As 2010 winds down, your thoughts are probably starting to form about the coming year: What do you want to accomplish in the next 12 months? Where do you want to be at this time next year? While we’ve all tried (and often failed) setting and achieving vague New Year’s Resolutions, many people don’t have a lot of experience with true goal setting, which I define as matching your dreams with a solid plan. If you really want to accomplish things in 2011, here are some tips:
- Be honest about what you really want. In my mind, the first rule of goal setting is to make sure you are truly passionate about achieving the goals you’re setting. If, instead, you’re setting goals because you think you should travel more or your parents think you should give up your freelance career for a “real” job, then you’re not going to be very motivated. I’d rather you set and achieve one goal that truly excites and inspires you than for you to set and achieve 10 goals that aren’t authentic to who you want to be.
- Don’t be afraid to think big. In my experience, one of the biggest mistakes young professionals make is not dreaming big enough. Many people have a tendency to limit their goals unnecessarily. For instance, “I really want to go to law school, but that probably won’t work out so I’ll just look for jobs as a paralegal.” There’s nothing wrong with being realistic, but when you are setting goals, why not start by going after what you really want and then, if necessary, tweaking as you go along? As recommended by inspirational posters and greeting cards everywhere, start by asking yourself, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”
- Mark dates on your calendar. Months go by very quickly, but days are long. Similarly, big goals can be daunting, but small tasks are relatively easy. As you’re goal setting, start to think through the small tasks that add up to achieving your biggest dreams. (I’ve heard this called “chunking down” your goals.) For example, if you want to find a new job by June, work backwards on your calendar and start marking in milestones that will help you achieve your goal, such as revising your resume, calling three contacts a week or pre-registering for networking events. If you want to write a book next year, mark off 30 to 60 minutes each day on your calendar for writing or research time.
- Get some help. There are some great, inexpensive books and tools to help you with goal setting large and small. Two of my favorite resources are Your Best Year Yet: Ten Questions for Making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Ever and an app (for Mac, iPhone and iPad) called Things. You can also work on goal setting with a career coach, career services professional or a friend who agrees to be a goal setting buddy. While no book or app or person can force you to achieve your goals, what these resources and people can provide is accountability. When you submit to a formal, written goal setting process or ask someone to call you once a week to check on your progress, you’re more likely to stay on track.
What other goal setting tips and resources do you recommend? Have you started planning for 2011? Please share!
