Now Is the Time to Set Your 2022 Goals
“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do. ” — Norman Vincent Peale
Goal setting means different things to different people, but nearly everyone agrees about the importance of developing and documenting your goals to achieve success in work and life.
There are many effective frameworks that will simplify and manage the process of setting goals, including:
- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results orientated, Time-framed (S.M.A.R.T) goals
- The three horizons model
- OKRs
- One-word goal setting
- Pyramid goal setting
It’s not a question of one framework being better than the others; you want to find the best fit for your business. Whichever system you choose, in one shape or form nearly all goal-setting systems consist of three fundamental activities.
1) Envision your desired outcome
Think about where you want to be in the future. Focus on specific goals, not general outcomes like, I want to be a millionaire. Consider ways of stating your goal that lend themselves to measuring progress.
2) Create your roadmap
Now that you know what success looks like, think about how you are going to get there from where you are now. One technique to planning your action steps is to work backwards from your intended goal, but there are other ways to build your roadmap. You can start with the biggest steps and narrow down to specific details. Explore your action steps through different lens. Put them in chronological order. Look at them from a roles and responsibilities perspective. Estimate time involved to complete steps. Think about dependencies – what steps do you need complete to move forward. The key point is to document your plan – it’s too easy to ignore if you haven’t written it down.
3) Check in with yourself daily, weekly and monthly
Check-ins serve a variety of purposes. They hold you accountable and they inspire you. Use your check-in to measure your progress, congratulate yourself on your successes, and remind yourself of the steps you need to take to achieve your goal.
Don’t wait until January 1 to start thinking about goals for 2022. By planning ahead, you’ll start the new year strong and begin achieving success more quickly.
If you would like to learn more about how this might apply to your business, let’s talk: