How to Accomplish Your Work Goals

Reading time: 4 minutes

Welcome to the New Year!

Now is the time for resolutions, fresh starts and goals. It’s always good to categorize your goals. So if you already have your new physical goals, it’s not too late to set new mental or financial goals.

This post is designed to help you set and achieve your professional and work goals.

Identify Your Issues and Needs

Start with discovering what you lack or a problem you need to solve. Looking at the general problem can help you locate a specific solution. You’ll often find your goal isn’t much of a struggle to accomplish once you realize all of the possible solutions you have. Start brainstorming broadly with your issues and needs then work to a more specific root of the problem. For example, Leah doesn’t have enough time in her day. Her first goal may be Time Management. When we look into detail, Leah feels like she doesn't have enough time in her day because she’s always late and she never gets project done on time.

Create Realistic Goals

The difference between realistic goals and overly ambitious ones is your odds of staying motivated to accomplish them. It’s okay to start with an ambitious goal but you want to make it more specific and realistic so you can make a good plan to accomplish it. To turn your huge goal into a realistic one consider your circumstance, environment, resources and time. Let’s make Leah’s goal of time management more realistic. We know it’s her goal because she is always late and doesn't finish her projects on time, so we’ll break down each problem. What are some of the reasons why Leah is always late? We can guess factor like traffic, over sleeping, waiting in line or even forgetting when she has to be somewhere play a role. Now, what are some of the reasons why Leah can’t finish a project on time? Maybe she doesn't have the supplies, it takes longer to complete than what time is allotted, she doesn’t hear back from resources or she procrastinates. With this breakdown, Leah can make her goal more specific: To not procrastinate and be more proactive about her responsibilities.

Write a Game Plan

Now that you’ve identified the real issues, you can make a game-plan to solve each one in particular. It’s important to actually write out your game plan to help you deep think, to help it stay in your mind and for reference in the next coming weeks. Start with listing the roots of your problems and list all of the possible ways you can solve that problem. This will open your mind to all of the ways you can accomplish your goal.

For Leah, her game-plan may start something like this:

Always LateTraffic: Drive different route, start a trip to destination earlier, use GPS to estimate time.Over Sleeping: Sleep earlier, set both traditional and phone alarms, shower before bed, pack morning supplies the night before, exercise.Waiting… — **Always Late**
Traffic: Drive different route, start a trip to destination earlier, use GPS to estimate time.
Over Sleeping: Sleep earlier, set both traditional and phone alarms, shower before bed, pack morning supplies the night before, exercise.
Waiting in Line: Order items online, cook at home, home brew coffee, leave earlier.
Forgetting: Use a planner, set reminders in a cell phone, buddy system.

Plan for Obstacles

Every good game plan also has a plan for obstacles. It is the epitome of expecting the unexpected. Many times people let one mistake be the reason to toss all of their effort out of the window. When you create your game plan, include a plan for when it doesn't go right. The reality is that life happens and it won’t always happen for your benefit, but that’s okay. Leah’s game plan includes falling asleep earlier, but what if her child wakes up in the middle of the night or if dinner took longer than expected and she couldn't get to bed on her planned time? The best thing Leah can do is accept that hiccup and use another option to avoid over sleeping. Your obstacles do not have to be the end of your goal. A couple bad days out of 365 is better than a failed goal after 2 weeks.

Reward Yourself

You did it! You’re doing it! You’re thinking about doing it! These are all things to celebrate. Never fail to reward yourself for your accomplishments. You’ve put in more effort than you ever have before to accomplish this goal and you need to remember that you are cheering for you. You may not get the support you’d like on your journey so you have to find ways to support and be proud of yourself. Plus, when you know you have a reward coming, holding on thought he tough times get a bit easier! Leah is so excited for her favorite caramel macchiato in 2 weeks, that she set aside time in the morning to pick up. She’s saved time in her morning and has coincidently saved money. When you accomplish your goals, you get all of the rewards you deserve and even some you didn't expect!

Jasmine is a Social Media Manager in Dayton, Ohio. She has experience in digital marketing and public relations. Jasmine has been in the corporate world since May 2018. She spends a lot of her time working, editing and organizing. She finds a lot of joy in tweeting, snacking, and Beyonce! Her goal is to change lives and help creatives have the ability to touch the world.

Site: jasminemilumpr.wix.com/2018

Twitter: @jaslamarcole

Instagram: @jasminemilumpr

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