We talk about resolutions every year around this time. Sometimes it’s about making and keeping those resolutions, but often it’s a joke about how long we can go before we admit defeat. That’s the problem with resolutions: without SMART Goals, we aren’t able to make the kind of progress we’re hoping to see in ourselves. What does it really mean to eat healthier? And how do you just find more balance in life? How do you measure that? And when do you get to say “OK – I’ve reached my goal!” And if you never reach your goal, how can you celebrate success and set a new goal? It’s a cycle that sets you up for failure.
But it’s OK – we threw our resolutions out the window a long time ago and we think you should too.
Instead of resolutions, we’re focused on SMART, 90-Day goals that we can use to keep ourselves motivated and help us to make real, actual progress. We do this ourselves and we encourage our clients to do the same. In fact, our Strategic Business Mindset program – our most popular and famous program – is actually built on the whole concept of 90-Day Goals.
Why 90 days? Our brains already think in terms of quarters and seasons when it comes to the year and three months is just short enough to keep you motivated and just long enough that you have time to make real progress. For Growth Coaches and clients, 90 days is the sweet spot for goal setting. Knowing you have to accomplish something by the end of 2022 doesn’t sound nearly as pressing as knowing it needs to be done by the end of March, right? That feels both urgent and doable.
If you’re on board with the whole “throw out the resolutions and focus on 90-day goals” thing, we can help you get started.
First, you have to focus on the goal itself. Creating a SMART goal means wording your goal in such a way that it is Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound. Let’s do a really easy one. If you want to grow your business in 2022, you’d want to set some parameters to make that goal SMART. For example, you might say: I want to grow the online portion of my business by 3 percent by March 31, 2022. That gives you something firm to aim for that’s specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. If you reach that goal before March 31, you can create a new goal. If you don’t make it, then on April 1, it’s time to reevaluate.
Secondly, you have to create plans to actually reach the goals you set. You can’t do the same thing you’re doing today and just hope for improvements. What kinds of things can you adjust within the time frame of your goal to help you reach that goal? If you’re looking to grow your business, maybe your action items include partnering with a local nonprofit or hiring a company to help with SEO or offering new training opportunities to your sales team?
If you’re struggling to create goals, create strategies and implement the changes you need to move the needle with your business or organization, The Growth Coach can help. Find your local Growth Coach at https://www.thegrowthcoach.com/find-a-coach.