Goal setting is one of the most important habits we can create in business and in our personal lives. Goals are a way of keeping many of us on track to achieve our dreams and they are a great way to hold us accountable for our progress. Most research shows that be the month of February many people have given up on their new year goals or just forget about them. In order to continue growing and succeeding, it’s imperative that we stick to the goals we have outline for ourselves. Below are five easy tips to follow to help you plan your goals for 2020 and stick to it!
1. Set your Goals and include a plan to achieve each goal
So often we make a list of goals without any actual thought or planning as to how we will achieve our set goals. Without a plan we are setting ourselves up to fail. A plan will help guide you towards achieve your goals. It will help you commit to your goals instead of allowing them to fall to the wayside.
2. Analyze What Has Hindered your Success in the Past
If you have set goals in the past and haven’t reached them or have forgotten about them, take time to determine the “why”. Determining the “why” will allow you the insight to not repeat the same mistake. Being honest with yourself and accepting responsibility for past mistakes in your goal setting is a very important part of setting yourself up for future success.
3. Create a System to Track your Progress
An important part of working towards a goal is feeling like you’re actually achieving something. Some goals are small and achievable within a month, while some are long-term goals and take a greater amount of time to attain. One way to not get discouraged during your journey towards reaching a set goal is to create a tracking system. This will allow you to feel more of a sense of accomplishment as you reach milestones in your process. It helps to keep you motivated.\
4. Find Ways to Stay Organized
Disorganization can sometimes be a hinderance when working towards a goal. Organization allows you to be more efficient and accomplish more. When you don’t have to spend time look for something, or recreating something because you lost it, or even missing critical appointments because you didn’t write them down, you become much more efficient and motivated to continue progressing towards your goal.
5. Don’t Allow Setbacks to Destroy your Goals
Unfortunately, many things don’t go as expected, no matter how much planning we do. Being patient with yourself is key to approaching bumps in the road in a positive way. While setbacks or obstacles are always frustrating, sometimes they are a necessary part of our process. If you treat each setback or obstacle as the end of the world and allow yourself to dwell on it, then you will make it even harder on yourself to move forward in a positive manner. Accept the hiccup in your plan and determine what you could have done differently and how you will now move forward in achieving your goals.