Ask some truly successful people what accounts for their achievements and you’ll often hear this answer: goals. Indeed, clear goals are the fulcrum on which all prioritizing turns. To set goals is worth a good block of your time. Without goals your time will be aimless.
But what kinds of goals? What must goals be?
• Attainable.Successful people set goals that are ambitious
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yet realistic. Cycles of success mark achievers’ lives.
When such people fail, it isn’t from a lack of planning or effort. Dreamers, on the other hand, set unreachable goals. They ride a rollercoaster of ups and downs, some- times never making it to the top of the first hill.
• Measurable.Imagine a football game with no yard lines, end zones, goal posts, scoreboard, clock, or even clear-cut teams—just a bunch of players whose goal is to pass a football, run around, and collide. It might be fun to watch for a while, but not for long. The chaos would soon drive the fans out of the stadium. Shortly thereafter, the players, unmotivated and confused, would wander off the field.
To work without clear-cut, measurable goals is, in I Don’t Have Time!
Have you ever thought to yourself, “But I don’t have timeto set goals! I’m too busy working!”
It’s probably true that taking the time to set goals now will cut into the time you’ve reserved for other activities. But in the long run, it’s one of the most effective time-saving strategies you can pursue.
It simply isn’t possible to maximize the use of your time if you don’t have a clear idea of what you’re trying to accomplish—both short term and long term. Carving out a small amount of time each week to devote to reviewing your goals can work wonders for providing the focus you need to allocate your time productively.
Measuring Your Goals
“Measuring” implies “quantifying.” But some or most of your goals are somewhat abstract, like “spend quality time with my family” or “prepare presentation for the Acme project.” How can you
“measure”—or “quantify”—such amorphous goals?
Easy.Translate them into numbers. Most of the things we do in life can be thought of in terms of time or money or both.You can usually place a dollar value or a time value on any goal. For example, getting specific on how muchquality time you want to spend with your family will allow you to measure your success. Setting the dollar amount that you want the Acme project to realize will help you to assess, in retro- spect, how well you prepared that presentation.
reality, not much more productive or engaging than our imaginary football game. To motivate yourself and oth- ers—to know if you have won—you absolutely need goals that can be measured.
• Written. “I read it, so it must be true!” Something written has a peculiar power to convince. Writing down your objectives and having others read them (if you supervise them, they may need to read your goals) brings authority, accountability, and permanence to your priorities. The Sheraton Anchorage has printed goal statements all over its service corridors; it’s one of the best-run hotels in the country.
• Accountable. Without accountability, goals melt away, for- gotten. Remain flexible; feedback may prompt you to revise targets you set for yourself or for others. But hold to your goals.
• Deadlined.If you set a deadline for your tasks, you’ll have a much better chance of achieving your goal. Better yet, tell someone else that you set that deadline. It will make you more accountable.
The same applies to deadlines you set for others. Always give a precise time of completion and periodically review progress toward your objectives.
Goals, of course, can be long- or short-term. But for some reason, we often fail to set aside blocks of time for serious long- term goal setting. Each year—perhaps as a New Year’s resolu-
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Describing Your Goals
30 years ago, a certain woman set as her goal “to have a body like Elizabeth Taylor’s.” How likely would it be today
that she’d set exactly the same goal in exactly the same words? Bodies change over time, fashions change over time, and the goal today would almost certainly be expressed differently.
It’s important that you say what you mean when setting goals—and that you review your words from time to time to determine whether or not they continue to express what you really want to achieve.
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tion—you should make a list of at least three personal and three professional long-term goals, indicating how each will be meas- ured and a deadline for achievement. Prioritize these goals, deciding which is your A goal, your B goal, and your C goal.
Then put this list in a prominent place—someplace where its presence will motivate you to continued action.