I used to never, ever set yearly goals. I didn’t set them for myself, for the company, for anything. I just always worked as hard as I could and figured if I did everything I could, things would turn out okay. And for the most part, for many years they did.
It wasn’t until about four years ago that I actually started setting goals for myself. I follow what is probably a very different goal-setting practice than most people. Here are a few things that will give you insight into how I have evolved to set my own goals.
- Never try to have them ready on the first day of the year. In most businesses, especially ours, you’re doing so many things right up until the very end of the year that you don’t really have time to think much about the next year. I always give myself through the 10th or 15th of January to have my goals laid out on paper.
- Try not to make them too complicated. Keep them simple. Each year, I write down five to seven specific goals that I want to achieve. None are super simple, but none are also over-the-top hard, but they make me have things I have to push and strive for to achieve.
- Keep them short. Each one of my goals is no more than one sentence. In fact, most of the sentences can fit on one line on a piece of paper so that I don’t have to have long, lengthy things to read.
- Put them on a piece of paper. I keep mine on a small card in my briefcase, and I look at them at least three to four times per week. It’s a great way to reflect while traveling, to look at first thing in the morning, to remind you what you are trying to accomplish for the year.
- Tell other people. I find others who can help me stay accountable for my goals so that I have a realistic way to achieve them.
That is how I’ve set goals and become successful each year ever since I began this process.