Welcome to 2016 and a new year. Turn the page on the calendar. Start fresh.
Even if you don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, it’s hard to ignore the pull of a new year to think of what you want to accomplish. It doesn’t have to be life changing, but I do believe in writing down some goals. According to studies, people who write their goals down accomplish significantly more than those who do not. Seems like a no-brainer.
If you’ve never developed personal goals for yourself, here are a few steps to help guide you:
- Look back at last year. I think it’s important to look at what you had planned and what you did last year. If you made a list of goals, how did you do? Which ones were accomplished (and give yourself a pat on the back), but more importantly, which ones were not? Why not? Are they going back on the list this year?
- Start with making a list of your values/priorities. Values and priorities are the foundation of your life, and any goals that you have should be able to align back with this list.
- Make the goal specific. “Get more organized” is too general. “Clean and organize every closet in the house” is more specific. If you are having trouble with coming up with something specific, ask yourself “how will I know that I’ve accomplished this goal?” The answer to that question should give you the specifics you need.
- Which leads into making your goals measurable. “Exercise 5x a week” is measurable – did you average 4x or 1x? Some goals are measured just on the fact they are done, “Take a trip to Paris” – you either did it or not. Avoid the trap of generic goals you cannot measure, “get fit” or “watch less TV” – at the end of the year, you’ll feel better about saying, “I decreased my fat by 5%” vs. “I got fit (I think).”
- Since we are talking about 2016 goals, we’ll assume that you have the whole year to accomplish them, but general goal setting requires a time frame. “Lose 5% body fat by June 30, 2016” If your goals have a different time frame, include it. If your goals are all year long, then set up milestones – “I want to lose 30 pounds by the end of the year; 10 by March, 20 by July, and 30 by December.”
- Make it meaningful. This tip covers a lot of ground as far as goal setting – “Join a gym” is an easy, checkbox goal, but “Go to the gym 3x a week” is going to result in real benefits – be wary of setting your goals too low. It also means that your goals should be realistic – if you haven’t worked out in a year, then having a goal to workout every day is probably going to set you up for failure. Choose a middle ground of getting to workouts 6x a week by July.
- Revisit – I think this step as important as step 1 and forgotten as often. Check your goals at least once a quarter. You may want to tweak, add, or delete a goal. Certainly, if you’ve completed a goal, you want to celebrate your success.
That’s it – it probably sounds more daunting that it really is. If you’ve written goals before, you most likely are familiar with the SMART acronym:
It’s an easy way to remember what makes a good goal.
If you don’t have any ideas for 2016, here are a couple:
So, what are some of your 2016 goals? Will you make a list? What are some of your strategies for writing and accomplishing your goals?
