Setting Goals

That Motivate You

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How many times have you reached a goal and found yourself feeling relieved just to be alive or completely dissatisfied with the end result? Too often the word "goal" is associated with the word "task" (and no one likes the word task!).

This year, the tides they are a turnin'. The word "goal" will be now, and forevermore, associated with the word, "ambition"!

Here's how to set goals that'll make you feel like a rock star each and every time you reach them:

1 Have a healthy mix of short-term, long-term and ongoing goals.

2 Align the goals and operations of your biz with your values.

#1 Have a Mixture of Goals

When your goals all look alike, life can get a little boring.

If you only have short-term goals, it's easy to feel like your greater potential is being suffocated by the day-to-day. Setting long-term goals for yourself will give you that extra boost of power when the mundane is threatening to pull you back to bed. But beware... too many long-term goals can be discouraging when you're not seeing immediate results. Similarly, ongoing goals can be both super helpful and slightly lame. They'll help you continuously gauge your activity, but they may also annoy you as time goes on.

Having a nice healthy mix of short & long term goals will keep your creative juices a-flowin' and your motivation a-growin'!

Here are some examples of each type of goal:

1 I will make $3,000 in passive income in one year. (long-term)

2 I will set up a Wordpress blog this month. (short-term)

3 I will track my marketing efforts to determine if they are helpful. (ongoing)

4 I will never allow one client make up more than 25% of my business. (ongoing)

Hint hint, nudge nudge. Ongoing goals rock because you can constantly assess if you're reaching the bar you've set for your biz and yourself!

#2 Align Your Biz and Your Values

Setting goals is super, mega important for your biz. If you don't know where you want to go, how can you plot your course to get there?

But, at the same time… if you set goals for all the wrong reasons, the only thing you'll do is cringe away from them.

Here are some questions to help you figure out what's the most important to you and your biz:

1 How much money would I ideally like to make?

2 How many hours do I want to work a day or a week?

3 What types of clients or projects do I want to work with?

4 What other professional avenues can I explore?

Aligning the goals and operations of your biz with your core values will help you identify what you need to do and where you should focus your time and energy.

Hint hint, nudge nudge—When your goals are consistent with your values, you'll be loads more motivated to stay on track!

Here are some examples of aligning your values with you business goals:

1 I want to make sure I have enough time for play, by making sure my work stays within the confines of my work schedule.

2 I want to be seen as an expert in my field by increasing my knowledge each month and charging higher rates.

3 I want to work on projects which inspire me and challenge me.

4 I want to gain more long-term contracts, and keep my clients for longer than 2 years.

5 I want to start standardizing my rates, and overcome fixed-price anxiety.

6 I want to work with clients who respect me, whom I can convert into meaningful testimonials.

7 I want to feel good about the work I'm doing, helping my clients and their customers/clients.

Now get out there and goal, goal, goal! Don't be afraid to scare yourself a little. Writing goals that seem a little out of your reach will encourage you to go beyond your comfort zone.

Want to know if you're writing the smartest and sharpest goals in the toolbox? That's coming up on Day 28!

P.S. If your values and biz goals sound similar to these, you're in luck! We designed our time tracking tool, Noko, to help you stay on track, charge what you're owed and see exactly where your time is going.

Take Noko for a free
14-day spin today!