Setting and Achieving Your Goals for the New Year!

Setting and Achieving Your Goals for the New Year!

Each year, I take some time off to do two things. First, to reflect on the last twelve months and be grateful for what I (and our agency) have achieved. And secondly, to make a plan and set goals for the upcoming year.

December is the perfect time to start thinking about setting goals for the upcoming year. But all too often, our good intentions fall by the wayside and we find ourselves in the same place come the following December.

If you're determined to make this year different, read on for some tips on setting and achieving your goals.

One of the best ways to set goals is to use the SMART system. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based. Let's break down each of these elements so you can apply them to your own goals.

Specific
Your goal should be specific enough that you know exactly what you need to do to achieve it. For example, "I want to double my income" is a better goal than "I want to make more money." The more specific your goal is, the easier it will be to measure your progress and ultimately achieve success.

Measurable
Along the same lines, your goal should also be measurable. This means that you should be able to track your progress along the way so you know how close you are to achieving your goal. For example, "I want to increase my website's traffic by 50% within 6 months" is a measurable goal.

One of the best ways to set and achieve your goals is to reverse engineer them. This means breaking down your big-picture goal into smaller, more manageable pieces. For example, if your goal is to double your revenue next year, you can break that down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and even daily goals.

For example, let's say your goal is to bring in $100,000 in revenue next year. That comes out to roughly $8,333 per month. But that's still a pretty big number, so let's break it down even further. $8,333 per month comes out to $2,083 per week. And $2,083 per week comes out to $292 per day.

Now that's a much more manageable number! And it's a number you can actually take action on. Each day, you can ask yourself what you can do to bring in an extra $292 in revenue. Over the course of a month or a year, those daily actions will add up and help you achieve your big-picture goal.

So, if each new sale is $500 of income, and you know that you sell one out of every three people you pitch, no know that you need to pitch twelve sales prospects each week. Twelve pitches would equal four sales and four sales will get you the $2k you need each week.

Achievable
It's important to set goals that challenge you but are still achievable. If your goal is too easy, you're not likely to see much motivation in achieving it.

On the other hand, if your goal is impossible, you'll likely get discouraged and give up before you even get started. Striking the right balance between challenging and achievable is key.

Relevant
Make sure your goal is relevant to your overall mission and vision. There's no point in achieving a goal that doesn't align with what you're trying to accomplish in your business. For example, if your business' mission is to 'help people live healthier lives,' then a relevant goal might be 'increase sales of our healthy food products by 10%.'

Time-Based
Set a deadline for yourself so that you have a sense of urgency around achieving your goal.

Without a timeline, it's easy to procrastinate and push off achieving your goal until next month...or next year. Having a timeline will help keep you accountable and on track.

Set reminder or use Siri to remember to check and track your progress. Or, connect with a colleague or friend and ask they help to hold you accountable.

Final Thoughts
December is the perfect time of year to start setting goals for the upcoming 12 months. But all too often, our good intentions fall by the wayside and we find ourselves doing the same thing the following year, but with no actual results. If you're determined to make this year different and actually achieve your goals, follow the SMART system: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Based.

By taking the time now to reverse engineer your goals into actionable steps, you'll be well on your way to a successful 2023. Good luck