I’ll be honest, planning and setting goals was never on my “let’s have a fun day” list, but I also know when I don’t plan I feel completely out of control, and I like to be in control, which is a topic for another day!
Whether hoping to land a new job, take a cruise next year, or write a bestselling novel, having a plan is essential. While planning does take time, the benefits of planning allow us to set goals with actionable steps, measure whether or not they were successful, and what to do if changes are needed. Planning sets us up for success in every aspect of our lives. Yes, it would be great if we could rub a genie, make a wish, and voila, clients, customers, and money fell upon us.
Planning and implementing goals for success
During our planning sessions, Peter and I set SMART goals because they help us create a clear vision and focus in determining the reality of achieving them, if they are pertinent on where we want to go in our business (and life), if they serve us moving forward, and if they help us meet our end goal. If not, we rework them. When planning your goals determine if they are:
- Specific. When you describe your goals, the more specific you are the greater chance you’ll reach them. For instance, there is a difference between saying, “I want to make six figures in my business” and “I want to make $10,000 a month within six months by creating a group coaching MasterMind for women age 40+ who want to write a book and make money.”
- Measurable. After you specify your goal, determine how you’ll measure the success – revenue, performance, data. If you want to be on 100 podcasts how are you going to determine the success of making it happen? Will you work on connecting with hosts one hour a day? Will you continue working on it each day until you’ve reached out to ten hosts a day?
- Achievable. Why do you want to reach this goal? In reality, does it align with your long-term vision for your business and life?
- Relevant. Again, ask yourself why you want to reach the goal? Is it relevant to what you want to accomplish for your long-term business/life vision?
- Time sensitive? Goals without deadlines are known as dreams and are less likely to occur. Adding an end-date to your goal creates a healthy stress; it makes you take action to achieve you goal.
Moving forward with your goals
February starts at the end of this week. What is one SMART goal you are going to accomplish in February? Comment below and let us know.
If you have questions and wonder how you can make real money from your book, sign up for our newsletter and be the first to hear about our upcoming coaching program launching in March!
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