If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you will know that we recently wrote a piece on goal setting. We specifically looked at the importance of not having too many, and how to make them SMART. This week we’re going to be looking at other important things you can do to help you achieve whatever goals you’ve set.
Write them down
We did mention briefly last time the value of writing your goals down, rather than simply thinking about them and then promptly forgetting them. When you write something down you are automatically stating an intention to make something happen, and that psychologically sets the wheels in motion.
Where you write them down is up to you – you might write them on a white board that sits above your desk at work. You could even create a vision board that helps you to stay focussed (Heather Gordon, from The Buddy Bag Foundation swears by this approach), or you might have mind-maps you regularly add to in order to help you stay focussed and problem solve.
Whatever you do is up to you, and has to work for you and your business. However, getting it down somewhere will ensure that it remains in the forefront of your thinking, rather than languishing in the recesses of your busy mind.
Review them
We all know that things change, and sometimes things come up. With that in mind it’s important that you regularly review your goals and ask yourself what the next step is. When you first wrote your goals down it might have seemed that your path was obvious, but since then something might have happened that you need to adapt to. This means adjusting your thinking, and perhaps taking an alternative route.
If you don’t review your plans and goals then you won’t be able to make these necessary changes. In turn, that could mean that your plans become derailed without you even noticing.
How often you review your goals will depend on you, and to a certain extent, what your goals are and when you want to achieve them by. Some people do it daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Work out what works for you, and stick to it.
Stay silent
There is a school of thought that suggests you should share your goals with others , as this instils a sense of accountability which will encourage you to move forward and achieve it. However, Derek Sivers suggests that announcing your goals will make them less likely to come to fruition.
According to him this is because you get the psychological satisfaction of accomplishing the goal without having to actually do the work. In other words, talking about it becomes a substitute for doing it.
Of course, whether you tell the world or tell no one, the choice is yours. However, it does seem more logical to only tell those who need to know, who will be supportive of you in your quest to achieve them.
What are your top tips when it comes to setting or achieving goals? We’d love to hear your thoughts.