Setting goals is the easy part. Losing weight, starting up a business, learning a new skill-the list of goals that many of us embark on with great enthusiasm is endless. But as time wears on, it becomes tough to stay on course, and the many end up veering off course from their original targets. Most individuals are not held back by a lack of motivation but by the absence of a structured process to which they are clearly directed toward accountability.
If that’s all you can manage, don’t worry-you are not alone. Thankfully, there is a systematic way of keeping you focused on precisely what you need to do to make it happen. In this article, we’re going to take you through a 6-step process going to help you define, refine, and reach your goals-whatever their size-much more effectively.
1. Define Your Objective: Make It Specific and Measurable
One needs to set a clear goal in order to achieve anything. Vague goals, like “I want to be fit” or “I want to be successful,” do not bring out focus and direction. You have to dig deeper, asking yourself what precisely it is that you want to achieve. The more specific a goal, the more measurable; hence, it’s easier to map out the steps toward achieving it.
Why it works: Specificity eliminates ambiguity. When you know precisely what you are trying to achieve, then it’s easier to monitor your progress, stay motivated, and know when you have reached your desired outcome.
How it works: Utilize the SMART method of setting a goal-a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound goal. In lieu of the belief, “I want to get in shape,” reword into, “I want to lose 15 pounds over a three-month period by working out five days a week and maintaining a healthy meal plan.”.
Example: Instead of saying, “I want to open up a business,” Tom reframed his goal into, “I want to open an online clothing store within six months, complete with a website and social media presence. Sell 50 products in the first three months.”
2. Break It Down into Smaller Milestones
Sometimes, big goals feel dauntingly huge; thus, much is expected, and sometimes it gets hard to stay motivated. You need to cut down the goal into smaller, more manageable milestones so you can clearly pave the way forward. With every milestone reached, you get a sense of accomplishment-which in turn boosts the momentum.
Why it works: Because taking one huge goal and chunking down into smaller tasks somehow make that huge goal not huge anymore; you can focus on one step at a time, and overwhelm does not stop you, instead, you keep churning out progress persistently.
Identify the big milestones between where you are currently and where you want to be. Then, break those milestones down into weekly or even daily tasks. If your goal, for example, is to write a book, then you might break it down into such tasks as: “Write 5,000 words per week” or “Complete the outline by the end of the month.”
Example: Tom, for his clothes store, set up smaller milestones-in month one, he researched his suppliers and built his website. On the second month, he worked on creating his product catalog and, by month three, launched his store to a small test audience.
3. Make an Actionable Plan
Next, you’ll want to take that broken-down goal and make an actionable plan that states precisely what is going to be done. Without a tangible plan, even the best of intentions can easily fall to pieces. The secret to a great action plan is being as detailed and specific as possible: include deadlines, resources needed, and possible challenges you may run into.
Why it works: A course of action provides a roadmap for what is to be followed. The guesswork is taken away from what has to happen after that so that you will be able to remain focused and organized. And finally, having clear, actionable steps reduces procrastination; it is easier to monitor development in the work.
How to do it: Write down all the milestones, specifying what needs to be done in order to achieve them. Set a deadline after that for each of the tasks and decide on the order of priority-that is, which ones are most important to be done first. Consider using tools: lists of things to do, calendars, apps for setting goals. Track progress regularly.
Example: For Tom, some of the milestones in his actionable plan included “Supplier contracts on April 15th” and “Product descriptions along with photos by May 1st.” He planned daily tasks of calling suppliers, writing product descriptions, and building his website.
4. Tracking of Progress on a Regular Basis
It’s something like the idea of monitoring your progress-so that by keeping on track, one can make any necessary adjustments. It’s not simply a matter of working towards a goal; one must check in with oneself regularly to ensure that movement is being made. On the way, small wins may also motivate and be engag-ing.
Why it works: Progress monitoring shows you how much you’ve achieved, no matter how far away the goal may be, and frequent check-ins enable you to make any adjustments in your plan and help hold you accountable for your overall intentions.
How it works: Mark your calendar one week and two weeks ahead, or at least set times to review the progress. Check at this time what works, what does not, what new course correction you may have to make. Use small wins in order to reinforce motivational and make changes in the action plan, if necessary.
Example: Every Friday, Tom sat down to reflect on how he was doing. He measured metrics such as how many products he had been uploading onto his website and the amount of suppliers he closed deals with. Every milestone he attained in celebration gave him the momentum to move forward.
5. Stay Consistent and Committed
After all, anything attained is always about consistency. Whereas it might always be very easy to get excited about anything at the beginning, the real challenge usually is when the excitement bubble bursts and all that is left is hard work. Undoubtedly, the routine engagement of a particular exercise and the implementation of a plan are some of the milestones toward making this a reality.
Why It Works: Consistency breeds progress. Small, steady steps forward-and upward-get you closer to your goal. Commitment to daily or weekly actions creates good habits that, in time, make the whole process seem easier.
How to Do It: Make the goal non-negotiable and a part of your daily or weekly schedule. Give specific times of the day or week when you are working on your goal, and treat those as valuable as any other commitment. Even if you can only devote small time each day to it, consistency is more important than sporadic jumps.
Example: Tom got into the routine of working on his online store every evening for two hours, no matter how busy his day was. Continuing that, even on days when he really didn’t want to work, allowed him to keep his progress stable.
6. Responsive to Challenges, Flexibility
No matter how well one plans, bumps always occur along the way. At times, one reaches those roadblocks or experiences a setback en route, but it’s flexibility that often sees one through to success. If one approach is not working, too often individuals give up at the first sign of difficulty; instead, try switching approaches and creatively surmount challenges.
Why it works: Setting any goals may involve working through hurdles along any journey. Flexibility allows one to make pivots when necessary, helping obstacles not to completely derail any progress. That helps one keep moving in the right direction on occasion when things do not work out as planned.
How to Do It: Anticipate setbacks, but think of them as an opportunity to learn a lesson from the experience. If you come to a roadblock, reassess your action plan and look for detours. If a supplier doesn’t come through, someone misses a deadline, or some other bump in the road occurs, readjust your timeline and move forward.
Example: Tom was taking some delays in the delivery of his product by a supplier, which was pushing back his launch date. Rather than allow frustrations to mount, he utilized the extra time to refine his website and social media marketing so that when his store launched, it was even better positioned for success.
Conclusion
Success doesn’t have to be such a painful or frustrating experience. From this, it simply means that through this 6-step process, big and scary tasks are merely broken down into small achievable actions. That at every milestone achieved, it helps motivate one to keep pushing and fight the inevitable challenges. Success is not about perfection; it’s about persistence. Continue the consistency, adjust the plan when needed most, and above all-believe in yourself to achieve what is aimed for. Your plan comes out clear as to how to proceed and therefore unfolds with a mission to achieve target goals step by step.