Smart Simple Marketing

Gain clarity. Take action. Get Results.

  • Home
  • About
  • Results
  • Solutions
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Tools
  • Contact

Goal Setting That Actually Works: How To Achieve More In 2015 (Part 1)

By Sydni Craig-Hart

To be acheivable, your goals must be S.M.A.R.T.Be honest – have you ever set New Year’s resolutions and actually stuck to them? If the answer is yes, have you ever stuck to them all year?

If you’re like most Americans, your New Year’s resolutions are long forgotten by the end of January.

Why?

Because setting goals for an entire year is ineffective and unrealistic. Life moves quickly and things change all the time. What matters to you most in December can be long forgotten by February.

The best way to achieve more in 2015 is by breaking your goals down into manageable 90-day achievement cycles.

By declaring your goal or goals for the next 90 days only, you’ll create a manageable, achievable system that sets you up for success throughout the year.

Each 90-day cycle will move you forward toward a larger, overarching goal, and will inform the goals you set for every subsequent 90-day cycle to follow.  

In this 3-part series on goal setting, we’ll explore exactly how to:

  • Identify achievable goals that are exciting and realistic
  • Break larger goals down into smaller action steps
  • Monitor your results and make adjustments accordingly.

Let’s get started!

Identifying Achievable Goals

In thinking of your goals for 2015, it may be tempting to dream big: increasing your business revenue from $100,000 to $1 million, converting your book from a first draft to a best-seller, or expanding your staff from one assistant to 25 full-time employees.

While it’s great to dream, it’s also crucial to set goals that are achievable in the near future.

When you set an unattainable goal and then fail, it’s hurtful to your pride, your motivation, and your desire to try again.

When you set achievable goals and succeed, you’re far more likely to keep that momentum going and continue making consistent progress toward the BIG goal.

An achievable goal contains the following characteristics:

  • It can be achieved in 90 days or less
  • It moves you to the BIG goal you’re striving for
  • It can be broken down into even smaller action steps
  • It doesn’t overwhelm you just by thinking about it, however…
  • It stimulates and challenges you just the same

Let’s say your goal for 2015 is to publish a book.

Some achievable 90-day goals could include….

  • Finishing a first draft
  • Reaching out to 10 people and asking for feedback/reviews
  • Creating a marketing plan
  • Hiring a book cover designer and choosing a final design

Big goals are made up of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of microscopic mini-goals.

By setting your sights on the next 90 days only, and focusing on micro-goals that move you toward the BIG goal, you’ll be making consistent progress toward achieving more in 2015.

In Part 2 of our series on goal setting for 2015, we’ll show you how to break 90-day goals down into prioritized action steps.

In the meantime, get help with your personal 90-day action plan for 2015 by scheduling your Profit Breakthrough Strategy Session. Contact us at Info@SmartSimpleMarketing.com or call 510.601.0470 to to get started.

Filed Under: Business Management Tagged With: 2015 Goals, Achievable Goals, Business Goals, New Year's resolutions, Smart Simple Marketing, Sydni Craig-Hart



Share the loveShare on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on google
Google
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin


Sydni Craig-Hart
Sydni Craig-Hart

Is your organization looking to gain market share and deepen loyalty with small businesses, women or minorities? Sydni Craig-Hart is CEO of Smart Simple Marketing and a 4th generation entrepreneur. Since 2006, her team, having worked with over 8,000 small business in 79 different industries, has been helping companies to drive engagement with sought-after, growing market segments. If you want to increase the value of existing-customer spend, recapture marketing investments, grow customer lifetime value or decrease attrition, contact Sydni to discover how her team is doing this for companies like Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and more.

Subscribe to our blog!

Sign up to get new our latest posts and announcements
delivered straight to your inbox.




Comments

  1. Faye Pietrokowsky says

    December 16, 2014 at 8:32 PM

    Great idea! It seems to obvious. A year is a long time to set goals without doing an evaluation of them. Ninety days is a perfect amount of time!

    • Sydni Craig-Hart says

      April 16, 2015 at 7:51 AM

      I completely agree Faye! 90 days is much more manageable. What are you looking to accomplish within the next 90 days?

  2. Dan Fontaine says

    December 18, 2014 at 1:15 PM

    Right on Sydni! I totally agree with what you have written in the first two blogs on Setting and Achieving goals.

    I would say that my experience is that understanding one’s WHY and their VISION is an integral part of the process as well.

    Thanks for your information and template to a more successful endeavor.

    Dan

Trackbacks

  1. Goal Setting That Actually Works: How To Achieve More In 2015 (Part 2) - Smart Simple Marketing says:
    September 4, 2015 at 5:50 PM

    […] In Part 1 of our 3-part series on goal setting in 2015, we covered the importance of creating 90-day cycles in order to achieve your goals throughout the year. […]

Contact us

2340 Powell Street
Suite 223
Emeryville, CA 94608
T: 510.216.1660
F: 708.405.0668
E: Info@SmartSimpleMarketing.com

Navigation

  • About
  • Results
  • Solutions
  • Events
  • Contact

Categories

  • Marketing Strategy
  • Business Management
  • Attract Perfect Clients
  • Marketing Advice
  • Networking
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Earnings Disclaimer

© Craig Hart Consulting, LLC (DBA Smart Simple Marketing) . All Rights Reserved.



Enter your information below to get instant access now!