If you want to achieve your 2021 goals there is a simple goal setting process you can follow to give yourself the best chance of success.
When setting goals, people often choose a few things they want to achieve in the year ahead.
But, when setting your own goals for 2021 it’s important to take the time to include tow important steps.
To give you the best chance of achieving your 2021 goals, it’s essential to celebrate your achievements from the past year and set goals for the first quarter of 2021.
In this guide I’m going to lay out a simple 2021 goal setting process that will help you set goals differently, and give you the framework to achieve your biggest goals in 2021.
How to set your 2021 goals
Use this proven goal setting process to set your 2021 goals.
1. Celebrate the goals you achieved in 2020
The best way to start your 2021 goal setting is to celebrate your goal achievement from the past year. Taking the time to identify your biggest accomplishments helps clarify the things that matter most and builds confidence in achieving bigger goals in 2021.
It’s important to write down every single goal you achieved in 2020 and understand why achieving the goal was important and the difference achieving that goal made in your life.
Identify the goals you achieved in every aspect of your life. Look for common themes with the goals you achieved. If you can compare the goals you achieved with the goals you set at the beginning of the year.
Finally, write down the five biggest goals you achieved in 2020. Simply acknowledging what you achieved highlights your capabilities and provides the excitement and motivation to set bigger goals in 2021.
2. Outline every goal you want to achieve in 2021
Choose 2021 goals for all aspects of your business life and personal life. When setting goals for 2021 ensures that your goals are clear and well defined. Look to set goals for your business or career and every aspect of your personal life that is crucially important to you.
This could be setting goals for your finances, your health, your personal relationships and for big dreams you want to achieve in 2021. Take the opportunity to write down every goal you want to achieve in 2021 as your starting point.
Imagine getting to the end of 2021 having achieved your goals. This process will give you clarity on the purpose of your goals and the importance of your goals.
It will help you get clear on the future you want to create for yourself.
3. Identify your top ten 2021 goals
Once you’d identified all the goals you want to achieve in 2021, the next step is to identify your most important goals. The key to successful goal setting is to choose only your most important goals.
I suggest setting ten goals you want to achieve in 2021. Setting too many goals can take your focus away from your most important goals and makes it more difficult to manage your time and energy.
This process also helps you clarify the goals that mean the most and will create the biggest impact in your life.
4. Ensure your goals measurable
Once you’ve chosen your top ten goals for 2021, ensure that each goal has a measurement attached to it. Without specific measurements for your 2021 goals, you have no clear destination to reach and can’t track your progress along the way.
If you really want to achieve your goals in 2021, set goals that are measurable. The measurements you assign to each goals can be a number or an event.
By assigning measurements to your goals, you can track your progress towards achieving your goals. These measurements give you clarity on whether you have achieved your goals or you haven’t.
Making progress on measurable goals builds motivation and momentum, Having measurable goals also ensures you prioritise your time, energy and focus towards achieving those crucial 2021 goals.
5. Write down your quarter one 2021 goals
One of the most important things you can do if you want to achieve your 2021 goals is to identify the goals you want to achieve in the first quarter (January to March) of 2021.
Setting quarterly goals is a step people often miss when goal setting.
Having quarterly goals helps you identify the important projects you want to achieve in that important first quarter of the year. Achieving your goals in the first quarter of the year will give your the confidence and motivation to achieve your bigger 2021 goals.
Identifying your quarter one goals helps you prioritise and brings a clear focus to your daily activities so you can start the year strong.
Choose five goals you want to achieve in the first quarter of 2021. Having five breakthrough goals to work towards each day also helps to narrow focus, improves your time management and increases productivity.
6. Create an action plan
Choosing your 2021 goals is the first step. Creating an action plan, which identifies your most important activities, is the best way to actually achieve your goals.
When you are clear on your goals you can identify a monthly, weekly and daily action plan that will help you make progress towards your goals. Knowing the steps you need to take to achieve your goals ensures you don’t get overwhelmed or distracted.
For each of your 2021 goals work backwards from the result you want to achieve so you can set monthly, weekly and daily outcomes that move you closer towards your goals. This process will help you schedule your most important tasks each day.
Determine what needs to happen each week to reach your goals. Then decide what actions you need to take every day. Finally, put your actions into a schedule so you know exactly what to do each day.
Summing up
Use this simple 2021 goal setting process to achieve even bigger and better goals this year. Identifying your biggest achievements from the past year will give you the confidence and motivation to set goals in 2021 that really matter to you.
By setting goals for the first quarter of 2021 you will start the year focused and ready to reach your goals.
This article was originally published on the Lucemi Consulting blog.
For more goal setting articles visit the Lucemi Consulting website.
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