Have you ever made a list of goals and never achieved them? Are you looking for ways to create better annual goals that can be achieved in a timely manner? Setting and achieving your annual goals may seem like a daunting task, but with the right strategy, it’s far from it! Let’s take a look at the key steps to setting and achieving your annual goals.
1. Set SMART goals
The first step to creating successful annual goals is to make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). For example, instead of “Become a digital advertising freelancer,” try “Get 10 clients as a digital advertising freelancer by March 31, 2023.” This goal is specific (get clients), measurable (10), achievable (about 3 clients per month), relevant (it fits with your goal of becoming a digital advertising nomad) and time-bound (March 31, 2023). Writing SMART goals will allow you to track your progress more effectively.
2. Break down your goals into manageable steps
Once you’ve defined your SMART goals, it’s important to break them down into smaller tasks and goals. By breaking down your big goals into smaller tasks, you can focus on one step at a time instead of getting overwhelmed by the big picture. This is exactly what I did when I decided to become a freelancer. I broke down my ultimate goal into steps: figuring out my service offering, figuring out my pricing, creating my website, talking about it on social media, etc. Also, one thing that helped me a lot was to identify potential obstacles or challenges that could prevent me from completing my tasks so I could plan accordingly. For example, since I had little experience creating websites before creating my own, I made sure to get some training on the subject beforehand.
3. Create an action plan and track your progress
Now that you’ve identified all of your small tasks and goals, it’s time to create an action plan of how and when each task will be completed. I love using Asana for this step. This software allows me to categorize my tasks, create subtasks, set deadlines and see my priorities quickly and easily. It also allows me to schedule regular check-ins with myself using the recurring tasks feature, track the progress of my projects, and adjust deadlines if necessary.
Setting and achieving annual goals is critical to both your business success and your personal growth. By following these three steps – setting SMART goals, breaking them down into manageable steps and creating an action plan – you should easily be able to create achievable goals that will lead you to success! Don’t forget to check in regularly to make sure you’re still on track to meet the deadlines you’ve set! With the right strategies in place, there is no limit to what you can accomplish this year! If you’d like to get all my secrets to succeeding as a freelancer and growing your business on the web, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here. Thanks for reading and I wish you all the success you want in 2023!