There is a lot of advice out there about goal setting, but if it doesn’t work for you, it’s useless. Having said that, you can set up a process of setting goals that work for you if you understand the process and yourself, then put it all into action.

1. Ensure Any Goal You Set Motivates You

If you can’t get the goal itself to motivate you, try focusing on the benefits of reaching the goal instead. The important thing is that you need to find a way to gather the incentive to keep on the path toward your goals. If you need to look at small steps, do that, and if you need to dream about the big-picture goal, do that. But always keep working toward the goal in small, daily steps.

2. Learn about SMART Goal Setting

Many people simply do not know how to set goals in a way that works well. Learning about SMART goals will help. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, (or Actionable), Realistic, and Timely. If you ensure your goals meet these criteria, it will help you meet them.

Download my FREE Goals Planner here which explains SMART Goal Setting in more detail for you.

3. Put All Goals in Writing

Don’t trust yourself to think about your goals. Instead, write everything down every single time. Put them on a calendar in chronological order so that you know what you’re going to do each day to work toward your goal.

4. Create a Plan (and Follow It)

If you don’t take action on the plans that you make, you won’t be successful. That’s the simple truth. If you want to set goals that work for you, you must develop a plan of action that gets you to that goal. Without the plan, it’s not going to happen because it’s only a dream until you follow the plan.

5. Focus on What You Can Control

There are so many things in life that just aren’t controllable. If you try to take charge of those things, you’ll end up frustrated. There is only one thing you can really control, and that is yourself.

6. Understand Your Personality

It can help if you know your own personality so that you can leverage your strengths and practice skills to improve upon your weaknesses. A great way to accomplish this is to take a free personality test. This is based on the Myers Briggs Type Personality Indicator which has a long history of effectiveness.

7. Think about Short, Mid, and Long-Term Goals

Understanding the difference between these types of goals will be very helpful in goal setting. A long-term goal is something like graduating with honors; a mid-term goal would be earning a 3.8 GPA this quarter, and a short-term goal would be to get a 90 or above on your next test.

8. Always Keep Evaluating

Just because you set a goal and create the steps to reach that goal, doesn’t mean it’s going to work perfectly. The best thing to do is to evaluate every day whether you’re really moving toward your goals or not, so that you can change direction if you need to. This doesn’t mean failure on your part; it just means that you need to adjust the steps.

Goal setting is a very effective way to make sure you experience the success that you want to. It works for any part of your life, whether business or personal. But first, you have to find a way to make the goals and follow your plan, in a way that works for you.

Don’t forget to kick start your business and sign up now to receive the Goals Planner that any service-based business owner can utilize right now. Get yourself ready for more successful days ahead. 😉

Here’s what you’ll get in the planner:

• An inspirational quote to get you motivated each and every month
• Space to document your monthly goals, tasks and obstacles to keep you on track
• A section for you to enter your daily progress and a review section for reflection

Grab it now because it is only FREE for a limited time. 😉

Wishing you a prosperous year in your VA business!