Goal setting can be hard. You might’ve been told to put away money for an emergency, join the gym or go on a new fad diet. If for whatever reason you’d rather listen to fingernails scratching on an old school chalkboard, try to find something that speaks to you and fits your circumstances. Test drive some of the ideas below to goal set for the coming year or whenever you want to set a new goal.
1. Recommit to your vision.
If the thought of cutting and pasting pictures to a vision board make you want to vomit, just write down a list of things you want to accomplish in the coming year. Be sure to include why these goals are important to you. Then figure out what the cost would be and start saving automatically toward that goal. This way, your efforts will be anchored to a compelling reason, when you’re tempted to drift. You’ll also gain confidence in your ability to set and accomplish your goals in the future.
2. Map out concrete steps.
I decided to read more. I choose one article per day. After I finish writing, I make an effort to stay up on what’s going on in a business, personal finance and the world in general. I save website links for articles I want to read in the future or capture physical ones on the Genius Scan app. It can help you stay current as a business owner and give you a competitive edge.
Choose one small thing you can do daily, weekly, monthly, etc. to improve your business or work situation. It doesn’t even have to be one ongoing goal. Maybe you’ve been meaning to make a one-time switch to lower your credit card processing fees for your business, change invoice software or look into tools that will increase your productivity.
3. Start small.
Around January, we get extremely motivated. We think we can change everything overnight. After realizing we might have bitten off more than we can chew, we end up quitting. Read up on behavioral change. Study The Tiny Habits Method by Dr. B.J. Fogg if you truly want to make lasting change that sticks. He often tells people to floss one tooth per day if they eventually want to floss all of their teeth daily. Though it sounds silly, it’s an effort to take an incremental step to establish habit formation. Think of what that small step would be for you. You can always increase the frequency once the habit is in place.
The Bottom Line
If crafting goals normally makes you cringe, reconsider your process. Most people stick with what’s simple so choose something you can realistically implement. Start out with little strategic steps and before you know it, they can have a big impact. This can make all the difference in how you approach goals and improving your business or life in general.
