If you’re like most people, you probably set goals at the beginning of each year. And, if you’re like most people, you probably won’t achieve all of those goals. In fact, according to a study by the University of Scranton, only 8% of people achieve their New Year’s resolutions.
So, what’s the problem? The problem is that most people don’t know how to set effective goals consistently. They set goals that are too vague or too small, or too big. And then they wonder why they can’t seem to stick to them.
If you want to be in the 8% of people who achieve their goals, it’s important that you learn how to set effective ones. Here are three reasons why goal setting is important for your business:
1. Goals give you direction.
If you don’t have any goals, it’s going to be very difficult to make progress in your business. That’s because you won’t have any idea what you should be working on. You’ll just be flailing around, trying different things and hoping something will work.
But when you have specific goals, it gives you a roadmap for what you need to do. You’ll know exactly what steps you need to take and when you need to take them in order to achieve your goal. This will save you a lot of time and energy because you won’t be wasting time on things that aren’t going to help you move closer to your goal.
2. Goals keep you accountable.
It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re running your own business. There are always new shiny objects and distractions that can pull you away from what’s really important. But when you have specific goals that you’re working towards, it’s much easier to stay focused and stay on track.
When you have clearly defined goals, it’s easier to stay focused and avoid these distractions. That’s because you’ll know exactly what you need to do in order to achieve your goals. And you’ll be able to measure your progress along the way. This will help you stay motivated and on track.
TIME BLOCKING TIP: A quick tip is to time-block your day so you can stay on track. You do this by scheduling specific time periods for each task you need to complete. For example, you might block off the first hour of your day for marketing and lead-generation activities. Then, you can use the second time block to check and respond to emails. The third block could be to work on a client project. And so on.
3. Goals help you measure your progress.
One of the biggest problems people have when they’re trying to improve their businesses is that they don’t know if they’re actually making any progress. They might be working hard but feel like they’re stuck in a rut because they don’t have anything concrete to measure their progress against.
Goals give you a way to measure your progress so that you can see how far you’ve come and how much closer you are to achieving your desired outcome. This is extremely motivating and will keep you moving forward even when things get tough.
As you can see, goal setting is an important part of running a successful business. If you want to achieve big things in your business, it’s essential that you learn how to set effective goals and then take action toward achieving them.
If you’re ready to kick procrastination to the curb so you can set and achieve bolder goals then check out the new DRIVE Planning System.
