Goals are Dreams Waiting to be Born!

Goal setting is extremely important, it gives us a path to follow for things/tasks to be achieved, whilst holding ourselves accountable. Every Sunday evening I set my intentions for the week; I put pen to paper (yes, because I’m old school and it’s quite effective) and transcribe all I need to accomplish for said week. Before climbing out of bed each morning I write my daily tasks, the realization of which will lead to my end goals for the week. I not only write these goals and tasks in my journal, but also in my phone, on “post it” notes etc., so I’m constantly reminded of their importance. We are habitual, as much as many of us would like to disagree, but we do indeed routinely undertake several tasks daily in the same way and even within the same time frame. It is good to create healthy, habit forming techniques that will ultimately get us closer to our end goal/s. As Lao Tzu said, “the journey of a thousand miles begin with one small step”. Here are a few guidelines that have helped me in birthing my goals.

Set Yearly Goals

Most people like to do this at the onset of the new year, some several months into the year and others, at least three months prior to the start of the new year. I personally like to set my yearly goals three to four months before the start of the new year, I then revisit it a month before to make any adjustments. I usually have at most 8 to 10 goals, listed in order of priority. This priority list is then further broken down into segments; top 10, top five and top 3.

The Importance of these Goals When we understand why we need something, we are more driven to make it happen. For each goal I list, I ensure there is a why. In 2019, getting my PMP certification from the PMI was one of my goals, my why was because I needed to improve my hard and soft skills in project management so I could be more marketable in my job search.

Assign Dates to Accomplish Goals A huge part of goal setting is having timelines; this will definitely help you keep track of your progress. Creating a workback schedule is crucial in the planning phase, this will aid you in staying on course and mitigate deviations. With this schedule/plan each goal is broken down into monthly/weekly/daily tasks to ensure each goal is attained by the specified date. In preparing to get my PMP certification I assigned January 31, 2020 as the day I intended that goal to materialize, on January 28, 2020 I became a PMP.

Celebrate the Accomplishment of Each goal: This stage is just as important as the planning stage, you may ask why. The answer; because you have worked extremely hard and you deserve to be rewarded. This goes for small as well as large goals. So many times we get caught up in the process of attaining our end goals that we don’t bask in the merriment of the fruits of our labour. Make it a goal that for each goal attained you will celebrate; go out for dinner, throw a  party, get cake/flowers/your favourite thing, take a  trip somewhere; whatever you do, treat yourself.

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, it takes consistency and grit to accomplish any goal (big or small; short term or long term). John Bytheway was definitely onto something when he said, “inch by inch, life is a cinch; yard by yard, life is hard.” It’s never too late to set your goals and accomplish them, start now.