After returning from the NatEx conference last month I’ve been reflecting on the theme of Love your work, love your life, love your self and the many reminders I’ve had about setting goals and following your dreams! I admit in years gone past I’ve tended to think about what I’d love to achieve but writing it down just seemed like too much effort and a waste of time. This year, things are going to be different, it’s all written down, I’ve got a yearly planner, and I’ve got some people helping me get there. Interested in achieving your goals this year? Here’s some tips to help you.

Write it down

Did you know that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down! Want to go on an overseas holiday – get out that pen and paper and start writing – where, when and with whom. Writing down your goals helps you to get clarity about what you want to achieve, when you want to achieve it and work out how you are going to get there.

Create a plan

Break it down, work out what you need to do each month to achieve your goal. Want to lose 15kg over the next year? Plan to lose 2 kg for the fist 3 months then 1 kg per month for the remaining 9 months – total 15kg, goal reached! Don’t leave it at that, at the beginning of each week determine what you are going to do that week to work to your goal. At the end of the week review how you have gone against your plan.

Don’t keep it a secret

The next step is to tell everyone. Research suggests that you are best telling people your plan and what you are doing rather than your actual goal. If you goal is to run a marathon at the end of the year, tell people how many times you are going running this month or how many kilometres you are going to run this week. This helps to keep you accountable, you don’t want to fail! It will motivate you to drag yourself out of bed on Sunday morning because you said you would run 4 times this week and you’ve only been 3 so far! Use peer pressure to keep you to your plan, not your goal.

Track and Celebrate

As with all plans, you need to track how you are going. I like to sit down at the end of the week and see how it’s panned out. Yes, things do crop up that you’re not expecting and plans change, but that’s ok. If you are checking it regularly you can make adjustments and work out how to get back on track quickly. Look at how you have gone this week and plan out next week in detail – what do you need to do next week to help achieve your monthly goal? Remember to not only focus on what you didn’t get done – take time to celebrate your achievements (big or small) on the way. Too often we get caught up in the day to day – take time out and celebrate your progress, it’ll give you renewed energy and inspire you to keep progressing towards the big goal. It is achievable!

Happy goal setting! I’d love to hear how you plan to achieve your goals this year.