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WOW - What a year 2020 has been! We can probably speak on behalf of everyone and say good riddance 2020 and bring on 2021. We are ready to see what it has in store for us.
2020 has definitely been a learning curve, and we can take the lessons we have learnt to help plan out our 2021. However, it is important to remember that you need to leave wiggle room for change and be willing to adapt when setting your goals – 2020 has taught us this if nothing else.
Now is the perfect time to start thinking about what the next year might look for you and what your goals are.
Goals can generally be divided into short-term or long-term.
Short-term goals have a time frame of between six months and three years whereas long-term goals are between three to five years.
In order to achieve your long-term goals, you must set and accomplish a set of short-term goals.
Achieving a goal is often harder than setting the goal itself so the in between time allows you to establish measurable steps to get to your final objective.
If you don’t formulate your goals it will make it much harder in the long run to achieve them. The following suggestions help establish a clear goal.
So let’s start here. The following suggestions will help you to establish a clear goal.
Your goals must be Specific.
The words ‘I want to be successful’ are thrown around all too often and generally don’t carry anything specific at all. Everyone wants to be successful however to each individual this goal may be miles apart. Your goals must be specific to your industry and where you want to move forward in your career. You need to address who, what, why, where and when. “I want to increase sales next year” isn’t specific enough, really ask yourself who will make the majority of sales.
You must be able to Measure the outcome of your goals.
If you do not measure your goal you cannot manage it. When you set a goal, include a time frame for achieving it. Measuring your goals lets you assess your performance and discover if any areas need re tweaking or re-evaluating.
It is Achievable?
You need to do the maths on each goal and assess its achievability. They should be able to stretch you slightly whilst still feeling like you’re being challenged. When setting your goals you also must possess the appropriate skills and abilities in order to carry it out.
Be Realistic in your goal setting
After running the numbers and assessing your goals you need to evaluate whether it is realistic. Do you have the financial and human resources? Shape your goals in outcomes not in activities. Make sure your goal is something you want rather than something you want to avoid. Improving on your skills so you can qualify for a better job sounds better than I don’t want to be stuck in this job for another year
Does your goal have a Time frame within reach?
Breaking your bigger goals into smaller more time manageable goals will help you in the long run and means you won’t be setting yourself up to fail. Give yourself milestones to check your progress against, you can then reassess the goal and its original time frame set. You may encounter barriers that threaten your process, you will need to be flexible in your approach and modify your deadline so you can still achieve what you set out to.
