How to set goals and achieve them! A step-by-step guide for effective goal setting.

Are you tired of setting goals that you never seem to achieve? Do you want to spice things up a little? Are you ready to go after your dreams? If so, you’ve come to the right place! 

Table of Contents

• What are goals? 
• What are the benefits of setting goals? 
• However, if I had to pick my top three benefits they are as follows: 
• But how do we set goals and achieve them? 
• Step One: Buy a notepad/journal and dedicate this solely to your goals.  
• Step Two: Be still and reflect.  
• Step Three: Write your goals down and set a realistic date for each one. 
• Step Four: Create an action plan. 
• Step Five: Revisit your goals at the end of every month. 
• Step Six: Get an accountability partner.  
• Step Seven: Don’t quit!

Quick heads up before we dive in…this post contains affiliate links which means that I may earn a commission should you chose to make a purchase using my link.

What are goals? 

The Cambridge dictionary defines a goal as an aim or purpose. I like this definition, but I want to add a little more meat to the bones by expanding on this slightly. Instead, I want to encourage you to think of goals as a set of realistic targets or outcomes that you want to achieve by a particular time. These goals could be related to anything from your education to your career, your finances or even your health and well-being.  

What are the benefits of setting goals? 

There are so many benefits to effective goal setting. I recently read a fantastic article from Positive Psychology which gives a detailed summary of its benefits including a variety of research and studies that prove their effectiveness. If you are interested in finding out more, I would recommend reading this article which can be accessed here. 

However, if I had to pick my top three benefits they are as follows: 

#1 Firstly, goals give you more control over your life and help you discover the things that are most important to you.

#2 Goals also encourage you to think both short and long-term, which significantly shapes your future. A long-term vision is difficult to develop if you have no idea what you want in the first place. Sadly, it has also become overlooked today, as instant gratification is now so widely promoted.  

More and more people seem to want everything done yesterday and humans are becoming less patient. What many fail to recognise is that the decisions we make today shape our future, so it is important that we maintain a long-term vision and don’t just focus on the here and now.  

#3 Finally, goals help you become more intentional with your time and energy which in turn, helps you live a more purpose-driven life and stay focused.  

But how do we set goals and achieve them? 

Don’t worry familia, I’ve got you covered! As someone that is a big advocate for goal setting, I’ve put together a step-by-step guide that outlines effective strategies that have helped me set my own goals and crush them! But before we get into it, I must warn you that this is a process that will require a lot of your time and energy! I hope you’re ready!

Step One: Buy a notepad/journal and dedicate this solely to your goals.  

Keeping your goals recorded in one place is important. No scrap pieces of paper, no used notepads that only have a few pages remaining. Round here we do things properly! You don’t need to buy anything fancy. A simple, low cost notepad or journal will do the trick!

Please DO NOT go wasting your money on a fancy goal setting journal if you know deep down that you’re not ready to take this seriously. It might be pretty and colourful but that’s not enough to keep you motivated, particularly when things get tough!

If you can’t purchase a new notepad or journal right now, that’s fine and understandable. The key is to ensure your goals are listed and organised in one place. You’ll understand why once we get to step five! 

Step Two: Be still and reflect.  

Sounds easy but when was the last time you sat down for 30 minutes with no phone, no music, no TV or any other distractions? I can safely say that for me this is a challenge. I struggle doing this for 5 minutes let alone 30!  

Gaining clarity regarding what you want both short-term and long-term takes time and requires patience. It also requires an element of soul searching. Spending time alone to reflect on your life and circumstances helps you identify the desires of your heart. You will be amazed at how distracted and influenced you are by your day-to-day life and those around you without even realising it.  

Take a second, breathe and think about what would really make you happy and improve your circumstances. But please be specific and realistic. Set yourself goals that you can measure and think about your reasons why you are setting these goals in the first place.  

For example, if you feel that losing weight is an important goal for you, don’t just write things like ‘I want to lose weight.’ Be specific. Instead write something more specific and encouraging such as ‘I want to lose 10 pounds so that I feel healthier’.  

There is nothing wrong with having big plans and I always encourage others to dream big! However, setting goals that are impossible for you to achieve or that you have no way of measuring can become difficult to manage. I want you to stay motivated and be inspired, not discouraged.  

Step Three: Write your goals down and set a realistic date for each one. 

Once you have identified your goals and are clear on what you want to achieve, write them down and give them a date. By giving them a date, I mean an actual date! Not in 5 years, or in 3 months. No, an actual date. Take your time with this. Think about your life, your circumstances, and the amount of work you need to do to achieve the goals you are about to set.  

You may be thinking that this is a little extra or even a bit complicated. However, setting a date in stone makes this process real and will help you hold yourself accountable. It will also help you monitor your progress and will encourage you to take this process seriously.  

Step Four: Create an action plan. 

Now you have your journal and have reflected on the things you want to achieve. Your goals are specific, and you have thought about your reasons why, giving each of your goals a specific date. Excellent job! Now the real work begins! 

Let’s start bringing these goals to life by creating your action plan! Don’t be alarmed! This action plan isn’t what you think and doesn’t need to be too descriptive. It’s nothing more than a breakdown of each goal that will outline the actions you need to complete to achieve each goal by your time limit.  

In your journal at the top of a new page write the title ‘Action Plan’ and write your goals out again, this time leaving quite a bit of space between each one. Then underneath each goal, all you need to do is outline the actions that you need to take to work towards achieving this goal. And that is it! 

Step Five: Revisit your goals at the end of every month. 

If you want to achieve the goals you’ve set this year, you will need to revisit them. I recommend that at the end of every month at the very least. There is no point in following the previous steps in this guide if your goals will just be left sitting in a journal collecting dust. It’s a waste of your time, effort and energy.  

Revisiting your goals regularly will keep you focused and keep the goals relevant. This is also how you monitor your progress and will really boost your confidence and encourage you to keep going…providing you are doing the work! 

For example, I make a point of reviewing my goals on the last weekend of every month. I make it a priority to set aside some time that weekend and look at my action plan, reflecting on the actions I’ve taken, as well as those outstanding.  

Sometimes you may need to update the action plan as things can change – that’s no problem. There may also be some months where you make huge progress, while other months you make little. I promise you this is all part of the process, but I urge you to hang on in there. In those months where little progress has been made, try to remind yourself of all the things you have completed. We are humans, not robots. We only have two hands and sometimes life gets a little hectic.   

Step Six: Get an accountability partner.  

If you are serious about holding yourself accountable, the best thing you can do is get an accountability partner. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to see you succeed so choose wisely! This person needs to be someone you love and can trust.  

Once you’ve identified this person and they agree to come alongside you on this journey, send them a copy of your goals so they know exactly what you are trying to achieve. On those days when you start to lose motivation, they will be your biggest source of encouragement.  

However, they can only hold you accountable if you give them permission to do so. Don’t get mad when they start calling you out because they notice that you are starting to veer off track. This is what you’ve asked them to do! 

Step Seven: Don’t quit!

You can amend your action plan and you can change the dates of each goal if you need to. You can even change your accountability partner if you feel like they aren’t doing enough to support you.

But please, whatever you do…DO NOT GIVE UP!  

Once you become clear on what you want as well as the things you are trying to achieve, you may notice the desires of your heart beginning to change. You may also become more aware of your distractions and even more determined than ever to eliminate them.

It’s likely that you’ll start to lose interest in things, people, and places and that’s ok. Some people won’t be able to join you on your journey, and sometimes we need to make sacrifices to get where we need to be.

Going after your goals can be draining and make you question if all your hard work is going to be worth it. But honestly, there is nothing more empowering than seeing your dreams come to life after all the effort you’ve been making!

This step-by-step guide may seem quite daunting and maybe even a little bit extra, but if you’re serious about transforming your life and going after your dreams, setting goals effectively is going to be the key to your success. 

But please, take your time with this and make sure you take it seriously. Your input will determine your output and your dreams won’t work unless you do!  

Until next time, 

Liv x