How to achieve your goals in six easy steps

The start of any new year is a great time to think about goals, and deciding upon a plan of action. What do you want to achieve this year, and how are you going to set about making those dreams a reality? Follow these six easy steps and turn your business world upside down for the better.

How to achieve your goals in six easy steps

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Decide what you want to achieve and make a list

This may sound like a rather obvious step, but being able to visualise your goals is one of the very best ways to get started. After all, until you’ve created a list of your goals they’re merely dreams that could change at any time. Set aside a moment, any moment of your choosing, take a blank sheet of paper, and start writing. You may surprise yourself.

Ensure your goals are realistic

Reaching for the stars and setting yourself huge goals is all very well, but making them too unattainable is likely to dishearten you completely. Think about the sorts of things you’d really like to achieve, such as procrastinating less, gaining five new clients a month, or spending more time on yourself, and forget about earning your first million – for now, at least. It’s also a really good idea to make your goals time bound; think about realistic time frames for each of your goals and stick to them, as expecting too much of yourself is another surefire way to disappoint yourself.

Focus on the process of achieving your aims, rather than your goals themselves

Once you’ve decided upon your goals, set yourself a time frame in which to complete these tasks, and made an effort to really visualise what you want, make sure you’re focusing on living in the moment, rather than the end result. You see, spending too long thinking about the next goal, and the next, will mean that you soon lose pace and focus. Break each of your goals down into bitesize, manageable tasks, and try to think about the process of achieving your dreams.

Don’t be so hard on yourself

It’s always a fantastic idea to be positive as you set about achieving your goals, but try not to be too optimistic; expecting too much from yourself, particularly if your goals are rather ambitious, is a slippery slope to misery. Offer yourself a word of support every now and again, try not to take failure personally, and always remember that you’re doing your best.

Make your goals a talking point

We’ve all been there; it’s New Year’s Eve and you’ve decided to cut down on a particularly bad habit, but you forget to tell anybody what your resolutions are. Two weeks later, because nobody is watching, you find yourself slipping back into that destructive routine. Make your goals a talking point – whether you pin them to the office noticeboard, send out a group email, or vocalise your goals to your team, make sure you’ve got the support of those around you.

Don’t procrastinate; get started today

The saying, “there’s no time like the present” has never been more apt than when it comes to achieving your goals. How are you going to fulfill any of your business ambitions if you keep putting off what you could do today? Just as procrastination can stand in the way of productivity and performance, so too can it hamper goals. It’s simple, really – don’t let it.

You have your list, you’ve asked your colleagues, friends, and family to gee you on, and you have a rough idea of what you’ve got to do. So, do it. Make those dreams a reality.

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