Setting Goals and Accomplishing Them - Great Tips

The New Year, a birthday, or anytime in fact, is a great time to begin an organized plan for setting and achieving goals. Having goals is the easy part. Creating a working plan to help you achieve your goals can take some effort. The effort is well spent because once you have your plan, you have a tangible document to measure your progress.

Keeping Track of Goals

A journal is essential for success. A spiral notebook will work fine for setting up your plan. Even easier is an electronic equivalent. Being able see a list of goals and more importantly your progress toward them is a key part of achieving goals.

Google Notebook - Google Notebook allows you to keep separate notebooks for each goal. You can also clip notes as you surf the web.

Natara Bonsai - Bonsai is outline software. It allows you to drag and drop entries and change their hierarchical structure. You can move your goals around as they are achieved.

Tracks - Tracks is a task manager that helps you plan your goals according to the next step you need to take. The software needs a server to run on. Available from Morphexchange.com.

Brainstorming

Make a list of everything, EVERYTHING, you ever wanted to do. Money and time are not considerations at this stage. Be creative and have fun. Make lists for each area of your life for which you want to set goals; money, home improvement, relationships, self improvement etc.

Organizing and Prioritizing

Once you have your master list of goals, divide them into categories. Choose a rating system that makes sense to you. Star ratings or 1-10 rating systems can be useful. At this time you can decide if any of the goals on your list are unrealistic. "Becoming an astronaut" might not actually be possible depending on your life situation. Don't give up unlikely goals too easily though. Sometimes a goal that seems impossible becomes more manageable once its been broken down into its components. Choose an estimated completion date for your goals.

When the goal are categorized, it's time to break them down into manageable pieces. Actions are pieces of goals that can be accomplished in a set time frame. "Buying a new car" could be the title of a goal. The goal actions could be "research car features", "save $50 toward down payment" and "visit car dealership." Break down every goal into actions.

Setting the Schedule

Place each action on a calendar and set reminders for yourself. Many actions will repeat. "Save $50 toward down payment" could appear on your calendar every payday. "Visit car dealership" might appear once a month. Once the actions have been scheduled don't forget to check your calendar regularly. It is also a good idea to review your goals systematically. Once a week, or once a month review the goal notebooks. At this time you can make adjustments as needed.

Google Calendar - Google Calendar is free. You can assign colors to your goals and create email or text message alerts.

Yahoo Calendar - Yahoo Calendar has similar features to Google

Outlook - Outlook is used by many businesses. It has lots of useful features

Tucows - Tucows has lots of free and shareware calendars

Affirmations and Rewards

Positive affirmations help you achieve your goals. They are great tools to help reprogram your unconscious from negative thinking to positive. At first, saying them out loud might feel a little silly. But they really work. State your goals in the present tense as if you have already achieved them. Make positive statements. Don't use words like "no, not, can't, never, don't."

Reward yourself for success. Treat yourself to an activity you enjoy or get yourself a little gift as a reward for achieving your goals. Rewards can also be for progress. If you completed all of the actions for a month, reward yourself.

Creating a step by step plan to achieve your goals reduces stress. Every single thing you need to do is accounted for. Procrastination and forgetfulness are no longer problems. With your new plan of action you are on your way to achieving everything you ever wanted.