In our last blog post, I talked about how to set SMART goals in 2023 to get you on track to become a better version of yourself. Now that you have defined your goals for the year, it is time to develop a system to monitor your progress and keep you accountable along the way. In this blog post, I will teach you my 3-step process for creating your goal-setting plan. Prefer to listen to the podcast? Check out Goal Setting Game Plan - Ep.21!
Step 1: Identify Your Checkpoints
Checkpoints are the milestones you meet throughout your journey to reaching your goal. Perhaps you have a goal of raising $1000, your checkpoints could be reaching $250, $500, then $750, and finally accomplishing your goal of $1000.
The key to identifying your checkpoints is to work backwards from your end goal. Think about the next biggest milestone you need to reach before accomplishing your goal, then continue to work backwards identifying each checkpoint until you return to your starting state. To ensure your milestones are achievable, it's important when phrasing each checkpoint that you mimic the SMART goal technique and clearly articulate each step.
Step 2: List Your Tasks
Once you have your checkpoints set up, it is time to list out your tasks. Think about your tasks as the steps you will need to take to accomplish each checkpoint. Going back to our previous example of raising $1000 there are several tasks to complete including creating a donation page, hosting a fundraiser event, marketing, and networking.
For each checkpoint, you should identify each detail of every task such as breaking down the components of creating your donation page, the resources needed, and the timeline of doing so. To ensure you have listed every task, ask yourself if you were to check off every task would that get you to the respective checkpoint. If you sense any gaps, you may be missing a task or two.
I would caution you not to get too caught up in the details, your goal setting game plan is a blueprint and blueprints change all the time. So think through your plan but leave room for flexibility!
Step 3: Create Your Habit Tracker
With your checkpoints and tasks established, you are left with only one final step - creating your habit tracker. The habit tracker is arguably the most significant step in my goal setting game plan because when used correctly, it is a great indicator of your progress.
The habit tracker is a collection of the regular habits you need to maintain to accomplish your tasks in an effort of meeting your checkpoints and eventually accomplishing your goal. Your habit tracker will keep you consistent and tell you exactly when you'll need to improve to attain your goal.
There are many ways to create a habit tracker I have found that the most effective options for me include a habit-tracking app or just plain old fashion pen and paper. I personally use my journal to track my habits on a monthly basis, but the choice is yours. Choose what works best for your lifestyle.
With a habit tracker in place, you are now equipped with my 3-step goal setting game plan.
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