Quarterly Organization: How to turn your big dreams into actionable goals
Although it's Q2, let's take it back to January and talk about New Year Resolutions for a sec...
IMHO, they aren't that helpful.
Did you set some this year? Are you still keeping up with them? I know for me, it's about 50/50 *oops*
The reason this happens is that most people choose the extreme goals:
working out 5 days a week when they barely exercise
cutting out 3 food groups that they consume on the daily
post daily on social media when their average was twice a week
If you want long-term success, and to actually follow through with the goals you set, stop trying to go from zero to 100 real quick. You're not Drake.
Instead, I'm going to walk you through 3 steps to help you to set achievable goals, keep the momentum going all year, and actually check the "I freakin did it" box on all your goals.
Let's dive in!
Before we get to the steps, let's first talk about the best kind of goals to set - SMART Goals
What are SMART goals?
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. If you've learned anything about goal setting, you're probably familiar with this method but let's break it down for a little refresher.
Specific Goals
Broadness is the killer of anything in business. If you have a broad message, no one will resonate. If you have broad offers, people probably won't buy. If you have broad goals, you're much less likely to reach them.
Most people think being broad when it comes to business makes the goal easier to complete but that is false. You're not giving yourself anything real to achieve.
Measurable Goals
I am obsessed with checking things off.
And when it comes to goals, you should be too.
If you're not giving yourself anything to measure, you won't know how much progress you've made or if you're making any progress at all.
Attainable Goals
This is the piece a lot of people overestimate when setting goals. Think back to the examples I used in the opening - most of the goals were unattainable which can cause you to fall off the wagon.
To determine what is an attainable goal, you can look at three things:
1) What has worked for you in the past?
2) What have you seen others accomplish?
3) With your current situation, is it possible to do?
Relevant Goals
Is the goal you're working towards actually relevant to what you want to do?
When it comes to the world of online business, social media especially, we often set goals based on what other people are doing or saying.
If you set goals based on what other people say, it's much easier to fall off because you don't have a real interest in meeting that goal.
Time-Bound Goals
This is another piece people tend to forget about or overestimate.
If you're not giving yourself a due date for completing your goal, you're kind of wasting your time.
And if you're giving yourself an unattainable due date, you're more likely to get discouraged.
Vision Casting Template
Know exactly where you want your business to go and how to get there. Includes monthly, quarterly, and annual goals.
How to create actionable goals
Step 1 to Actionable Goals - Start wide then go deep
This step may sound counterintuitive to the SMART goal method but by starting broad, you're able to look at the big picture before getting into the nitty-gritty of the goal.
The first piece of this stage is to do a giant brain dump. This helps you get all your thoughts out of your head onto paper.
It doesn't matter how crazy or big the goal is, this is a place for you to dream.
You'll want to list out anything you're wanting or hoping to accomplish no matter how soon or for away it may be.
Some questions to think about:
» What does my dream day look like?
» How involved do I want to be in my business?
» If I could have anything right now, what would it be?
» If I didn't make a dollar, what would I be doing?
Once you have your brain dump list, it's time to narrow it down.
You can do this by pairing together similar goals or categorizing them by priority.
When looking over your list, you may realize some goals lead directly to others or that they're similar in nature.
For example: If you have a goal related to income and another related to clients signed, those are directly related and can be combined.
After narrowing down the list, that's where you can start incorporating the SMART method.
Step 2 to Actionable Goals - Set Mini-Goals for Check-In Points
More often than not, your goals are going to take quite a bit of work.
When I work with clients on planning for their goals, I recommend taking your main goal and splitting it up into at least 3 mini-goals - more if it's something larger you're working towards.
This helps you keep that measurable part of your goal in check. You'll be able to easily track your progress and see the areas that are or aren't working.
Mini Goal Breakdown
Your main goal - Sign 5 new clients each month.
When setting your mini-goals, you'll want to look at everything related to that goal.
For signing clients, this includes the tasks necessary for creating and promoting offers, generating leads, and closing the sale.
Your mini goals could be:
Having 5 sales conversations per week
Scheduling 15 sales calls per month
Creating 2 hard-selling pieces of content per week
Breaking down your larger goals into smaller, bite-sized pieces helps you stay on track and not get overwhelmed along the way.
Step 3 to Actionable Goals - Seek Accountability
There's a meme floating around saying something like "Don't share the process, just share the transformation" and tbh, I don't believe that.
If you're the type of person who has the discipline to do things alone, more power to you. But most people don't work that way.
Also, entrepreneurship is already lonely enough! Why not get some people in your corner, cheering you on as you work towards something big??
By getting support and accountability, you're much more likely to stick with it when the going gets tough.
Have you ever tried to go to the gym more often by yourself? You stick with it for a bit but then find yourself tired and saying "Oh I can skip one day." and that day turns into weeks or months?
Now imagine hiring a trainer or even joining a group workout? They wouldn't let you skip that day. Them holding you accountable on the hard days is what helps you succeed in the long run.
Grab your biz bestie, join a Facebook group, or start a community of your own. Either way, find SOMEONE to help you stay accountable.
Bonus Step! Celebrate the Small Wins
If you're an entrepreneur, you're probably also an overachiever. Not a bad thing! But it means you don't give yourself credit where it's due.
We're always striving for that next big thing and we often forget to celebrate the small wins.
Launch a new offer and sign a client? That's huge!
Get a DM from a new follower asking about your work? Amazing!
Gain 5 followers from one IG post? That's good!
It's the small things that add up to the big things. If you're just getting started, that's something to celebrate too!
You took the leap and you're doing the damn thing. Don't forget what that feels like.
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