Last month I talked about why monthly goal setting is the way to achieving more. But how do you actually set these goals? A month goes by so fast! And if you don’t want the year to pass by without a goal reached, it’s time to start setting monthly goals. Continue reading to discover how to set monthly goals you’ll actually achieve.
Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Say goodbye to unattainable goals, because S.M.A.R.T goals are the way to setting goals you can actually achieve. S.M.A.R.T. goals are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. If you make sure your goals fit these criteria, you won’t have vague goals that are too hard to make progress on. For example, instead of ‘reading more nonfiction books’, make your goal ‘reading 1 nonfiction book per month’. That’s much clearer and much easier to achieve. The more specific you are with your goals, the easier they will be to make progress on.
Break up your yearly goals into smaller steps
Whether you make Vision Boards or write down New Year resolutions at the beginning of the year. For a lot of people, that is the last time they look at their new goals. You might look at them a few times during the year, but most people don’t make a lot of progress. They just set the same goals every year, hoping that this year they’ll actually achieve them.
Why are these big goals so hard to achieve? Because these are in most cases very ambitious goals, that need a lot of steps to achieve them. And you just don’t know where to start if you don’t break the goal up into small steps.
How do you turn your yearly goals into a monthly game plan? Start from the end goal and work your way back. Write down every step you have to take to reach this goal. When you’re done, you have a step-by-step overview, and you can start assigning the steps to certain months.
Keep your life in balance
A healthy work-life balance is so important, and at the same time something we easily forget in this society of hustle-culture. Goal setting is a great way to make progress in your life, career, study, etc. But having time for you is also important. Switch up your work goals with some self-care goals, like having a device-free day every weekend. Taking the time to recharge will in the end make you feel more motivated and productive.
Make time for your goals
When you’ve written down your goals for the month, don’t forget to actually make time to achieve them. Here you have two options. You can either block a time in your calendar or make it a habit. It depends on the goal what will work best. For example, reading 1 non-fiction book a month can be a habit. You can read 30 minutes each day right before going to bed. A goal like ‘starting your own business’ takes a lot more time and effort to achieve. So, blocking time in your calendar will help you make consistent progress.
So plan ahead! Block time in your calendar for the entire month to work on your goal. Because just having monthly goals isn’t going to make you achieve them. You have to put in the work.
If you set monthly goals and make time for them, you’ll be amazed by how much progress you’ll have made at the end of the month, and at the end of the year. Goals take time, and the best way to reach them is to be consistent. Strive for progress, not perfection. Are you going to set monthly goals from now on?
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