SolveYourProblem Article Series: Time Management
How Can I Manage My Time Better?

Accomplish Your Goals
With Your Eyes on The Prize
   

People set goals for many different reasons. Personal goals can help guide our lives. Aiming to reach nothing means that you probably will. Setting personal goals can help you take control of your life. They can keep you from being a hypocrite in that you will be acting exactly how you say a person should act because you have a goal to reach. Moreover, they will help you feel that you are successful. You have something to work toward, something you can accomplish. Accomplishing that goal or even taking a small step toward that goal will offer a euphoric feeling of success like no other. To accomplish those goals, though, there are several things you must do.

Before you can accomplish any goal, you must first set your goals. It might help to make a list. Try to start by making each goal a positive statement. Making a negative statement like “I will not make a fool of myself” will only hurt your drive to reach the goal. Your list should also be very precise. Be sure you have a way to achieve that goal. Setting times, calendar dates, or amounts will help this measure of precision. As you are setting your goals, be sure to prioritize them. Perhaps you would like to climb Mount Everest and save sixty thousand dollars. If you need the money to make the journey and the climb, it should certainly be listed before the climb. As you make your list, you should set two types of goals. Set both short term and long term goals. Short term goals should be small, achievable items for which you can reward yourself. Long term goals should still be realistic, but they should be slightly more difficult to reach. Above all, do not set your goals too low. This can only lead to self doubt and resentment. One way many people start considering their personal goals is by considering their funerals and working their way backwards through their lives. It might even be useful to write your own eulogy in order for you to decide what you might want to be remembered and though about for. This exercise is not meant to depress you, it is only meant to help you realize how important your life is and what goals you want to meet.

Once you have set your goals, it is time to start reaching them. The first way to do this is to remind your self of them often. If you sit down and make a list of your goals on New Year's Day, but then you do not even think of your list again until a year later, you probably have not made very much progress toward your goal. It can be helpful to start every day by reminding yourself of those goals. This can help in your drive toward achievement.

Another way to achieve your goals is to tie each goal to a mental picture. Instead of simply making a goal like saving a million dollars by retirement age, tie that to a positive mental picture of sitting in your dream retirement home that you have built with your savings. This can only help as you deposit so much of your hard earned wages into your savings account.

In order to achieve your goals, you should spend some time thinking about each one. Make a few lists on a regular basis. Make a list that discusses the ways to reach your goals, and make another list that looks at what is keeping your from reaching your goals. Information is power in any situation, and it is certainly true of this one.

As you think about each goal, you should also spend some time planning each goal. At least once a year, write down daily, weekly, or monthly steps you should take to help you reach your goal. Look at your plans often, and learn from them. How much are you actually accomplishing? Make adjustments to your plans and to your goals as you feel it necessary. However, do not sell yourself short as you are making adjustments.

Finally, in order to accomplish your goals, stay on track. It might help to find someone who can help you stay on track with your goals whether it is a spouse or a close personal friend. Additionally, reviewing your goals frequently, forming mental pictures, and not overloading yourself with goals can help you stay on track toward your dreams.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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