It’s about that time… New year, new goals!
The New Year is a perfect time to set new long-term goals. Whether it’s in your professional, personal, or social life, goals can help give you motivation, keep you on track, and help you organize your time and resources to live your life to the fullest.
More times than not, people find themselves setting goals and failing to achieve them. This isn’t because they are lazy or lack the motivation, it’s because they aren’t following a proven process!
Keep reading to learn how you can accomplish your goals in the New Year!
1. Set SMART Goals
To successfully achieve your goals, they need to be SMART!
- S – Specific
- M – Measurable
- A – Attainable
- R – Realistic
- T – Time-based
Specific: For a goal to be effective, it needs to be specific. A specific goal will answer questions like who, what, where, why, and when:
- Who: Who is a part of this goal?
- What: What do I want to accomplish?
- Where: Where is this goal to be achieved?
- Why: Why do I want to accomplish this goal?
- When: When do I want to achieve this goal?
Attainable: This is simple. Don’t set goals that you know might be impossible to reach. Attainable goals should make you feel challenged but clearly defined to avoid setting yourself up for failure.
To determine the attainability of your goal, ask yourself:
- Do I have the capabilities/resources to accomplish this goal?
- Have others accomplished this goal before?
Realistic: A SMART goal is a realistic and relevant goal. One that you know can be accomplished with the given resources and time.
- Do you have the time to commit to achieving this goal?
- Do you have the resources needed to achieve it?
Time-based: Lastly, a SMART goal must have a start and end goal date. If you set a goal without an intended date by which to achieve it, there will be no sense of urgency and you may lose the motivation to follow through. Ask yourself:
- Does my goal have an end date?
- When do I want to achieve this goal?
Other Helpful Goal Setting Tips:
2. Write everything down
After you’ve developed the perfect goal, ensuring it is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based, you need to start putting in the work!
To track your progress, write everything down!
When you have your SMART goal set, write it down and track your progress! Put it somewhere you can always see it.
3. Break it up
For long-term goals, break them down into smaller, more attainable, manageable goals.
Try setting smaller SMART goals on a weekly basis to create a path toward your overall goal.
This will keep you motivated and keep you from being discouraged from a lack of accomplishment or “progress.”
4. Tweak your goals
It’s normal for things to change. A lot can happen in the span of a few months. Don’t be afraid to revisit a goal if a sudden change comes upon you.
For example, if you had work-specific goals set but recently got a new role, you will want to tweak those goals to reflect your new role.
In conclusion, goals are essential for advancing your personal and professional development. Without them, we find ourselves without a clear path or focus in life.
To ensure you are following through with your goals for the New Year, make sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.
With this in mind, there’s no reason you won’t be able to accomplish your goals. Remember to track your progress and stick to it!
At Evyrgreen, we’re passionate about helping people set and reach their goals!
Our Goal Setting Masterclass was designed to help those who have goals but just don’t know where to start and how to achieve them.
Our Masterclass will guide you through a step-by-step process to achieve your goals time and time again!
We get down to business by offering you a strategy, frameworks, and dashboards so that you have a plan and know the exact steps to execute.
Learn more at Evyrgreen Goal Setting!