7 Steps To Effective Goal Setting
In order to set goals, you need to know how to set goals effectively. There is no one-size-fits all approach. Every individual is different in their thinking and needs a specific plan that matches their personal needs. This article's goal isn't just to tell you what kind of goals are effective, but instead teaches the reasoning behind the process and provides several examples on how they can be achieved quickly and easily so that you can create your own personalized step-by-step guide for each goal.
The first step to setting goals effectively is brainstorming a list of desired outcomes. In order to do this, you need to establish what you want to achieve and how you are going to measure yourself in the process and then, separate each goal into three categories:
Once you have your three groups, it's time to start creating a plan of action. Your first step should be creating an overall goal summary that includes all three goals and how they all interconnect. The overall goal summary will serve as your guide throughout the process; it is the first thing you will read when beginning each of the seven steps.
Once you have established your overall goal summary, it's time for the most important part of this article: the 7 steps . These seven steps cover the process of setting goals, how to stay on track, how to measure yourself and two bonus ideas that are just for fun!
The 7 Steps To Setting Goals
1. Set a goal summary .
The first step is creating your goal summary which includes all three goals of your plan and how they will all connect together. It's not unusual for some people to create a list that includes their desired outcomes, but never think about how to achieve them. It is important at this stage in the process to decide what you want out of each goal.
For example, if you are starting a new book blog, you might want to write 3 blog posts a week. You can measure how well you are accomplishing that goal by quantifying it in a number of words (to gauge popularity and traffic), or your number of subscribers. In the end, all that matters is that you have a quantifiable way of tracking your success (either by number or word count).
Your goal summary is where you create your first step in the process: setting goals. It's not uncommon for some people to create a list that includes their desired outcomes, but never think about how to achieve them. It is important at this stage in the process to decide what you want out of each goal.
2. Focus on one goal at a time .
For this section, review your goal summary and write down the goals that you have listed in the order of importance to you individually. Determine which of those three goals you want to achieve first, then write it down in black and white. Once you have your top goal, list all of the sub-steps that need to be completed in order to achieve it. If they're multiple small steps or one big step, just break it down into as many details as needed so that you can successfully accomplish your #1 goal within a reasonable time frame.
3. One small step at a time .
Now that you've created your goal summary and decided on your top goal, it's time to take the first step. The biggest mistake people make when setting goals is getting caught up in the timetable and trying to accomplish their goals too quickly. Instead, it is better to take one small step at a time.
For example, let's pretend you want to lose ten pounds in two months and all of your sub-goals are in place for how you will accomplish this goal (diet, exercise, etc.). After determining what you want to accomplish, you might decide to start with some weight loss exercise on the side. You can measure your success by watching the number on your scale go down every so often week after week. Eventually though, you're going to have to get into actual diet and exercise territory and that's okay.
4. Remove what doesn't work .
The next step is determining how you are going to know if it is working or not. For example, the most common method is to measure your weight loss after a set amount of time. If your weight goes down, then it has worked (and if it didn't work then follow the process again). You could also use this method to measure your exercise routines, or how many words you write in your blog posts.
5. Keep a log .
Here's where people get bogged down because the process starts to become mundane and cloudy. Some authors, for example, write goal logs for all of their books before they publish them (I know, crazy). Instead of that though, it's better to take a more conservative approach and use the log as an actual means of measuring success. For example:
If you write 500 words in one hour, that is 60 pages a week which would equate to three chapters (that's enough to get started).
6. Make it fun .
The process gets monotonous, and therefore you need to find an activity or a reward that will make you want to continue working towards your goal. For some it is collecting stamps for their passport or visiting the Empire State Building, for others it might be a new book after every 100 pages.
7. Celebrate!
Finally, once you've met your top goal and your rewards are coming in full swing, don't forget that you've accomplished something! Take a moment to reflect on what you did and then start working on your next big thing.
What do you do to keep yourself on track? Leave a comment below and tell us about your system!
The purpose of this article is to help you set your goals and reach the most important part of any success-oriented project, the end result. Many people are under the impression that setting goals is something that needs to be done at the beginning of a project, but it actually doesn't. The best way to start a new project is to do what most people don't do: you start by establishing short-term goals that can be achieved in 1–3 months. I'm going to list some of my favorite short-to-medium term goals because they are easy to plan but still require dedication and self-discipline.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article has gotten you started on setting your first step towards your goal. Now you know what it takes to create a quantifiable system (with a timeline) that will help you achieve any goal. Of course, there is more to success than just setting a goal and achieving it, but this is the essence of setting goals. Keep in mind that whenever you are working on finding your true path in life, the process of setting goals shouldn't be easy — it should be hard. It should be full of ups and downs because that's how we learn and grow.