook or Mac calendar
- Write down your goals and post them on the wall (where you will see them and be reminded)
- Share your goals. Make yourself accountable to your supervisor, a fellow colleague, friend or spouse
- Schedule a quarterly review in your calendar to review your progress and tweak as needed
See you at the top of the mountain.
Cheers,
Liam
Liam Brown is a Business Coach with clients across North America. He has built three successful companies and for the past 3 years, he has been sharing his business knowledge as a coach to small and medium sized businesses. Liam also provides seminars on Business Development, Sales and Marketing to groups across Canada and the United States. He can be reached at: Liam@Sidestepcoaching.com