2018, not just about setting goals but taking action to reach them.

Here’s how I like to boost my goal setting and keep on track.

 

It’s that time of year where I sit down and map out what I want achieve in 2018 and look  at what I have achieved over the last year and what I did to achieve it.

By putting my goals down on paper they become more than just ideas but a focused part of my business and life.

 

2017 for me was all about growing a business that would mean I could become fully self employed and in August of this year I took leave of my part time work and began my fully self employed journey.

Now it hasn’t been all roses and there have been lots of times since that I have thought about going back to the safety of part time employment but I have stayed strong and focussed and I am setting new goals for 2018.

Personally it was about moving into our own home and creating the family environment that we have longed for since arriving in the UK in 2013.

 

How do I go about setting my goals?

Well firstly I think of the big picture and what I would like to achieve within the year, all my ideas and dreams and then I put it a into writing.

For me 2018 will be about glassblowing again and how I can move the business forward to allow me to do this, very exciting.

The next step is to break it down into quarters and then finally into weekly and daily tasks that I can do to move me in the right direction.

 

So why set goals anyway?

 

There are many reasons to set goals but one of them is seeing your ideas written down as a firm plan can focus you on the result you want.

One thing that I do each day to focus me is to write down at the start of each day what my goal is for that quarter.

If it’s a sales goal, I write the figure down, if it’s health related I write that down too, whatever the goal it gets written down at the start of the day.

At the end of the day I then assess what I did towards that goal.

Eg if it’s a health related goal, did I excersise,? did I eat well?  what small decisions did I make that will have a large impact on the goal out come.

 

Having things written down really does focus the mind on what you want to achieve and helps you to break it down into smaller areas.

Writing will give you

Focus

Clartiy

Peace of mind

Organisation

And a sense of achievement.

 

Without a goal and focus things can often become overwhelming and unfocussed with general day to day activity.

 

In today’s world we often need to refocus ourselves frequently with all of our access to social media and internet tools,  it’s easy to loose focus or have so ,many different ideas we don’t know where to start.

That’s why writing them down and having them where you can see them is so imptortant to refocus on what you want to achieve.

Then whatever I am doing during the day I ask myself  “is this moving me to where I want to be ?”

If the answer is yes, then I carry on, if not I know that I need to change my focus and bring it back to what I need to be working on.

 

What’s working?

Another reason for writing your goal down is to allow you to track the activities you are doing that are helping you to reach the goal. And if the activities aren’t’ working you can take  a look at what needs to change, where to change and implement quickly.

For example if you have a sales goal as a target and you aren’t reaching any where near the sales goal then you can see what part of your marketing needs to change to allow the sales to change.

 

Tracking is a fantastic way of supporting your goal.

 

Finally I the goal is set you have made yourself accountable. The time in which it takes you to reach the goal may change, however the end result, the goal itself will not.

It’s all about taking daily action and keeping the momentum going. It is much easier to keep something moving once it is in motion than to stop and start again.

By putting your ideas onto paper and creating and defining your goal, doing the daily taks each day to get you towards this goal, you are more likely to achieve what you really want from your business and personal life.

 

Here’s to an awesome goal smashing 2018!

 

what your goals are for 2018?

What have you planned for the first part of 2018?

Would you like help with your goals?

Let me know in the comments below and have some fun sharing big goals!