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