Setting goals is a fundamental component of success. They define your life and career. The biggest challenge with goal setting is that most goals are not reached mainly due to them being set too big and too broad. It too easy to get discouraged with a goal that does not have a defined path and then quickly give up on it.
You will have more success if you break that one big dream down into three or five smaller goals. And then break each of those goals down into three or five simple and immediate tasks. These small and defined tasks are cornerstone to achieving every goal you set for yourself and your career.
Some guiding principles as you create your goal and task lists:
1. No more than five goals. When you write down more than five, things can become overwhelming really fast and that’s when you end up quitting. Instead, focus on three-to-five goals. Once you accomplish these goals, then you can add more.
2. Keep the tasks incredibly simple. Don’t overcomplicate the goal with a long list of tasks, and you don’t need to create the task list for the entire year. Focus on writing down only a few simple tasks that you want to do and can accomplish within the coming week. This will keep you motivated, which is key, and gives you a sense of accomplishment as you cross off the tasks you have completed. Once those tasks are accomplished, you can create the next few tasks that will move you towards achieving your goal.
3. Focus on a weekly basis. Schedule those tasks into your calendar for the week. It is important that every time you see your calendar, you are being reminded of the tasks you need to accomplish. This will hold you accountable, keep you organized, and give you the best chance of success.
4. Don’t judge the goal or the tasks. It easy as an artist to begin the negative voice of self-doubt and criticism, and begin judging how you doing. DON’T! Just focus on the tasks and let the process build on itself.
5. Be all in. Don’t quit on your goals. Most people write down their goals, look at them a few times, and then quit when things get hard. Commit to what you are building. Find a way to commit to the tasks of your new goals. Focus on always doing something towards that goal, no matter how small it is.
6. Use Evernote. Evernote is a free cloud-based service that will allow you to always have your goals with you so that you can make notes to them or edit them. You don’t know where and when you will get hit with inspiration. If you have never used Evernote, learn it, because it will quickly become your best friend.
7. Be curious this year. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t seem to be progressing as quickly as you would like towards your goals. It’s OK. Not achieving a goal if you worked on it every week is not a failure. Instead, see it as a time to get curious about what you could be doing differently to see more progress. See all of your successes and failures as learnings, not a sign that you are good or not. With this type of growth mindset, you will be able to find a new path and direction to achieving your goal.
8. Let go of anxiety. Learning to let go of things you can’t control is a habit that will grow with you. When you have too much on your plate, focus on what will give you the most power. If you have five things to do, just ask yourself what will feel the best to yourself if you do it and let the rest go till next week.
Improving yourself is not a right and left turn action. It is more like Michelangelo carving away daily small pieces of a big slab of marble until he had his David. It’s a life time commitment of shaping yourself.
“If you work on something everyday, you end up with something that is massive.” —Kenneth Goldsmith
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