Have you considered your goals for 2022 yet? Goals provide an objective standard to which you can evaluate your success. They also help you stay motivated and provide focus to increase the likelihood of you reaching those goals. Some people think the planning stage is boring and unnecessary but even successful people who prefer the “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to their life and career have specific goals in mind. Not having goals is equivalent to boarding a train and never getting off! That would be mad to do, wouldn’t it?
Take a few minutes and think about what you want to accomplish in your personal life and professional life and make sure you’re not making any of these mistakes in your goal-setting process.
5 goal setting mistakes smart people make
1. Procrastinating
You don’t need to wait until you get back to work to set your goals or wait for a sign before you finalise them. Instead, set quarterly goals which provide flexibility and inevitably will feel more achievable. If the idea seems overwhelming, set a timer for 30 minutes and start mapping your goals out on paper. Stop after 30 minutes, then return later for a further 30 minutes and keep doing this until you feel your goals are clear.
2. Not prioritizing
You can probably brainstorm dozens of goals that you want to achieve but having too many will distract you from the most important ones. Any goal is meant to help you focus, not get distracted; so keep your goals to 3 or 5 maximum and place the most important ones at the top of the list and spend your efforts accordingly.
3. Being too vague
Saying you want to “earn more money” is too vague and you don’t have any way to measure if you’re reaching that goal. “More money” could mean a bigger income or it could mean more disposable income through savings elsewhere. Which would you rather see? Be as specific as possible with your goals so you can track your progress.
4. Setting goals that are too lofty or ambitious
Sure, you should dream big when envisioning the lifestyle and career you want but if you set a goal of leading a national team this year when you have no management experience or if such a team doesn’t exist where you currently are, then it most likely won’t happen – at least not this year. Be realistic about your goals and break down those lofty goals into smaller, more achievable goals. It might take you two or more years to lead a national team because there are some steps that need to be achieved beforehand – so manage your own expectations by stepping out the steps. No goal is impossible, it just may need more time to be achieved.
5. Not working on your goals daily
Every task you undertake should lead you toward your goals. If you’re kept busy doing low value tasks, or behind-the-scenes admin work instead of contributing to your goals, consider how you can systematize or outsource those tasks to somewhere else. Outsourcing the low value, repetitive tasks will free up your time to get creative and focus on high value tasks that contribute to your goals.
One more piece of advice: You only have one life, make it count. So, start thinking like someone who has limited time and imagine where you want to see your life and career in a year and how do you want to feel about yourself once you’ve achieved them? What goals do you need for that to happen? What action steps do you need to take every day to make those goals a reality?
If setting goals sounds boring, I’ve got a webinar coming up called 5 creative ways to set goals, (the fun goal setting alternatives to SMART goals).
In my webinar on Tuesday, 18th January 2022 at 1pm (AEST), I’m sharing 5 Creative ways to set goals, (the fun goal setting alternatives to SMART goals). Because afterall, you should be excited to wake up every day and work toward your goals; if you’re not, then maybe you need to mix things up a bit and change how you’re setting your goals.
Attendees receive a free gift and a goal setting template/worksheet!
