Why is Setting Goals Important?

Setting goals keeps us moving forward in both our individual work and personal lives. The significance of goal setting and the knowledge around implementing manageable goals is imperative to achieving your desired lifestyle.

Any planning you do for the future can be considered a goal. It may be that you’re looking to get a promotion, land your first job, exercise or read more – no matter what it is, developing a course of action will be a deciding factor in your success or failure. With proper goal-setting, you will boost your chance of achieving your goals, big and small.

Let’s take a look at your personal life. In which ways do you want to improve?

When setting a goal, which area of your life is most important to you? Consider the following categories and brainstorm on some of these questions:

Key questions to ask while goal setting:

• Career: What do you want to achieve in your career? Are you looking for your first job or interview? Are you searching to move up the ladder at your current employer? Perhaps you value your freedom more than work and want to find a job that allows for better work-life balance. From 401k plans to health insurance benefits and more, there are plenty of goals to work towards in this category.
• Financial: What level salary or rate of financial growth do you want to earn and by when? Are you a saver or a spender? Do you support a family and is that something you’re working toward supporting? This category is heavily tied to your career goals, if money is important to you.
• Family: Are you a parent or single? Do you value long-term relationships and have the capacity for a significant other? Setting goals within this category will help with your overall esteem and happiness for you and those people that are important to you.
• Physical: Do you want to lose weight, or just get in better shape overall? Do you like sports and are you competitive?
• Educational: Are you searching for an ivy-league education, or are you more interested in an economically-efficient trade school? Are you searching to advance a career by going back to school for a second degree?
• Emotional: Is there any part of your mindset that’s holding you back from being your best self? How does that affect you and your ability to stick to a plan and solve problems? Reflecting on your personality and characteristics will let you identify potential pitfalls in your quest to improve your productivity.
• Pleasureable: How do you want to enjoy yourself? Will it require money, such as a vacation or an expensive hobby? Or, do you prefer a modest, quiet weekend lounging at home? You should never forget the value of proper relaxation to maintain your life’s balance.
• Public service: In which ways can you give back to the community? How can you inject your version of change into the world to improve your life and the lives of others? Many good things can come from this category such as improved self-esteem, work experience and a better sense of purpose.

What Is A Process For Goal Setting?

We’ve defined SMART and what it means to have effective, purposeful goals, now let’s discuss a process for actually implementing a process for goal setting. There are five steps involved in implementing a goal-setting process.

Step 1: Define what it is you want.

The first step in the process for goal setting, is to gain a clearer picture about what it is you’d like to achieve. Remember, that the goal you set is only limited by your imagination – so dream big! Whether it’s within your career, financial, family, emotional or any of the other categories listed above, dig deeper into what is you want. Ask yourself these questions:

• Specifically, what do I want?
• When do I want to do it?
• Why do I want it?
• How will I achieve it?
• Who (or which resources) do I need to help me achieve it?

These questions will help you hone in on what goal will fit into your lifestyle for the better. You’ve undoubtedly set goals for yourself before, but have you ever started working towards something only to abandon it shortly thereafter? We’ve all been there. Write down the core principals of what, when, why, how and who, to set expectations in obtaining a goal. Recording these answers gives you a timeline and a roadmap to the destination, while also giving you a document to reflect upon when you come upon hardships. Only when you’ve answered these questions will you be in the necessary frame-of-mind to move mountains and bring your goal to life.

Step 3: Understand Consequences

Every action causes a reaction. You need to understand the consequences of both achieving your goal and failing in trying to reach your goal. These consequences can be helpful sometimes, and unhelpful other times. It will affect your life, and also the lives around you. Think about how your goals will impact other people, such as your parents, children or significant other. Ask yourself these questions to sort out how your potential actions in working towards a goal might cause positive or negative consequences:

• Who will potentially be affected by this goal?
• How will your relationships be affected by this goal?
• What do I like about my present lifestyle and what do I want changed?
• Would achieving this goal allow me to continue or stop these things?
• What are the consequences of not achieving this goal?
• What’s clearly at stake here?
• What could I miss out on or lose altogether?
• What could I potentially gain by achieving this goal?
• What will achieving this goal allow me to do for myself and others?
• How will it change me as a person?

Let’s say, for example, that you value time with your kids throughout the week. It’s a positive aspect of your life. Now, consider if pursuing this goal will allow you to keep this aspect of your life. You may need to make short-term sacrifices for potential long-term gains – ask yourself how far you’re willing to push this risk.

Typically when people set goals they get very excited about achieving them. However, they don’t consider in advance the sacrifices they will need to make to bring that goal to fruition. Then, while in the pursuit of this goal they give up very quickly because the time, cost and effort involved is just more than they can handle. And when things don’t pan out, they revert back to their old ways.

Step 5: Make A Plan of Action

The last and final step in the goal setting process is developing an actionable plan for achieving your goal. Everything that you’ve learned in the previous four steps should be applied when you’re building your plan of action. In as much detail as possible, without getting bogged down, lay out the direction of your goal. The key takeaways should be milestones, the steps needed to get there and how you’re going to track progress and reward yourself to stay motivated.

Having all these elements in place is incredibly important for goal success. This brings up another question, however: What’s the best way to stay motivated once your goal’s action plan is, well, in action?

Sharing Your Goals On Social Media – The Do’s & Dont’s

A recent goal setting TED Talk presented the idea that people who talk about their goals and dreams to others are less likely to achieve them than those that don’t. This is because it gives the goal setter a sense of achieving the goal prematurely. When you tell someone that you’re working towards a milestone, their reaction will be to provide a compliment, which will provide you with a feeling of accomplishment before anythings actually been done. This applies to social media, as it provides a platform to impulsively announce to your LinkedIn or Facebook network that you’re announcing a grand scheme. These are some do’s and don’ts of sharing your goals on social media:

Don’t

DON’T boast about goals to your entire network.

Do

DO share your goals and dreams with people who will hold you accountable – a manager, associate or mentor.

Don’t

DON’T share when you’re seeking to boost your credibility if you haven’t achieved a goal.

DO

DO share factual milestones once they’re completed.

Don’t

DON’T share offensive or sensitive material if it could negatively affect your potential network.

DO

DO share updates and information that support the advancement of your goal.

Don’t

DON’T spend free time browsing social media sites.

Do

DO spend time working towards obtaining your goal.

Why & How To Get Accountability

Accountability is very effective in accelerating your performance. When you connect with a coach or mentor, you can iron out the kinks in your action plan, develop a sure-fire winning strategy and execute with confidence, knowing that you’re being guided by someone who is invested in your goals.

Here are a few more reasons why you need accountability to help you achieve your goal:

• Assists in measuring your success and progress.
• Keeps you more engaged in the plan.
• Keeps you more responsible in the execution of the plan.
• Validates your thoughts, ideas and actions.

So how do you get accountability? The ideal way would be to find an accountability buddy who can help each other stay on track with the progression of your goals. Either a friend, boss or other professionally-based connection that understands your plan, what you’re working towards and why. With an accountability buddy, mentor or coach, you will accelerate your success and break through limitations. Whether it’s today or in the future, at some point you should consider getting assistance to truly reach a high-level of achievement with your goals.

Of course, if you don’t have a trustworthy accountability buddy, you can always try a mobile app to help you with goal setting.

The Best Of Goal Setting Software

In the same vein as goal setting apps, goal setting software assists individuals and organizations in managing their progress. Here is some top-notch software that will assist you in your success:

Workboard

Workboard is a solutions-based goal management software that provides clarity, alignment and engagement in goal-oriented efforts. In a centralized program, organizations can track all of their progress for seamless integration for any team. Find out more about Workboard here.

TINYpulse

TINYpulse Perform™ helps you track employee performance in real-time with a research-backed approach. With a nice interface and integrated work station, TINYpulse keeps all your tasks in one location for easy access. Find out more about TINYpulse here.

Perdoo

Perdoo enables organizations to collaborate on their goals. Transparency on goals and their alignment helps to crowdsource knowledge, communicate the bigger picture and reach new levels of engagement. Find out more about Perdoo here.

BetterWorks

BetterWorks promotes higher performance engagement that drive results. The company boasts that 95 percent of customers improve transparency, 92 percent increase alignment and 72 percent see higher employee engagement. Find out more about BetterWorks here.

Best Books On Goal Setting & Productivity

There’s a ton of books out there to help you out, as well. Here are the best books on goal setting and productivity:

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey

A classic in productivity if ever there was one. Everybody from Presidents to CEOs to college students use this book to organize themselves and stay on track doing what’s most important. This book provides a methodology for both life and work goals.

Kindle  | Android | iTunes

The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, by Gary Keller

Keller’s premise is that we work on too many things at once. We would get significantly more done, with less effort, if we reduce the number of things we focus on – preferably down to just one thing. So, instead of measuring our productivity by the number of things accomplished, Keller prompts us to focus on the one thing that will most greatly impact our day, week, month or life.

Kindle | iTunes

Good To Great, by Jim Collins

Not every business is inherently destined for greatness. For those who aren’t, Collins shares how you can take your business from good to great. By taking the combined successful strategies of 28 great companies, Collins gives you what you need to reach your goals and take your business to the next level.

Kindle

Awaken The Giant Within, by Anthony Robbins

Awaken the Giant Within is all about taking control of your life, of your abilities, and of your destiny. Robbins is renowned for his motivational and uplifting messages, and has been a life coach to some of the world’s foremost success stories, including Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey.

Kindle

The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do To Get It, by Kelly McGonigal

This book puts a different spin on productivity and explains the new science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve health, happiness and – of course – productivity. McGonigal explains exactly what willpower is, how it works and why it matters. She also gives you tips and exercises on improving your self-discipline and willpower. There’s also a related 10-week course if you want to extend what you’ve learned in the book.

Kindle | Android | iTunes

How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

Highly anecdotal with a litany of true tales, Carnegie gives us timeless advice that serves as the framework for all successes. If you’re going to be successful, you have to learn how to communicate effectively and how to lead respectably. Through this quick read you’ll learn how to win friends and influence people, helping you reach your goals and achieve success along the way.

Kindle