We are already reaching the end of Quarter 1. Have you started working on your new year goals? Or you are like most of the people who still think that, ‘I have another 9 months to go after my goals’. If you are thinking this, then beware!!! If you are not doing it now, then you will never do it any time in the year.
Since you are reading this post, I know that you are the type who is concerned over your goals progress. If you have done nothing yet, don’t worry. In this post, I have shared 5 step by step process to get back on track with your New Year Goals.
5 Step by Step Process to Get Back On Track with your New Year Goals
I am assuming that you already have a set of goals listed. If it is just something that you have written down in a piece of paper or in your phone, I highly recommend to get a notebook or a planner to write your goals down first before dwelving deeper into the 5 steps.
You should jot down your early assessment as well. For example, if your goal is to:
- lose weight – Write down your current weight.
- increase Youtube subscribers : Write down your current number of subscribers
- increase the number of books your read – Write down how many books you have read now
- increase your blog posts – Write down how many blog post you have written in your previous year
Additionally, you may also read my other posts on goals here to get more understanding on setting up your goals and how to keep working on it.
1. Examine your new year goals
First o all, you need to know that goals need to be precise and clear which means you should set a specific target to achieve your goals.
If you have written down goals like, ‘I am going to lose weight this year’, Change it!! Your goal is not precise. You need to focus on how much weight you are going to lose this year. You can state like ‘I am 55kg this year’. If your current weight is 65kg, this means you have to lose 10 kilos in a year.
2. Break Down the Steps needed to achieve your goals
Next, is the part where most people fail. Setting goals alone is not enough as you need to determine the steps needed to work on your goals. With a clear set of action plan, you will know next tasks to work on towards your goals.
It’s like when you have decided to go to a trip, you will start planning on things like; how you are going to the trip, what to pack, how long is the trip going to be. So, make sure you think in this perspective and write down all the steps needed for you to achieve your goals.
3. Plan Weekly
You heard me right. With the action plan that you have just written down, sit down every weekend or when ever you are free in the day, allocate between 15 to 30 minutes to pick which steps that you want to focus on that week. Block your time to focus on that goal and do it!!
If you have more than 1 goal, then you are going to be overwhelmed with loads of tasks to be done in a week. Thus, a mindful planning is necessary. Pick goals that you want to work on that week. The other goals can be focused on a different week. You may also want to check out The 12 Week Year Book by Wiley to get more insight on how to have a weekly plan for your goals.
While that being said, you also need to ensure that you are working on each of these goals regularly.
4. Score your progress
You might be wondering how am I suppose to score the progress. Easy, remember the list that you have created in the weekly plan. Now, you have to sit at the end of the 7th day to review your progress.
Let’s say you have written 10 tasks that focuses on your goal that week. You have completed 5 out of those 10 goals. That means your score for the week is 50%.
The reason why you should score your progress is because with a clear indicator on your effort, you know that you are attempting something towards your goals. You will also know whether your action plan is working or not. If it doesn’t you can always change your action plan to a different route.
5. Review and Repeat
Last step in the process is for you to review and repeat the process of No. 3 to 5 every week.
When you review, you may see what is the difference between your early assessment than your current results. For example, your number of subscribers may have increased from 50 to 60. This means your action plan is working, so you may continue with your current strategy or tweak where ever necessary.
Some results may not be seen easily, like losing weight. You might not see encouraging results which will demotivate you. But you can look at different way of measuring your results. A good example is using a body fat analysis machine which calculates your body fat and muscle percentage instead of conventional weighing machine method.
Final Words
Doing a weekly tracking on your goals moves you closer to your goals then doing nothing at all. Remember, every small steps counts and you will eventually reach your target. If you ever need an accountability partner, or guide, DM me on my Instagram. I can be your buddy and guide for your success.
REMEMBER, just keep on doing this every week and towards the end of the year, you can look back and see how far you have come from your initial assessment.