Hi, my name is Marina and I have problems with goals! =)
I decided to figure out how to solve this problem, and maybe my notes will be useful to you as well.
How to set goals?
A goal is something new and not yet achieved by you! I would suggest dividing goals into 2 categories: personal and professional (of course, they are often interconnected, but let's try it this way). And, of course, this everything is about your family goals, recruitment, self-development, just try to focus on what you'd like to achieve then.
For example, I want to celebrate New Year brightly and awesomely! (sounds like a personal goal, huh?)
To do this, you need:
- to buy a dress!!! (I really hope to find IT [my perfect dress] before New Year, otherwise my plan will fail)
- to collect your bright and sincere people in one place at New Year! (invitation must be sent by 20.12)
- to book the place! (not later than 15.12)
I want to celebrate New Year brightly and awesomely! (it doesn’t look like a professional goal, does it?)
For this you need:
-
to close 2 current vacancies (it would be great to do it until 25.12, no one cancel bonuses for a dress, place and gifts)
-
to wish your beloved clients a Happy New Year! (who said that it’s impossible to start celebrating NY in December?! And networking in action is the best reason to establish/strengthen/maintain contacts)
-
to sum up this year and set some goals for the next one (and leave for New Year Holidays with a clear conscience)
Sure, I exaggerate a little, but I think you understand me.
Be SMART =)
The S.M.A.R.T. method helped me set goals.
Let's look at each of the “letters” using my New Year goal as an example.
Specific: make your goal a real reason that prompts you to take action.
- I am driven by the desire to get new emotions from the holiday. It is “bright, awesome and sincere” and I write it as a purpose.
Measurable: you must understand exactly what is Done or Not Done at the end.
- I have chosen a difficultly measurable quantity – emotions. But I will be able to determine for sure whether the goal has been achieved - after all, these are my emotions.
Agreed: usually the goal overlaps with other people – friends/colleagues/management/departments, so take into account possible interactions with them when setting goals.
- I took this into account not in the goal itself, because it would become unnecessarily cumbersome, but in the subtask: “collect the bright and sincere”. And I indicated the deadline – this is already about Timed.
Realistic: the goals should be a little weird. They should inspire! But only without breaking away from reality.
- I didn’t set the goal of “Celebrating New Year in New York” – I don’t even have an international passport, and it takes 20 days to get it ready (now it’s about Timed). But a visa to the United States…Not this time ;)
Timed: the presence of a clear time limit. This will keep you on your toes and give you a real understanding of how much you “fit” into the deadline.
- “I want to celebrate New Year brightly and sincerely”. Deadline – December 31st, I will definitely not miss it ;)
Time + skills, and you will succeed with S.M.A.R.T.
Day, Week, Month, Year
We talked about the types of the goals. Now let’s talk about terms: short-term and long-term. We often focus on short-term goals covering the next couple of months, maybe a year. And someone, on the contrary, sets large-scale, long-term plans, losing sight of the tasks and steps that should be taken now to achieve them later.
There are many variations on the timing of the goals. But I prefer to divide them into small parts. They are more “tangible”. It's pretty boring, but I'm pretty boring too =)
An ambitious goal for a year can look overwhelming and even scary. Break it down by tasks into quarters, quarters into months. And you will see that everything is not as scary as it seemed to be ;) You will be able to change and adjust something during the process of achieving your goal.
To learn English in 2018 – don't do it this way! Are you going to stop learning it in December 2018?
Cut the tasks into pieces (weekly, monthly, etc.) and feel free to move through them gradually.
I have a personalized lesson plan for my language learning goals with my English Teacher. We decided on the steps and follow them.
If the goal is long-term, think about what you need to do now to get closer to it.
Take action!
You have already decided on the goals – they are specific and extremely clear, you planned the actions which should be taken, and now you have an understanding of when to do it.
Failures are not scary, they only determine the necessary changes to be done.
Don't forget the most important thing – Write your goals down on paper! So simple but very powerful.
Take steps that bring you closer to your cherished goal. It doesn't matter whether they are big or small ... Take action!
