Reading time: three minutes.
I think the hardest part
about goals and achieving them is the commitment you make to yourself to get the work done.
There are so many unique ways of getting to work, you just have to find the way that suits your needs the most.
I’d like to share with you a little behind the scenes, of what it takes to work on goals and on achieving them.
Let’s start with how you set a goal, work on it, and get to your desired outcome. Back in the days when nurses used to have time and sit with a patient to write the ‘nursing care plan’ we’d look at four core elements. Assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating. It’s that simple.
Assess
This method can be applied to both small and larger goals. For the sake of this exercise try to envision a bigger, chunkier goal, something that will require at least a few steps to complete, instead of something like ‘start reading’ for now.
So, you’ve got your vision, you’re all fired up and want it done preferably yesterday. Whilst maintaining that proactive energy, start carving out your plan.
What do you need to do to get your goal done? OMG, you’re thinking? Where do I start? How can I start? Am I thinking too big? And then self-doubt creeps in…and you’re off the topic again.
Take a breath, step back, and relax.
First, grab a pen and just start writing. Just write down anything and everything that comes up when you think of your goal, and what you think is needed right now to work towards it. When you’re done see if any trends, patterns, or similar areas are coming up.
When you’ve given that exercise enough attention it’s time to consider factors which are vital to you achieving your goal. The SMART tool is unmissable for this. Think of your goal, and all you’ve written down so far, and ask yourself: is it Specific? Is it Measurable? Is it Attainable? Is it Relevant? Is it Time-sensitive?
You’ll need this information later, to help with your planning, implementing, and evaluating. Don’t think too hard with this one, make it short and snappy. People often get lost in this rabbit hole, but it doesn’t have to be that extensive. See the SMART tool more as a checklist.
Plan
The next step is to start building on what you’ve already sketched out.
Build on that, by breaking down the steps needed to move forward.
By breaking down the steps into smaller portions you’re making it more manageable and are far more likely to achieve your desired results.
By breaking down the steps you’re also creating a framework to work around, to help you in achieving your goals with structure.
You can make the workable portions as big or small as you like, but as I previously mentioned, the smaller your steps are needed, the more likely you are to succeed. I like to write them down in a bullet-point style.
Then, plan the time to do the work. It can be tricky to plan the work around schedules and the rest of your daily life, so give this part some good, honest, thought and attention.
One well-known fact is that working for shorter periods and more frequently is more achievable than sporadic moments to work on your goal, so try and be mindful of that.
Implement
I think this is often the hardest part of the journey, the carrying out the work, to get to your goal.
Be it a busy schedule or a relaxed one that you have, if you don’t put in the work, it’s not going to get you your results. It remains that simple!
Think back to your planning, and use that to keep you on track.
Depending on what your goal is, and the T from SMART, this may influence how quickly you see progress, but, the general rule is: you get out what you put in.
So, that said, think of sticking to smaller action plans, and make it a habit to work on your goals, make it a routine.
If you work on it sporadically it’ll take you longer, and like I previously mentioned, it’s better to implement small regular moments, than once in a blue moon. I can’t put it any other way.
Evaluate
You’ll need to make regular evaluation points in your timeline, to help keep you on track, how often you evaluate is up to you. My biggest goals downfalls are when life sweeps me up and I pay too little attention to the evaluation moments.
I’ve found I’m much more on target when I’m doing my check-ins, so planning them in my schedule is just as important for me as scheduling time for the work itself.
Look at what worked, and more specifically what didn’t. What can you learn from it?
What needs adjusting? Is a reshuffle of your action plans/ steps needed?
Break it down further, and make the action plans even smaller if needed.
Refer back to the SMART tool to help, and when you’re ready to move on then go back to your planning and implementing.
There can be many reasons why you run off course whilst working towards your goals, and to be honest, it happens to everyone!
Getting off track is a useful moment to look at the situation again and reevaluate.
What have you learnt, and what can be done to get you back on course?
Sometimes the longer we wait the harder it seems to get back to it, but don’t fret, just have a look at what’s been achieved up to that point, and think about what you want done differently, and start redrawing your action plans.
Again, use the SMART tool for this.
I hope this post was helpful to you, and that you can use it in your practice, my goal was to help you with your goals work, by sharing some insight with you along your way. Thanks for your time, feel free to use the comments section below to share your thoughts. Have a beautiful day,
Yvonne Martha x