How to Make Goals Now for the New Year Ahead

Every year, I realize how short life is and how time is flying.  Before you know it, we’ll be at the end of next year and if you haven’t set any goals, you’ll look back and think about wasted opportunities.  Now is the time to think about what you want to accomplish, and figure out how you will reach your goals so you can look back over a successful year.

I usually start by thinking about what I have to do in the next year, then I break it into workable chunks.  For instance, if you want to write a book in the next year, what do you need to do to reach that goal?  You might set weekly goals, such as write a certain number of words per week.  I lean away from setting daily writing goals, because so much can happen that disrupt a daily schedule, and it’s too easy to become discourage and give up if too many unproductive days go by.  Be careful not to set unrealistic goals.

Another thing to consider is not doing the same thing divided into twelve monthly sections but rather trying a variety of things.  For instance if you own a business and want to reach a certain number of clients in the next year, you can choose six ways to expand your business and try one each month for the first six months of the year.  Then in June you can review the past six months and see what was most successful.  You might want to continue doing the one that reached the most customers, or you might want to rotate through the six ways once more.

Take time to set goals and this time next year you’ll be looking back at a successful year!