When we feel overwhelmed or confused by life, and don’t know what to do, we tend to question everything. We question why we are confused. How come other people find it all so easy? That drive and sense of purpose, why can’t I have that? It can seem like everyone else is hurtling towards the finish line and you’re just tacking up.
Turns out you’re no different to these go-getters and overachievers. They just had a plan.
It’s hard to feel like you’re moving through life with a purpose if you don’t have a north star to guide you. Defining that end goal is what gets you up in the morning, helps you make the right choices and ultimately, keeps you from crying into your Crunchy Nut because Karen from Sales is at Duck & Waffle celebrating her third promotion this year. So put down the phone, stop doom scrolling and start setting your own goals.
Before we start, it is imperative to know your Why. You may have heard writer and best-selling author Simon Sinek cover this in his 2009 TedTalk, ‘How great leaders inspire action’. Sinek states that ‘The WHY is the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us.’ Your Why is linked to every decision you make, every choice or direction you decide upon – it drives your logic, emotion and productivity.
If you’ve heard of Sinek, then you’ve probably heard of the Golden Circle – and how the link between your Why and limbic brain is prominent in terms of how you choose to direct your time and energy. If you don’t have your Why confirmed/outlined – then you will always end up missing the mark.
KPIs
A KPI is a key performance indicator that measures performance. In business, KPIs help you keep track of what is working and what is not. For example, you launch a social media campaign and want 50,000 people to see it. 50,000 is your goal – your KPI.
You would track the result of the campaign by using analytics and tools such as Excel – which would then be measured against your KPI. This would then indicate if the campaign is a success and on track, or needs revising.
OKRs
OKRs stands for objectives and key results. It is a goal-setting framework used to define and track objectives. An example of an OKR would be (from a business perspective) to achieve 100% year-to-year sales growth in the EU demographically, increase company size by 10% and hit a global sales target of £50,000.
90-day goals
The 90-day goals is a formula that helps you focus on one goal at a time, and helps determine your long and short term goals. The notion can be broken down into six easy and digestible steps:
- draft a template: create a doc where you can manage your 30-60-90 day plans. Your template should have space for your 30-60-90 goals – with additional space for the different types and actions on how you are hoping to achieve these goals. We have included an example template at the bottom of the article.
- define goals: when defining your goals, they should be separated out as learning goals, performance goals and/or personal goals.
- identify 30-day targets: when reviewing your defined goals, single out which are learning-based as these are the ones you want to focus on for the first 30 days.
- identify 60-day targets: Now it’s time to identify your goals that relate to implementing the knowledge gained during the first 30 days.
- identify 90-day targets: The final 30 days is time spent focusing on knowledge and experience gained from the two previous steps. You can then focus on using that knowledge to effectively run your business or team.
- create action items: The final step is dedicated to reviewing your goals by type and date and measuring them to see whether or not you have met your goals.
SMART
SMART goal setting is all about being clear and concise with your goals. It’s about clarifying your ideas, focusing your efforts and using your time and resources productively. To break it down, SMART is an acronym for:
- Specific (simple and significant).
- Measurable (motivating).
- Achievable (attainable).
- Relevant (reasonable and realistic).
- Time-bound (time-based, time-sensitive and time/cost limited).
Interested in booking a workshop or private coaching with me to support your goals? Book in a call today.
