Do You Make These Simple Mistakes When Setting Goals?

Do You Make These Simple Mistakes When Setting Goals? by Rochelle Melander

Last week, you wrote about what you want to accomplish this summer. Some of you want to write a book. Others have blogs, articles and poems to write. Today’s tip will help you hone your goals so that you can cross the finish line at the end of the summer.

I’ve heard many stories of people who have a deep desire to write, but don’t make progress toward achieving their goals. As I’ve worked with clients on setting goals, I’ve noticed that the right goal statement can push someone toward success. Often, the difference is simply in how they phrase their goals.

Mistake #1: Your goal statement is too vague.

When we vision what we want to accomplish, it often comes out as a statement like: “I want to write more.” or “I want to work on my blog.”

But both of those statements are too vague. What does it mean to write more? Does that mean writing once a week or every day?

When we articulate our goal in a specific way, we know exactly what we want to accomplish. Because of that, we have a better chance of achieving it.

A specific goal will state exactly what you plan to do:

+I will finish drafting my novel.

+I will write a poem a day.

+I will write 25 blog posts.

Mistake #2: You do not have a plan for achieving your goal.

Once you have a specific goal, it’s important to create a plan that will help you achieve that goal. When you include that plan in your goal statement, it becomes easier to achieve your goal.

The best plan statements include:

+What you will do.

+When you will do it.

+Where you will do it.

Here are some examples of goal statements that include all of these elements:

+I will stop at the coffee shop after work and write for an hour each day so that I can achieve my goal of drafting my novel.

+Every Saturday and Sunday morning, I will go to my desk and write a blog post so that I can achieve my goal of writing 25 blog posts.

*I will sit in my writing chair and write a poem each night before I go to bed so that I can achieve my goal of writing a poem a day.

When we phrase our goals to include a plan, we increase our chances of achieving them. We know what steps we need to take to be successful. We have a clear sense of what we need to do and when and where we will do it.

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