How to Write Goals for Success
In the blog Practical steps to set goals and achieve them, we learned the importance of goals and how to set them. In this blog, we will explore how to actually write goals for success. We will see an example on how to write goals.
How to write SMART Goals for Success
Write a SMART goal in the present tense; that is, the goal should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound and expressing it as if it is happening currently or right now. You can have any goal but I will provide an example to double your annual income from $50,000 to $100,000.
Take a pen and paper to write the following goal:
“Increase my annual income from $50,000 to $100,000 by December 2024.”
If you have a highlighter, you can highlight the goal. Once the goal is created, post it in some visible spot where you can see it often. Change the spot every few weeks.
The goal created above contains all the components of a SMART goal.
- Specific: Double the annual income from $50,000 to $100,000.
- Achievable: The goal is realistic because it does not mention any exorbitant amount but can be achieved by improving the sources of income by through skill development and exploring career growth opportunities.
- Relevant: Aligns with the objective of improving financial stability and achieving financial goals through personal efforts.
List of Tasks to achieve the goal
Now that you have created a SMART goal, list down the all tasks or actions needed to achieve this goal. Write down whatever comes to your mind. Seek help from your mentors or individuals in your field.
Create a task list with deadlines and evaluate them every three weeks or so. For example, you can create a task list like,
| Tasks | Sub-Task | Start Date | End Date | Evaluate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self Assessment and research | – Take inventory of your current income and identify opportunities for improvement – What skills are you lacking | 1-Jan-24 | 22-Jan-24 | Did the task complete by the end date? |
| Research the places that can help you in improving your skills | Enroll into the training program | 23-Jan-24 | 13-Feb-24 | Did the task complete by the end date? |
If your tasks are not completed by the deadline, you can always revise them.
You may have any goal, but by taking conscious actions towards your goal success will soon be yours. Let’s start by writing the goal first.
Chandraish Sinha is the founder and President of Ohio Computer Academy, a company dedicated to providing IT education. An enthusiastic IT trainer, Chandraish embodies his company’s motto: Inspire, Educate & Evolve.
He has 20+ years of experience in Information Technology. He is an accomplished author and has published 11 books covering Business Intelligence related topics such as, Tableau, Power BI and Qlik. Checkout his Amazon Author profile.
His latest book Excel Basics to Advanced covers all the aspects of MS Excel and provides exercises for self-learning.
Similarly, his recent book, Dashboarding with Tableau, covers all the features in Tableau and includes exercises for self-learning.
He has implemented IT solutions in various domains viz. Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Telecom, Financial and Retail.
He blogs regularly on various IT topics. Check them out in the links given below: