How to set goals and make them less daunting to achieve

#NewYear is usually the time when we all feel motivated to make new resolutions and most of us do it with honest and good intentions.

But what happens to those #resolutions past first few months?

For most of us, usually after the first quarter at best, these resolutions, are forgotten and life goes back to the same old routine as it has always been.

But if we want to take control of our lifestyle and work towards achieving our goals, then we need to give our actions a little bit direction. And these resolutions are a way for us to do exactly that.

Personally, I’ve never set any new year resolution myself, because of two main reasons:

1. Firstly, if there is something really important that I want to achieve or change in my life, then I don’t want to wait for next January to start working towards it. I would like to work on it as soon as I feel inspired, which can be today or next month, but not a few months down the line. Because the type of person I am, I know my priorities would shift and that important thing would never happen, if I will wait for months to start working on it.

2. Secondly, I don’t call them resolutions, because in my head resolutions are not very tangible, instead I set GOALS for myself. #Goals with clearly defined target and sometimes a desired #deadline too. Now I won’t punish myself to achieve that deadline all the time, but having a time limit to a goal, helps me in working towards it rather than procrastinating.

And being a #freelancer, having goals is imperative.

After all, a freelancer is nothing but an #entrepreneur running their own small business and no business can record year on year growth, if they don’t know where they are going and where they want to be.

So today, I want to suggest some small ideas, with examples, which have worked for me & I continue to use them.

1. Write them down!

I am big on making lists because I feel lists are a constant and easy reminder & it frees up a lot of my mental space, which I can use for more important things rather than remembering tasks.

So, for me anything that needs to be done has to be listed down. And these lists can be on your phone, in your diary, on a piece of paper, spreadsheet or on some sophisticated app (like #Cozi or your own #Trello board).

Simply jot down what you want to achieve or gain or loose in next few months.

And remember to have realistic goals and nothing very open-ended.

For example, ‘start my voiceover career’ (#howtostartasavoiceoverartis) as a goal could be very open-ended. Instead maybe break it down a bit and have something like:

1. Get a demoreel made

2. Setup home studio

3. Research about how to start a VO career

4. Find a coach and start training

2. Sort them by priority.

Once you’ve written down everything you want to achieve in next few months or the whole year, then start re-arranging them based on their importance and urgency. I will be writing more about the difference in two in my next blog, so lookout for that.

But basically, re-order things based on what you want to achieve first and sometimes what needs to be done first chronologically. For example

1. Research about how to start a VO career

2. Find a #voiceover coach and start #training

3. Get a #vo demoreel made

4. Setup home studio

3. Add some realistic deadlines against them

Some tasks might be achievable within a week, some might need a bit more time and some of them might even be recurring. Identify that and add timelines accordingly.

1. Research about how to start a VO career – until February

2. Find a #voiceovercoach and start training – From Feb till May*

3. Get a voiceover #demoreel made – from April till July*

4. Setup #homestudio – from June till August

*It might also happen that you don’t currently know how long a task might take, in that case, simply put a timeline of 2-3 months and you can come back to it when you review your goals, which would be the last and the most important step.

4. Review your goals

Making all these lovely lists and then completely forgetting about them never helps.

So always remember to come back to your “Goals list” and #review how you have been doing and what else needs your attention.

You might realise that given your new knowledge you now need different goals, or you might want to change the timelines for your existing ones, or you might have even forgotten about some of your goals.

All of this is addressed when you come back and review your list and take a stock of where you are at and where you would like to be.

These 4 simple steps would not only make any task seem less daunting but it will also keep you stay accountable and on-track to making your dreams happen!

Good luck with all your dreams in 2022! :)

In addition, if there is anything else that you think we all could benefit from while setting our goals, then please share with us in comments here. I would love to hear more creative and positive ideas.