If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
As the designated Monica Geller and Amy Santiago in every friend group, I’ve always lived by this mantra. Nothing satisfies me more than flipping through a well-thought-out game plan inside a thick detailed binder with colored tabs. Some might say that I’ve already been planning even before I could walk.
With this in mind, I’ve had most of my goals accomplished by creating a definite action plan that can guide me every step of the way. Nevertheless, I do admit that there are times when I’ve caught myself overplanning. To some extent, this could be considered as procrastination coupled with denial. Usually, this happens when the goal’s particularly important and I’m too overwhelmed to start. I’m sure a lot of you have felt the same way too.
With only a few months left for this year, you might still be far from achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself. Even if you’ve already created a plan, there are still countless factors on why you’re not achieving any of your goals. You might be setting an unrealistic timeline, lacking a proper plan, or even just straight out unmotivated.
With all the goal setting tips out there, it all boils down to one simple advice: just ask yourself.
Realistically Achieve Your Goals By Answering These Questions
1. What do I want?
The very first thing to consider when setting goals is thinking about what you truly desire. Whether it would be walking 8000 steps a day, drafting the first chapter of your book, or even just finishing a show—there’s honestly no right or wrong answer.
Write down everything you want to achieve, big or small. It also doesn’t matter if it’s easily achievable or not. As long as you want to attain that specific goal, make sure to transfer this idea from mind to paper so you can have a concrete idea of what you really want.
Once you’ve created a complete list that details all the goals you want to achieve, it’s a lot easier to pinpoint which ones matter to you the most.
RELATED: 7 Undeniably Toxic Habits You Need to Quit Now to Have a Happier Life
2. Why do I want it?
“There is one quality that one must possess to win, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a burning desire to possess it. – Napoleon Hill
If you’ve ever wondered why most people rarely follow through, it’s usually because they’re lacking a sense of purpose. Without this, you won’t have a clear direction and you’ll end up circling your goal instead of chasing it head on.
Surely, there must be a reason why you’re so keen on achieving your goals. Make sure to write down the reasons why you’re pursuing them in the first place. Go beyond the vanity mindset that’s solely focused on money and popularity. Search deeper and ask yourself how it positively impacts your life.
Once you’ve properly determined your purpose, you’ll notice that your actions slowly help you move closer to your vision. You’ll be more motivated to follow through and you’ll feel genuine satisfaction every time you cross off a task on your to do list.
More than this, you can easily refer back to your purpose to stay on track if you’re on the verge of giving up. If you do reach the point of burnout, it’s also going to be a lot easier for you to recover because you’ve created a strong foundation with your purpose.
RELATED: Feeling Unmotivated Lately? You Might Be Experiencing Burnout. Here’s How to Recover.
3. When do I want it?
The worst mistake you can probably commit during goal planning is setting an unrealistic timeline. It’s totally understandable that you want to accomplish your goals right away but unless you have extraordinary means of getting there, it simply isn’t going to happen.
If your goal is to set up an online clothes shop in three months, you have to set a deadline each month to finish certain aspects like operations, logistics, and marketing. Allocate one main goal with subtasks each week to create a streamlined plan of the entire process.
Since most goals require careful planning and consistent execution, you also have to consider your current situation in life. Give yourself the right amount of pressure with deadlines so you can force yourself to follow through. Nevertheless, be lenient enough with your schedule that it doesn’t compete much with your other responsibilities.
4. Where should I start?
Now that you’ve figured out most of the basics, the only thing left to think about is where you have to start. For this, you have to create at least 3-4 actionable tasks that can lead you to achieving your goal.
If it makes it any easier, you can think of the big picture first and move backwards. Let’s say your end goal is to move into an apartment in NYC. To be able to do that, you need at least $2000 of flowing income per month if you want to keep a tiny room in the city. For you to have this amount of money, you’ll probably have to do a side hustle aside from your main source of income.
Venturing into drop shipping, monetizing a blog through affiliate marketing, or selling your art on Etsy are all good ways of getting extra income. If you’re artistically inclined, you’ll probably excel more at the last option. Before you can sell your work, you have to create a few samples first and build your online presence.
From that train of thought, you’ll be able to create a concrete hierarchy of tasks that you’ll have to accomplish to meet your end goal. For this specific scenario, these are the first few tasks you’ll have to do first.
- Create artworks
- Decide on a branding strategy
- Establish your online presence by creating social media accounts
- Open an Etsy store
Having a linear set of actionable tasks laid out in front of you is better than listing down tasks as they pop into your head. This way, you won’t be too overwhelmed and you’ll actually feel like you’re making more progress.
Bonus Tips for Following Through With Your Goals
1. Constantly Remind Yourself
Forgetting the purpose is a common excuse that people use whenever they don’t follow through with their goals. To avoid this, it’s better to remind yourself all the time by writing it down somewhere you see often.
Grab a calendar that you refer to often and list down your weekly tasks so you’ll feel pressured to finish your tasks. If you’re feeling extra creative, you can create a vision board that can inspire you to keep hustling. You can also design a 1600×900 px wallpaper on Canva or Adobe Photoshop to remind you of your goals whenever you open your phone.
2. Have an Accountability Partner
A person to rely on is a good thing to have if you’re working on a goal that challenges you. If you’re doing it alone, you might have a hard time following through especially when you’re struggling.
For it to be mutually beneficial, you can both work on different goals and assign a day when you can check in on each other’s progress. At the same time, it’s going to be like you both have your own personal cheerleader who can help you achieve your desired end result.
3. Reward Yourself
The simple act of rewarding yourself releases dopamine, a hormone that contributes feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Since you’re motivated by the rewards that await you, you’ll be more optimistic and driven in terms of achieving your goals.
You’re free to choose your form of reward whether it’s an episode of your favorite show or that food item you’ve been craving a lot recently. As long as it motivates you to work towards your goal, that should be enough.
RELATED: 30 Easy Self-Care Ideas You Absolutely Have to Try Today
What goal are you working on right now? Let me know in the comments below!
RELATED POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE
- Productive Morning Routine Ideas to Start the Day Right
- 5-Step Night Routine to Jumpstart Your Morning Productivity
- 20 Heartwarming Affirmations You Need to Hear Today
- 30 Self-Care Journal Prompts to Boost Your Confidence
Found this article helpful? Let others see it too by pinning any of the images below!
Very good points 🙂 love your website very nice! Love the quotes too!
We are far from wealthy and have a daughter who’s off to college in a year -plus- she wants to become an airline pilot. Planning, researching and side hustling are our middle names!
Awesome tips on how to achieve goals! I completely agree with and can relate to your point on having an accountability partner! Great read!
Wow, I have never related to an introduction so hard!! I love planning but am not as great at the following through part, I have never thought about implementing the what, when, where, how and why questions though, I will definitely be trying this method out next time I set goals for myself!
These are great tips thanks for sharing them
Having an accountability partner is so important! even if it’s just that you TELL someone out loud what you are doing… makes for cementing it in your mind!
Yesss, SMART goals are so important! Establishing a why behind that goal is what ultimately will keep you going. Awesome post, thank you for sharing!
Great read! I definitely agree with having an accountability partner. It can be very rewarding to share wins with a peer and to have some encouragement along the way.
Great post! I think it’s also important to be patient and stay consistent!
I’m totally in love with your website theme and layout. Huge fan! I also loved all your points. 2020 has been so strange, and I for one am in a constant up and down about being active and positive and then feeling like all my goals are crumbling. This was a nice wake up post 🙂
Great suggestions. This past year, I’ve definitely been doubling down to identify my true intentions and the goals I want to accomplish ✨🧡
Great tips, keeping your eye on the prize is something really important as its easy to loose focus when you don’t take actionable steps.
Love all the great tips. 1000% support backwards planning and fail to plan, plan to fail is a personal mantra. Thanks for posting about this topic!
This post is awesome! It’s so important to have a plan of action and to ask yourself these questions! Thank you for sharing!
Love this post!! Knowing “why” you want to do things is such a motivator that can keep you going throughout the good and bad times.
Such a great article full of helpful tips, thank you!
Love this post! My goal has been to work on being able to run a marathon!
Loved this article! Such wisdom in these points!
Super useful tips! I am also the Monica Geller of my friend group so I totally relate haha
SOunds like a great way to create more accountability in one’s life to achieve those goals.
I love the what when where why and how questions for the goal planning . Thank you for this.
Great tips to help ground yourself on why you want a goal and how to achieve it. Also love the idea of an accountability partner.
This is a really great guide! I think dividing big goals into actionable tasks and scheduling them into monthly/weekly tasks is the best way to actually achieve what you want. It also helps no to feel too overwhelmed by bigger goals. Thank you for sharing those tips! xx
Setting goals is one thing, but taking steps to achieving the goals is the ultimate way to start achieving set goals. Thanks for such an amazing article.
These are great strategies – I know I will look back on them when I am feeling “stuck” with my goals!
this is such a great plan for achieving goals 🙂 I think the WHY is definitely the most important part and having someone to do it with, helps so much.
ps. love your content and your blog’s look xx
I love making plans and thinking about what I want to go and where I want to be in future, but it’s so important to break this down into tangible goals that you can feel like you are accomplishing along the way rather than having one big end goal with no idea of how to achieve it…. I make to-do lists for everything, broken down into the smallest things because the satisfaction of ticking things off keeps me going!
I always have a hard time reaching my goals, these are great tips
Great questions to help map out your goals. Going to write these down and answer them today.
Great post! Thank you for sharing!! Having a great plan is the first step, but really knowing the why and how help execute and reach your goals.
The why is super important and I loved your line about setting aside money and vanity. Thank you for writing this.
Sticking to goals and achieving them can really be challenging sometimes. I think it’s so important to reward yourself along the way! Awesome post!
I’m also a planner, I LOVE making plans, organizing, all of it. I struggle once I get past the actual planning phase though. Thank you for these tips, I think they’ll be very helpful!
Your ideas are spot on! I am task and goal oriented by nature so all your suggestions really speak to me. I will add that I find having a physical “to-do” list written on a white board (great visual) or in a notebook (yes, old fashioned, I know) gives me great focus and the satisfaction of crossing things off the list, talk about dopamine! Well, best of luck to all who read your post – it is a perfect inspiration to get going!
this are great tips! reward your self is the best and most important one I guess sometimes we get focus so much on what we failed at and don’t really recognize what we have accomplish
http://www.nayacerola.com
These are great tips! I like the questions too-this is going to make a great journaling exercise for me this weekend!
Love your blog!
thank you for these ideas. ready to implement these in my life. These are well needed.