Beyond wishful thinking: practical steps to realize your goals

Setting goals often feels like the first step on your road to success, but it's surprising how many of these goals remain unfulfilled or forgotten. Common problems such as vague objectives, lack of an action plan, and insufficient adaptability and flexibility make goal setting seem more like wishful thinking than a blueprint for success. In this article, we discuss why just setting goals is not enough and explore strategies that will improve your results.

Let's see how you can formulate your goal and set yourself up for success.

Define your goals as specifically as possible

This might sound obvious, but we often tend to describe our goals vaguely and broadly, making them seem less intimidating or because we're not quite sure yet. Unfortunately, this is usually the main reason why we struggle to stay on course and achieve our goals.

Being specific about what we want to achieve leaves less room for interpretation, distraction, and deviation. Instead of "I want more clients" as a goal, the more specific "I aim to increase my client base by 20% in the next six months" would be much more effective. Being very specific makes your goal more achievable and gives more direction to your efforts.

Imagine, you're the owner of a small online bookstore. Instead of setting a goal like 'I want to sell more books', which is quite broad and unclear, you could say: 'I aim to increase the sales of science fiction and fantasy novels by 15% in the next quarter'. This is a very specific goal that gives you a clear target to focus on and makes it easier to set up the steps you need to take.

Milestones as important direction indicators

Large goals can sometimes be daunting and seem unattainable. Breaking them down into smaller, manageable milestones makes them more accessible and measurable. Effective milestones that lead you toward your ultimate goal are set up as follows.

• Align with your main goal: Each milestone should be a step towards your main goal. If your goal is to increase annual revenue by 30%, a milestone might be to achieve a 10% increase in the first four months. Or launching a new product or service to add to your offering and onboard at least 20 new customers in the first month.

• Make it specific and measurable: Vague milestones make it difficult to track progress. Like our main goals, we need to make them specific and quantifiable. For example, instead of a milestone like "more visitors to the website", set a more specific milestone, like "increasing website traffic by 20% in the next two months."

• Realistic and achievable: While milestones should be challenging (nothing wrong with stepping out of your comfort zone occasionally), they should also be realistic. Be well aware of your available resources and any limitations, to formulate milestones that are ambitious but achievable.

• Time-bound: Set a clear target date for each milestone. This creates a sense of urgency and helps maintain momentum. For example, "Enroll 100 new members by the end of Q2". Target dates are like deadlines, but with a little leeway to achieve them sooner rather than later.

• Action-oriented: Milestones should include one or more concrete actions that guide what needs to be done. For example, for a milestone like "gain 500 new followers on Instagram in three months," you could plan actions for creating and posting content, engaging with followers, and reviewing your statistics to see what works well.

• Evaluate and adjust: Regularly check your milestones and progress. If you notice that certain deadlines are consistently missed or too easily achieved, adjust them to be more realistic or challenging. Doing this effectively helps to optimize your results.

By setting effective milestones, you create a roadmap for success, making your long-term goals more achievable and less intimidating.

Measure your progress the right way

Simply looking at your results from the previous period doesn't help you look forward. Generally, it's more useful to have a mix of what's called 'lag and lead metrics'. Lag metrics are your report on how well you've done in the past period. Lead metrics tell you how well you're doing now, with the steps you're currently taking. They help you to predict the outcomes and whether you're still on track.

While tracking progress is essential in achieving goals, it's easy to fall into certain pitfalls. Here are some common mistakes to avoid:

• Too complex system: Simplicity is key in effectively following your progress. Using complex systems can lead to confusion and waste of time. Initially, stick to simple methods that will give you a clear overview.

• Only focusing on the end result: While it's important to keep your goal in sight, fixating on the final outcome can be demotivating, especially if it's still far in the future. So, also keep a close eye on the progress you're making in the short term.

• Inconsistent progress measurement: Checking in with your results only sporadically can lead to a loss of perspective on the actual situation. Therefore, set a clear schedule for gauging the state of affairs and stick to it.

• Not adjusting the metrics when necessary: If your metrics don't seem to provide useful information or don't reflect the real progress, adjust or revise them. The figures should serve your goal, not the other way around.

Avoiding these common mistakes will help make tracking your milestones a more effective and encouraging part of your journey to achieving your goals.

Be flexible and open to change

While we have emphasized the importance of clear and specific goals, always be ready to adjust your course. When things don't go as expected, reevaluate and modify your strategy. Always remember that your goals are your direction, not your endpoint. It's not unusual for a different or larger goal to emerge as you make progress towards your current goals.

This doesn't mean you should abandon your goals whenever you gain new insights or struggle to reach a milestone. But do give yourself enough space to check if your goals are still appropriate. Sometimes it confirms that you are on the right track, and sometimes it helps you to better articulate and adjust your goals. You can't plan everything in advance, so the best way to get somewhere is to take the first step and persevere!

Keep it simple and basic

It's so easy to get distracted by all the fancy tools available today. Before you know it, you're primarily engaged in setting up complex "project management systems" and keeping your data up-to-date. Of course, there's a place and time for those automation and software solutions, but let's get the basics right first.

The key to making your goals work is consistency, not complexity. An Excel sheet or a simple notebook can be just as effective, if done well. It's important to take notes regularly and review your progress. Start with what you're familiar with and what's available, and make it a habit to keep track of and assess your figures.

This approach keeps you focused on your goals, not on the tools you use.

Key Takeaways

• Make your goals achievable by being very specific.

• Break down large goals into smaller, manageable milestones.

• Start simple and regularly follow up on your progress.

• Don't forget to celebrate your small victories.

• Be ready to adjust when circumstances change.

• There is more power in consistent action than in using complex tools.

• Both successes and failures are learning opportunities.

Transforming your goals from 'hoping to achieve' to action-oriented milestones will help improve your results and actually achieve your goals.

Ready to set achievable goals and take action? Feel free to schedule an introduction, we'd love to hear about your goals. We're here to help you achieve them!