Proper goal setting is an essential skill that can lead to improved performance and satisfaction in all areas of life. Setting realistic goals and working toward them can help bring an acute sense of focus to life and build self-confidence. But in order to experience these benefits, you must have an effective and flexible system for setting goals and assessing progress.
Step 1
List your goals. Sit down with a notebook and write down the goals you would like to meet, starting with the near future and working your way up to more long-term goals. As you write out these initial goals, divide them into groups based on the amount of time needed in order to meet them--for example, goals that can be completed in the next day, the next week, the next month and the next year.
Step 2
Review your goals to make sure they are specific and focused. If you have expressed a goal in ambiguous language, think about what you are really trying to achieve with that goal and rewrite it in more specific terms. Defining your goals this way will help you avoid distraction and maintain focus on what is most important to you. An example of an ambiguous goal would be "Go out more." You may have selected this goal because your current circle of friends is not meeting your social needs. A more focused and clear goal in this instance would be "Go to a new social function each weekend and talk to at least two people I don't know."
Step 3
Prioritize your list of goals in terms of how important each is to achieve and how soon it must be completed. It may be useful to divide your goals into those you absolutely must achieve and those that are less necessary. Rewrite your list of goals to reflect your prioritization.
Step 4
Revise your list. Reflect on whether the goals you have chosen are realistic and truly important. If you decide a particular goal is too ambitious or not as important as it first seemed, either modify it or discard it completely. For example, if you wrote "Lose 20 pounds in two months," you might realize you've set this goal too high and decide to give yourself three or four months instead. Unrealistic goals can detract from self-confidence and motivation and set you up for failure.
Step 5
Journal to keep track of your goals and how you are faring in achieving them. Pay special attention to whether you allotted enough time to complete all your goals, whether you discovered some goals were not as important to you as they first seemed and any other observations. Use the journal to help you further refine your procedure for goal setting.
Tips and Warnings
- Word your goals in positive, specific language. For example, if you have a goal like "Don't procrastinate on final paper," you could rephrase it to something like "Work on final paper three hours every day until it is finished." Set goals that focus more on effort and performance than on any specific outcome. This way, factors outside of your control will be less likely to cause failure. Divide a goal that's too large or too general into several related goals. This will help improve focus and keep you from feeling overwhelmed.
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