Hitting your 2018 goals? 90 days to go – and 4 steps to take

Have you noticed…there are just 90 days left in 2018? “Yes of course Dawn” you mutter, rolling your eyes. I want to send you a friendly nudge and draw your attention to those goals you set yourself, way back in January.

How are you doing? Have you already achieved all your goals? If so, well done! Or maybe…you can’t even remember them. Take these four steps to get back on track and stay there.

1.Chart your progress to date
What goals did you set yourself at the beginning of this year? (If you haven’t seen them since 1 January, you may need to dig them up!) It’s fine to have just one goal; some people like to set a mix of goals for different aspects of their lives – work, fitness, etc. I suggest visualising your progress in some way. You can:

• Write a list
• Create a Mind Map
• Create a bar chart, listing your goals and shading your progress on a scale of 1-10.
• Make a mood board of what you’ve achieved so far

However you chart your progress, give yourself a pat on the back for whatever steps you’ve taken so far. When you’ve done that, take a good look – what strikes you? What (or who) has helped you get this far?

2.Reflect on your year so far
Use some or all of these questions to pause for thought and reflect on your progress so far.

• What’s a high point in your year so far?
• What skills have you learned? How are they supporting you?
• What setbacks have you overcome? How did you do that?
• How have you used your strengths so far this year?
• Who has inspired you? How have they done that?
• Who has helped you? Who have you helped?
• What are you grateful for?
• When have you felt the most energized so far this year?
• Who have you spent the most time with?
• What – if anything – do you want to change?

3.Plan to stay on track and reach your goals
A wonderful coach I worked with several years back got me to create two lists: what I wanted more of – and less of. Two simple columns ought to do it. Once you’ve done this, circle no more than five of your ‘more of’ list, the points that mean the most to you. Use these questions to create your plan.

• How will you measure success?
• What will you gain when you achieve this?
• What could you lose if you don’t reach this goal?
• What obstacles do you anticipate? How can you overcome them?
• Who can you team up with to keep each other on track?

4.Commit to action
This step is all about identifying the immediate next step you need to get started – no matter how small it may be – and setting the date and time when you will do it. Put the step – and the time it will take – in your calendar, with a reminder. Repeat the process for each of your goals.

Good luck – and let me know how you get on.

You may find this post useful: ’10 self-development resources’

Dawn is the author of ‘The Feedback Book’ and ‘How to be Zoomly at work’.

Image credits:

Cheerful leader woman @ rastudio/DepositPhotos

Goal achievement concept in flat style @ abscent/DepositPhotos