It is goal setting season in your business!  While some business owners are excited and breaking out all the tools and imagining the possibilities, others feel a bit overwhelmed.  Is it even possible to accomplish all these goals?

If your goal setting session has turned into overwhelm, the good news is, you’re not the only one who feels that way. It’s very common, and there are a few practical steps you can take if you find yourself with too many goals.

Step 1

Look for overlaps. Sometimes there is a natural and logical relationship between goals. Suppose you want to increase your audience and your revenue as an entrepreneur.

Sometimes one goal seems to be dependent on the other or two goals are in direct opposition.  In this case, write out both goals and next to each of them write out why you want to do each of them.

In the above example, you probably need to accomplish growing your audience before you can achieve a goal to increase your revenue.  Unless perhaps, you have a business model that doesn’t rely on marketing to make sales. Get to the essence of the goal, and they’ll work themselves out.

goal setting

Step 2

Make the time. We tell ourselves there are “only so many hours in a day,” and that we’re “too busy” to take on anything else right now. Your time is precisely that – yours. Instead of saying “I don’t have time to grow my audience,” try saying, “I’m not making time to grow my audience.” We find the time for the things that matter.

Set aside scheduled time to diligently work on your goals.  Break the goal down into manageable steps.  This increases your chances of success because small steps towards a larger goal fuel motivation and progress.

Step 3

Be flexible. It’s a good thing to put a timeline together and have definite dates and time-sensitive goals. But remember that life happens, and often it even gets in the way.

 There is an ancient Greek saying that goes: “If you want to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans.” Having milestones and plotting points along the timeline is good, but don’t hold yourself to it so rigidly that you cannot adapt to the occasional curve ball.

If after trying the three above tips it still feels to you like you have too many goals or if the ones you do have are fighting each other…

  • Consider which goals are most important to your success
  • Make sure all goals are measurable and definable
  • All goals should be specific
  • Think about your personality and work style what seems most achievable?

 

You’ll likely find that some goals are weaker than others and goals that are less defined can be tabled or eliminated until the outcome becomes clearer.

That will help you determine what’s most important to you right now and what best serves your business. Pick one primary goal of focus until it reaches completion then move on to the next. By concentrating on the goal that means the most to you right now, you’ll put those goals into perspective, until they don’t seem like so much anymore.

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