How to Accomplish Your Goals – A Step by Step Guide

Every one of us sets out to do something, whether it's learning another language or acquiring an extra hour in the day to devote to a favorite pastime. We've all paused to consider how a new skill or promotion could improve our lives just a little bit. Setting goals is the easiest part of the goal setting journey, as we're sure you've learned by this point. How to accomplish your goals is the main question here. However, achieving your goals is an entirely different ball game.

Go-getters, rejoice! You've arrived at the perfect site if you're saying to yourself, "This time, I'm going to achieve my objective - no matter WHAT." We have all the tips, tactics, and guidance you'll need to move toward a better and more fulfilling version of yourself. 

So, let's begin by declaring that we're 99.9% confident that you aren't the cause of your lack of success. And we don't believe that's what you're aiming for. Setting and achieving objectives isn't as difficult as people make it in their minds. It doesn't matter how motivated you are to score a goal; winging it rarely works. Short term goals, short term objectives, and long-term goals can be achieved by using measurable goals, implementing a strategy and creating and adhering to an action plan.

Achieve Your Goals By Putting A Plan In Place!

You're doomed to fail if you don't have a plan for when, where, and how. We have just what you're looking for in the form of a step-by-step guide. So here are some of our favorite strategies and golden guidelines from our tried, tested, and perfected workshop strategy to help you achieve your goals. 

It's possible your inability to achieve your goals, regardless of how drastically you alter the scope of your objectives, isn't due to a lack of perseverance or inadequate goals (or even an ancient curse plaguing all of your dreams altogether.) What if we told you that the techniques you put in place to create goals that would determine the fate of your newly discovered goals?

Here is your ultimate guide to what you need to do to accomplish your goals:

Step 1: Allow yourself some quiet time to think through your personal goals.

So, you've determined that you will achieve your goals this time. What's next? 

As tempting as it may be to jump right into exercising your newfound goals, we recommend that you take a step back and analyze what you already know about how you go about fulfilling the tasks you set yourself.

As exciting as a new beginning can be, it's important to remember that failing to learn from the past can lead to the same mistakes being made repeatedly. Thus, introspection is essential. Take a look at your former projects and see if any patterns emerge as you get started on a new one. This will help in understanding how to reinvent yourself.

This is one of the most critical steps in attaining challenging goals, so go ahead and pat yourself on the back for all your achievements. 

It doesn't have to be time-consuming or complicated to review your goals from the past. Our favorite methods of self-reflection will only take you 10 minutes. Marie Forleo, a life and career coach, philanthropist, and host of Marie TV, is the source of one of our favorite approaches.

Her approach is straightforward, efficient, and to the point. Write down your responses to the following questions with a pen and paper:

• Do I have any accomplishments from this year that I am proud of?

• Is there a lesson I learned from any of the blunders I've made? Is there anything I've learned that I can put to use?

• What am I prepared to give up?

Step 2: Define your why related to the goal

Let's get down to business for a while. What exactly are you trying to accomplish when you embark on this journey? How much do you want to be promoted, and how much do you believe it is appropriate to want to be promoted?

Once the first barriers are encountered, giving up on your realistic goals, is very simple when you follow someone else's vision to set goals and ambitions.

A nagging sense of frustration and failure can result from unfinished aspirations. Having to deal with this is exhausting. What if you could save yourself time and effort by pursuing the goals you genuinely desire?

The "5 Whys" exercise is a simple and effective technique to uncover the underlying motives for your new endeavor. Use this Design Thinking exercise to better understand the relationship between the issues at hand and their causes.

We can use the example of a manager as an example. Start with the most obvious explanation for why you desire it, then keep asking questions until you've found the answer. ‍

• Because I want to be a manager, I need a new role for my resume.

• What makes that role so appealing to me? Because I want to advance my career.

• What are the motivations behind my desire to advance professionally? Because I adore working with my hands and getting my hands dirty.

• Because I'm good at what I do, I like it.

• Because I've worked hard at it. Due to my sincere interest in the subject matter of my work.

Getting promoted to a manager role in this particular scenario was primarily motivated by a desire for the actual work rather than an interest in the managerial responsibilities of the new position. It's beautiful to strive for advancement, but it's not always necessary to assume a managerial position. If your goal is to improve your skills in your current position, becoming a manager may actually move you further away from it.

You must lay this foundation with each you set out to complete to achieve your life goals. When you attach emotional significance to your life goals, achieving them is significantly easier. You'll be more motivated to attain your goal once you've figured out how essential it is to you.

Check out our podcast on Soft Skills benefits for students!

Step 3: Recognize what works for you personally

So, we've covered goal planning and the proper way to accomplish it.

So, let's see if you can put these ideas into action in the real world in a way that makes them easier for you to do. When it comes to the methods, you need to know which one's work and which don't.

When it comes to a new habit, early risers will succeed, whereas night owls will struggle and most likely give up on their objective if they have to get up before 10 am to do it. Some people will benefit from an accountability buddy, while others will find it a nuisance.

Step 4: The fourth step is to write your goals down.

It's time to get back to the basics with a pen and paper!

Write your new project on paper instead of on your phone's Notes app. However, research has shown that our brains function better when we write things down rather than typing them.

For better comprehension and retention of new knowledge, writing by hand is preferred. Neurosensory training requires the simultaneous activation of several different brain regions at the same time. This slows down your brain, allowing you to better articulate your thoughts and feelings. Your critical thinking skills and conceptual understanding improve as a result.

Having laid the basis, let's get into the nitty-gritty of crafting your smart goals.

Step 5: Next, be realistic about your expectations and refrain from taking on more than you can reasonably handle.

We can get started now that you're thrilled and motivated to master that skill, be promoted, or spend more time on your favorite activity. Isn't it exciting to start with a clean slate and a new outlook?

For some reason, you've decided to go for the big ones. This is going to be a piece of cake for you.

Aiming too high and committing yourself entirely to a new life as soon as the clock strikes midnight is a sure way to fail, even when you're enthusiastic and eager about your ambitions. Therefore, it is very important to set realistic goals because small changes lead to big results.

Burnout is a sure sign that you've put too much on your plate and spread yourself too thin. And we don't want that to happen, do we? As a result, instead of trying to implement a slew of techniques at once, focus on one or two at a time. Focus on forced prioritizing for a moment and take the first step towards your life goals. ‍

What is the most critical thing I can do to achieve my goal? 

"I want to read two books a week, go to evening classes, and attend those Sunday gatherings" can be a difficult decision to make. Considerations for one's employment, family, and other responsibilities make this a stretch.

Keep in mind that prioritizing doesn't mean that you're giving up all of your other ideas. You can also decide to use these, but only after you've put your initial strategy into action methodically and consistently.

"Will completing X entail more effort, but bring in fewer results, than Y?" is a question you must ask yourself when prioritizing. The "Effort/Impact" scale is a great tool to help you make a more informed decision.

As you brainstorm ways to achieve your goals, rank each one according to how much effort it will take and how much of an impact it will have on your ability to achieve them. To better understand where you should focus, you should visualize your methods on this scale.

It's possible to divide the scale into quarters and pick which events should occur first, second, third, and so on. Make a list of all the ways you can achieve your goals based on the effort they will demand and the influence they will have on your success.

To better understand what you should focus on, visualize your methods on this scale.

Determine the level of work and influence that each of your ideas for achieving your goals will have on your ability to achieve them. You'll have a better idea of where your efforts should be directed if you put your strategies into perspective on this scale. It's possible to divide the scale into quarters and pick which events should occur first, second, third, and so on.

Step 6: Make use of the 1% gains in efficiency.

Most likely, you're looking at this post because you've already tried to accomplish a couple of your goals. Failed... Yes, but... One of the most common excuses people use when they fail to develop a new habit is that they "just didn't try hard enough."

That dreaded subject of "guilty willpower." While some people and situations may benefit from this, in the big scheme of things, it rarely works (some even claim it doesn't work at all!).

Constant change and difficulty make us feel vulnerable as people. Our reptile minds instinctively desire to return to comfortable, familiar methods of doing things in the face of dramatic change.

On the other hand, who says you need radical changes to get significant results? When Dave Brailsford, Team Sky's general manager and performance director, took over in 2010, he set out to improve every aspect of cycling by only one percent.

His next step was to see to it that these 1% enhancements were carried out daily. The squad won the Tour de France in just three years, two years ahead of Brailsford's five-year target!

We overvalue the significance of one pivotal event and undervalue the power of incremental changes we can make every day, according to best-selling author James Clear in Atomic Habits.

Step 7: Set Deadlines for Everything

Deadlines may be one of the most overlooked instruments for reaching your goals. We understand that they might be a nuisance, but they are truly your ally. We've got your back.

Setting a deadline to achieve goals forces you to think about the steps you need to take to attain your objective and motivates you to get things done. Only those with a developed sense of self-responsibility need an end date to work towards major goal; else, nothing will ever be done.

Prioritizing our goals helps us avoid burnout because we know how much time we have to accomplish them. When we're working on something every day, we're more likely to stick with it.

Setting a time frame and deadlines is one of the most common pitfalls since nearly everyone falls prey to what psychologists call the planning fallacy: underestimating how long the task will take us and overestimating the scope of it all. So, be honest with yourself when you set your project's time frame and deadlines. Also try to learn multitasking skills as these skills will help you in the long run.

Remember that nothing will change about your current situation in the next week, month, or year. For those who work full-time, have a family, and have hobbies and side businesses in their spare time, learning another language in a month is unrealistic.

Step 8: It's time to get rid of all the junk!

Whatever your opinion of Marie Kondo is, cleaning your life of unnecessary items and thoughts will open the door to new opportunities. And when is better than the start of a new year to do a thorough spring cleaning? So, it's time to make room for the fresh!

As a reminder, in step one, we experimented with a retrospective technique. Look at the answers to the questions you're willing to let go of and get rid of them.

Ask yourself what initiatives and goals you've tried but failed at. What do you think? Do you think they deserve another chance?

Get rid of any commitments that don't correspond with your long-term objectives. To avoid draining your new vitality goal, you either need to abandon unfinished goals or reevaluate your present goal.

Once you've done that, you'll feel lighter since you won't have to lug around the weight of an out-of-date commitment.

Step 9: Reframe your desired outcome to make the goal more attainable.

The difficulty with many of our projects is that we don't know exactly what we want to achieve. Great intentions such as "I want to master Design Thinking" or "I want to learn a new language" are immeasurable.

Attempt to avoid the dangers of vague, broad objectives. While the aforementioned objectives may be inspiring in and of themselves, there is a fatal fault in that they emphasize the results rather than the process of achieving them. It is important to dream big but be realistic at the same time and set attainable goals.

If you want to master a subject, focus on the necessary steps. If you want to learn a new language, think about the quickest and most efficient way to do so. It's easier to see the path to your desired outcome and the final destination when your goals are behavior specific.

As a result, you may restate your objective as follows:

Design Thinking is something I hope to master someday. A minimum of ten pages a day of "Creative Confidence" and one Design Thinking meetup a month are two of my daily goals.

I want to learn a new language. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I'll attend my language lesson, and at least twice a month; I'll attend a language exchange.

Making it easier for you to achieve your goal by putting in place a routine of everyday actions that move you closer to it makes it much more attainable.

Step 10: Progress, not perfection, is the goal.

If you're the type of person who has to have everything perfect before starting a project, habit, or effort, this article is for you.

Get rid of the habit of over-tweaking and start before you're fully prepared. You can try our weekly habit tracker app to track your progress.

In everything you do, it's laudable to hold oneself to the highest possible standard... So long as you don't let your need to be flawless prevent you from starting (and it almost ALWAYS does.)

While a sincere desire to do quality work is admirable, procrastination disguised as perfectionism is not. If you succumb to the latter's temptation, you'll never get started.

Don't let your perfectionist tendencies keep you from pursuing your goals this time. For us, it's more vital to get going than to do it right.

Instead of ruminating over the best way to tackle a task, take a deep breath and dive right in. The only way to achieve those smart goals is to work towards them every day, even if it's just for 10 minutes.

Making progress and accomplishing tasks is more essential than being perfect. To avoid being derailed by your fears, maintain a development mindset by focusing on learning and trying rather than getting everything perfect the first time.

Even though many people find it difficult to accept, effective time management is essential to achieving your both career and personal goals. Unfortunately for you, procrastinators, we must inform you of the importance of this one.

Final Words - How to Accomplish your Goals!

Even if it sounds clichéd and trite, getting somewhere is often more enjoyable than the destination itself. You grow and change as you go along, and isn't that the ultimate aim of all of it?

So, embrace the upcoming challenges enthusiastically, enjoy them, and take ownership of them! And now that you've got the foolproof plan in place, and know how to accomplish your goals, we're confident that you'll succeed and gamify your life!