Setting and Achieving Your Goals- Time Management 3

You must first have your core values identified.  All goals must be set to help you live consistent with your values.  Otherwise, when you achieve your goals, you will not find the fulfillment that you are looking for

In order to set goals that will be both fulfilling and achievable, use the following guidelines:

• Start by reviewing your core values and ensure that the goals you choose are in alignment with them.
• “Begin with the End in Mind”- Develop your vision of what wild success looks like for you.
• Break your vision down to clearly stated goals in writing.
• They should be consistent with the SMART construct:
  • Specific- A concrete description of wild success
  • Measurable- Could any reasonable person look at your results and know whether you hit or missed your goal?
  • Achievable- Do you believe that you can achieve the goal?  You must believe in your goals…  think of all the barriers that you may have to overcome… Do you believe you can overcome them?
  • Relevant- Are they relevant to you? Are they consistent with your values?
  • Time Bound- They must have a clear due date.
• State them in the present tense as if you have already achieved them.
• State them in terms of what you want; as opposed to what you want to avoid.

Once you have set your goals, you can go about achieving them.  Here are steps that will help you achieve your goals:

• Revisit your goals, at minimum, weekly during your weekly planning.  You do weekly planning right?  If not, watch for my article on that topic.
• Have your goals handy for review anywhere at any time.
• Make reading your goals a task on your prioritized daily task list.  You do have a prioritized daily task list right?  If not, watch for my article on that topic.
• Break your goals down into small tasks achievable in a reasonable amount of time.
• It is not necessary to anticipate every task necessary to hit your goal, every journey begins with a single step.  So, figure out what is first.  As Stephen Covey said, “first things first.”
• Put the tasks to achieve your goals on a “master task list” or on your “prioritized daily task list”
• There should be at least one task for each goal on your task list at all times.
• If the project of achieving your goal is off your mind, your planning is sufficient. If it’s still on your mind, keep applying the model in the five bullets above until it’s off your mind.
• Take the first step, mark it complete on your task list and then, repeat, repeat, repeat…  until you have hit your goal.

By following this process, you will more consistently hit the goals that you set for yourself, and…  when you hit your goals they will be fulfilling, since they are aligned with your deepest values.

Just my opinion.  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments.

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