Written By: Bibiana Owusu Prempeh Gyasi
People say goals are clichés but what I have realized is, one way to keep yourself, time and energy in check is by setting goals. Actionable goals are a great way to measure if you are putting yourself up for productivity or you are just wasting your energy.
In this article, you will learn about goals, why they are important and how to write and follow through with them. It is very essential to break them down into smaller chunks in order not to be overwhelmed or lose focus.
What are goals?
It has been observed that high achievers set goals. They include top business people, smart men and women in business and corporations, successful entrepreneurs and billionaires. Just name them. They do so to have a guide for their life and businesses. This gives them long term visions and short-term motivation to keep them going even during crisis. Goals are long term achievements. How one envisions things in the years to come. It is however important to note that without actionable objectives and timelines, goals are just pieces of information written on paper or stored in a notepad.
The only way goals work is if you DO:
As stated earlier, it’s very easy to just scribble down some plans and leave it at that. But remember your goals will only work if you do. If you are ready to set yourself up for high achieving, then goals are a great thing for you. This is where setting timelines and objectives come in. It is easy to say “I want to start my business this year “. Which is a beautiful goal but without proper planning, the year will end without you even noticing.
Set Actionable objectives and Timelines
It is important to make your goals as workable as possible. If your goal for the month or year is “to become a good public speaker”, it leaves room for so much. It is too broad, and you will probably get overwhelmed at some point.
So how do we set actionable objectives. Let’s look at this sample for a monthly goal of a business owner.
Goal for the month (sample)
Increase my customer relation
Objectives
1. Call my customers every two weeks to ask about their wellbeing
2. Spend time with my customers to get to know their needs and how I can help solve their problems through my business
3. Gift them occasional products from my business
4. Give loyal customers discounts
5. Give discounts and gifts to first time customers as well.
We see here that this entrepreneur has broken down her goal to improving customer relations with her clients. By the end of the month, she would have realized a lot of improvement in her business.
Smart Goals
This is what smart goal setting is about.
Specific: your goals should be well defined and clear and geared towards a purpose.
Measurable: you should be able to measure or know when the goal is achieved. If for instance your goal for the month is to raise money for your debt, you should be able to know when the goal is achieved.
Achievable: how likely is it that you can achieve that goal? Do you have the needed expertise, resources, skill and time to achieve that goal?
Relevant: how important is this goal to you and your overall success? Does it make any difference if you achieve it or not?
Time bound: put your goals into specific timeframes and specify when they will be completed.
I hope you learned something from this article? What are some of your goals for the month? Share with us in the comment section. Also, remember to share this post with your friends.
