Setting Your Goals: 4 Helpful Tips
Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 4:36PM ‘Tis the time for goal setting, and I myself am a bit of a year-round goal fanatic. Here are 4 steps that I try to follow when planning out goals:
Write Them Down
It’s been said that a goal written down is more likely to be achieved. Post the goals somewhere you’ll see them daily.
Plan How and When
Rather than only stating what your goal is, make a plan for how and when you’ll do it.
Break It Down
To help with the How and When stage, take each goal and break it down to small, manageable steps. Try to be realistic about how much time you need for each step, get a calendar and work backwards from your deadline (whether it’s a self-applied or forced deadline). Break your goals down from yearly, monthly, weekly, to daily. This will help in preventing procrastination on a big project.
Review Daily
This might seem like an obvious statement about achieving your goals – don’t forget about them! It’s easier said than done. Pick a time when you get up every day or before you go to bed to review your goals. Recommit to the goal, adjust your plan as needed, and make your list for the day. It may be a big help to talk through your goals with a friend or significant other, and check in with each other regularly to share in the process.
I would love to hear about your goals! In the comment section, feel free to share one of yours – and don’t forget to write how and when you’ll achieve them.
Cheers to a creative 2011!
~Eliza
Reader Comments (3)
Great post, Eliza! Very inspirational.
One of my goals: to do a doodle/sketch every day this year. To keep me accountable, I'm posting my sketches on my website (DebbieOhi.com).
My #1 goal: find a publisher for my robot books. And secondary goals: continue the work ethic, learn every day, draw every day, don't overthink, have fun every day. OK - go go go!
Great goals! For my #1 goal: refine my current picture-book manuscript and get a dummy finished by February. I'll be able to devote 8 hours of every day to illustration this month, so here's hoping I can make it happen.