You may have heard a lot of talk about setting goals but how is it actually done? Studies show that by setting goals and writing them down, you are exponentially more likely to meet those goals than people who do not. Unfortunately, most people simply have a vague idea of what they want and try to get to their destination on auto pilot.

Often, this leads to a failure and feeling discouraged. When you set goals, you are more likely to stay focused on fulfilling your goals and more likely to reach your destination. How often do you quit before you finish a job? Do you ever feel that you lack the know-how to do projects? Do you miss deadlines and forget important details?

All of these things are the result of poor planning and strategy. The good news is that setting goals can help!

Goal setting will:

• Allow you to create a realistic timeframe for your project or work.
• Help you stay focused on your goal when you get distracted or discouraged.
• Allot dedicated time and effort to fulfill your goal
• Allow you to evaluate the success of your project

Goal setting is a part of smart planning. You can set goals through the following strategies:

Determine what your short term and long term goals are

Short term goals are goals that are small and easily achieved in a short amount of time. Short term goals can either be a goal in its entirety or the steps that it takes to get a long-term goal accomplished. For instance, if you want to purchase a new car by the end of the year; this is your long term goal. To get to your end goal, create a few short term ones that will help you achieve your final goal. Your short term goal could be saving a specific amount of money each week or per payday, whichever works for you.

Short term goals will additionally need to be broken down into steps or strategies. For example, saving the amount of money you have determined each week will take efforts such as giving up designer coffee, washing your clothes at home instead of using a professional cleaner or stop having your nails done at the local salon.

Every small step should be analyzed. Now write your entire plan down, every goal and every step. Research has shown that writing down your goals increases your chances of successfully reaching them. Writing the steps down are crucial in fulfilling your short term goals to be able to meet your long term ones.

Visualize your goals

Take time to stop and think about what you want to happen. If you have a goal of buying a new car, research the car and the price. Visualize your new car and create a desire for it. Think about the color of your new car, the feel of the wheel as you take it out for a spin and even the overpowering new car smell.

The more you feel and the more you think about your goal, the more determined and the more you want to make it happen! Take action now.

Your goals won’t complete themselves on their own; you have to do something about it right now. Getting back to the new car goal example, once you write your goals and formulate a plan, you might want to start an automated system to deduct funds from your monthly salary, or creating a new budget plan so that you can save accordingly. You might even decide to actively consult financial experts to help you with your goals.

Goal setting may be used for simple projects to large scale planning. With this strategy, you will never go wrong. You will also save money, time and effort in making costly mistakes when you plan smart.

What are you waiting for?
Start today!