Correctly setting and achieving goals and objectives

Hi all! Yulia Kel is with you. And today I will share my experience in implementing plans. I will help you figure out how to set goals correctly and achieve them in a shorter period of time. Do you want to avoid mistakes in this matter? I will give 7 common examples and teach you how to avoid them. We will talk about an algorithm for constructing tasks, consisting of five points. And we will discuss additional tools that will help you.

After reading this article, you will learn how to correctly set goals of different types, will use additional assistants in this matter and will no longer make mistakes.

Why is it important to set goals correctly?

There is a lot of material on the Internet about motivation, goal setting, and various things that help you achieve anything. But the majority consistently slide into something like this: “We procrastinate, hormones are to blame for this, here are some tips that can help.” And you read this, it’s about you, you start doing it, and a week or two or a month passes, and everything is forgotten. Everything returns to normal. Another missed deadline, again nerves and work at the last minute.

And so on all the time. Both in work and in life in general.

And until a person realizes that the problem is not that he is a procrastinator and lazy, nothing will change. Laziness is a banal defense mechanism that cannot be avoided. It is laid down by nature. You just need to be able to work with yourself and your body. And what distinguishes successful people is not that they are not lazy. They simply know how to work with their fleeting desires and “wants”.

Fast is slow, but constant.

It takes a long time to realize this banal thought. And the point is not even to constantly do something and it will lead to results. You have to do certain things at the same pace all the time. And not only to overcome yourself when you don’t want anything, but also to stop yourself when it seems that you can still move mountains.

It is in order to constantly and evenly move in the same direction that goal setting is needed. Set a task - break it down into smaller ones - come up with triggers that help you track progress - complete it. And so every time. With any new task.

Tools of Achievement

The wording and message of the goal have been decided. Now we need to understand how to achieve it. There are several effective tools for this.

Psychological attitude

Many people stop at the very beginning, because the notorious “I won’t succeed” is very strong and difficult to eradicate. But this must be done, otherwise such thoughts will constantly drag you down. “I will achieve everything”, “I can do this” - repeat these phrases daily as a mantra and remember that not all people succeed in everything the first time. Everyone has emotional downturns, think in advance how you will lift your spirits during such periods. You can read inspiring biographies, you can imagine that you have already achieved your goal - dreams sometimes help in your work. Why not?

Time planning

Of course, the goal will not be achieved just like that. You need to plan your steps to achieve it. It’s even worth breaking the period into stages. For example, you want to paint a portrait or still life, but you’re not very good at drawing. Think about what you need to do to achieve your goal: hone your drawing skills (two months), think through an image (three weeks), sketch a sketch (one week). Plan your achievement process to make it easier to keep yourself on track.

Actions every day

The most effective example is this: Olympic champions do not become simply because a person has talent. Those who have been studying long and hard for years get on the pedestal. Same with personal goals. If you take the necessary actions every day, the likelihood of achieving your goal increases faster.

What mistakes do we all make?

When we come across conditional goal setting in marketing and advertising, everything is simple and clear. There is a necessary set of tools that need to be used, there is an order in which they are used and the end result, which depends on how much a particular person followed the instructions and how much effort he spent on working through each step.

But when it comes to life goals, everything is different. These are more abstract things that are difficult to pin down to specifics. The two most common mistakes:

Too ambitious goals. Large goals make it difficult to see progress. A person sets a large-scale goal, for example, to buy an apartment. Gradually begins to accumulate. But small expenses, plus force majeure, result in a situation where there has been virtually no progress in a year. There is some amount, but it seems insignificant. After all, you need 2 million for an apartment, but you only have 200 thousand in your account. And then the thought arises in my head: “Does this mean you have to save for 10 years to achieve your goal?” And then there are some other costs, and a failure in motivation occurs.

Too ambitious goals do not motivate, but, on the contrary, kill motivation. Athletes have a similar thing - the plateau effect. When certain results are achieved and it is already difficult to jump above them, most people simply turn off and stop doing such things. If you set big goals, then this plateau will be constant. There is no noticeable progress, doubts arise, and even the most motivated and disciplined person will at one point turn off the path. Because we want to see progress, and that's okay.

Goals for the other person. When we all plan something ahead, we imagine ourselves to be cooler than we are now. “I am tomorrow” is a superhero who will be able to solve everything that didn’t work out today. “Me in a year” is generally a mythical creature who plays sports, is successful and generally saved the world.

And it turns out that today we seem to be setting the right goals, but for a completely different person. Who is more successful, smarter, more purposeful than now. And then he will solve all the problems and make sure that everything will be fine. And now I can just do nothing and enjoy.

If we constantly put off solving important problems, then tomorrow, and in a month, and in a year, nothing will change. There will be no increase in strength, sports will also remain in the plans, and money will not appear. Simply because the person from the future is the same me, only after some time.

Stage 1: Selecting Big Goals

Correct goal setting is already the first step on the path to success; the fulfillment of desires and the realization of dreams depends on this. The first thing you need to do is determine your most desired goals. The most important thing is that these goals should be exclusively yours, the most cherished and intimate. Not imposed by parents, relatives, friends or the media. First you need to choose a long-term dream goal. What you want more than anything in the world, what you dreamed about. Such a goal is chosen with the heart, even thoughts about it fill with extraordinary excitement, it should inspire.
Having decided on the most important goal, you need to choose other, no less important life goals that relate to family, career, finances, society, health, and hobbies. Before you set a goal, you should ask yourself 5 questions:
What do I want to do?
What do I want to have?
What happens when I receive this?
Will achieving my goals give me satisfaction?
All goals must be written down, otherwise they will remain just desires and dreams. Correct wording is very important. It is correct to write about what you want, and not about what you don’t want. “I will be rich”, “I will be slim”, “I will buy an apartment” ─ this is the correct wording. “Avoid poverty”, “get rid of extra pounds”, “I don’t want to live in a rented apartment” - this is an incorrect formulation of your goals. Words such as: “must, must, should” must be replaced with: “I want, I can, I will.”
Goals must be specific. If you plan to improve your financial situation, then the phrase “I want a lot of money” does not convey any specifics. You must indicate the exact amount you want.
Goals must be realistic. If you set a goal that in a month I should receive 500,000 rubles, and at the moment I earn 50,000 rubles, then it is very doubtful that in a few months I will be able to increase my income 10 times. They get to big money gradually.
It is necessary to set deadlines for achieving goals.
When setting goals for yourself to achieve a goal, you need to rely only on your own strengths, so that in case of failure there is no temptation to blame others.

How to set goals and achieve them using games

The easiest and most effective way to achieve your own goals is to implement game mechanics into your life. Why them? Let's try to figure it out using the example of browser and mobile games. If in large-scale online games, and especially in MMOs, it is clearly visible what motivates people to perform certain actions, then with browsers and mobile gaming everything is different. What motivates people to get up at 3-4 am, make a couple of clicks, receive a reward for the event and go back to bed? Which forces people to spend millions on games they don't need at all. And the absurdity is added by the gameplay itself, which almost always comes down to a couple of clicks.

There are only two main mechanics:

Visible progress bar.
Breakdown of all tasks.

Let's start with the first one. It is simpler and more understandable. Most game activities form one progress bar. You need to do something, for this you get a level, some kind of improvement, or just a daily achievement, after which a prize is given. And until a person completes all the tasks, he subconsciously will not calm down.

The most striking example is daily quests. Almost all games have this mechanic: a person is given a list of tasks at the beginning of the day, and if he completes it completely, he will receive a certain reward.

The second important mechanics is the maximum breakdown of tasks into monosyllabic ones. As an example: the goal of the game is to find the princess. To do this, you will need to go through 300+ levels, increase your level, the level of your team, collect certain things, etc. And each quest includes something simple: kill this monster; get a certain ingredient, etc. As simple as possible and as accessible as possible.

This is reminiscent of modern work with complex problems in management. Instead of solving a complex problem like writing a report, you need to break it down into many smaller ones.

How to use progress bars

Now let's move on to more specific things. Progress bars can be used for three things.

Completing daily tasks. This is the foundation that allows you to move forward every day with virtually no interruption. What you need for this: a sheet of paper and a pen. First, all important tasks for the day are written down. One at a time. Then you can make a column and divide it into equal parts, according to the tasks that resulted. By gradually completing tasks, you will see progress. This allows you to work gradually and immediately see the results of completed tasks.
Performing more global tasks. These are tasks for a week or a month. That is, big things that need to be done gradually. Each step is one filled scale. If one task means that you will have to solve many more small problems, you need to make a scale for such tasks. But it is better to initially break a complex task into small steps and do them gradually. Then progress will motivate no worse than the result of completing the task itself.
Drawing up and implementing a plan for the year. Most often it is money. Or something related to them. For example, a car, a loan, a down payment on a mortgage, investment plans, etc. There is a more complex scheme. Let's take a specific example:

I plan to earn 1,000,000 rubles in a year. An ambitious, large-scale task. Need 11 sheets. On 10 sheets we draw squares of 10 by 10 cells. 1 cell - 1,000 rubles earned. When the 100,000 sheet is filled out, you can move on to the next one. On sheet 11 there is simply a scale of 10 divisions. As soon as one sheet is filled, you will need to paint over one division.

This allows you to see not only daily progress, but also gradual movement towards the goal. But here you need to find the perfect combination. So that one cell denotes significant progress, for which it was necessary to make an effort, but at the same time not so large that everything fills up rather slowly. It is best to paint 2-3-4 cells per day, as you progress through work issues.

How to break big goals into smaller tasks

This is a more difficult step. Simply because a person does not want to separate goals and objectives.

A person wants to start playing sports. He needs this in order to lose weight, get in shape and become strong and resilient. Plus, make sure that in a couple of years he will not be bothered by various diseases. How to do it?

The first step in this scheme: come to the gym. For the first time. Buy a subscription for one lesson, work with the hardware and figure out for yourself what your current level of physical fitness is. What loads are currently relevant, and what should we strive for? All. The first step ends here.

The second step is to come a second time once the muscles have rested. This is the most difficult thing. It takes 3-4 days for the body to recover, the person will come and then start working again. With the same weights, with the same load, but everything will start to be a little easier.

The third step is working with a coach and purchasing a long-term subscription. For example, for a week or for 4-5 classes. You need to consult with a trainer so that he can create a program, then gradually begin to move towards consistently exercising at a certain time.

The fourth step is to get the results within a month. After a month, the first results should appear, especially if the person is regaining shape. You can measure them, evaluate the effectiveness of your actions and, based on this, continue to make plans. What result do you need to get -> in what time can this be done -> what will be needed for this -> how to plan everything correctly.

The fifth, sixth and seventh steps will be formed based on the goals and specific people who set them for themselves. Everything here is purely individual. Each step is a small leap forward. Gradual, but each time it becomes more and more difficult. First you just need to come, then come a second time, knowing that it will be hard and painful again. Then you can reach stability, get results and continue to develop.

This approach shows results in work. It doesn't matter what. You need to set a global goal, and then follow it step by step.

And this is what you should do with every large-scale task. You need to gradually and step by step achieve results. You cannot immediately become a director of a company, earn a million and open a successful business. There are many simple steps to take before doing this.

Life list

A life list is a list of goals that a person would like to achieve during his life. Often, items on such a list are called not goals, but desires, so that a person does not limit himself on one or another basis.

Criteria for the life list

The fulfillment of desires/goals should depend on you.
These should be emotionally charged and meaningful events.
Don't include buying a thing for its own sake; indicate what it is needed for.
Check if this is really your desire and not something imposed?
Make your wording extremely specific.

Before setting goals for the coming year, it is recommended to create your own life list and write down everything that comes to mind, if it does not contradict the above criteria. Feel free to add your childhood and teenage dreams to the list. Many psychologists believe that it is the fulfillment of childhood dreams that makes people truly happy.

And don't laugh at yourself! If you dreamed of becoming a famous guitarist, then why not finally buy a guitar and learn how to play it? It may not be your life’s work, but it is a wonderful hobby that can give you a feeling of happiness.

What goals do successful people set?

Successful people and their interviews are something you should never look up to. If we take, for example, the most interesting and successful people of our time: Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg. In their interviews, they say that they have ambitious goals - a flight to Mars, capturing the world market, Internet in all parts of the Earth using satellites. But in reality, this is nothing more than a “mission”. That is, one global goal that people strive for almost their entire lives. Their goals are completely different and much more mundane.

Musk sets himself goals like increasing production volume by N%; assemble a team to develop a new project for space flight; bring the project to payback; receive investments from other people interested in the development of the industry, etc. And these are also large-scale goals that can be broken down into smaller ones. Find a team: post ads -> contact the right people and set tasks for them -> look at all candidates -> select the best -> check how they will work together and so on.

Successful people only talk about having big goals. In fact, this is banal brainwashing and creating your own successful image. They act more down to earth and know perfectly well how to achieve results, doing it gradually and step by step. Stage by stage you can achieve more interesting things. As mentioned earlier: fast - slow, but constant.

Examples of clearly defined goals

A clear formulation allows you to accurately reflect your desire and final result. Examples of precise goal setting in the financial sector:

For 5 years, save 25% of your income to raise money to buy a car;
Within a month, hold 3 business meetings with business partners to agree on cooperation;
Until the end of next year, save 20% of your income to open your own business;
During the year, attend several advanced training courses;
Find additional sources of income this month;
Determine the main metrics of your business that will help increase income;
Increase the company's profit by 20% within a year.

How to achieve a goal in life and what you need to do for this

In the field of health and sports:

Purchase an annual pool pass this month;
Run at least 3 km every morning;
Run 10 km without stopping;
Learn to swim in a month;
Lose 15 kg of excess weight in a year;
Every week, eliminate 1 unhealthy product from your menu.

In personal life and family relationships:

Propose to a girl this month;
Visit your parents in a different city every month;
Call your mom every evening and ask how she’s doing;
Go on vacation with the whole family this summer;
Arrange an unexpected trip for your family;
Try to get pregnant by the end of the year.

In the field of creativity and personal development:

Enroll in an art studio and learn to draw landscapes in 3 months;
Write your own book in 3 years;
Learn a foreign language in a year;
Read 15 books in a year;
Do research all year to write a scientific paper;
Take guitar courses and learn to play your favorite melody in a month;
By the end of the year, learn to drive a car and get a driver's license.

Note! Goals such as curing a disease or becoming pregnant depend not only on a person’s desires, but also on his state of health, so their deadlines may shift.

Some tips

In conclusion, I would like to say the following:

You need to learn to work with energy. This is what our body exists on. Not metaphysical or cosmic energy. The banal energy of the human body. To increase the amount of energy, you need to exercise, take rest from time to time and constantly enjoy what is happening.
Books on motivation don't help. After them there is only a short-term effect and nothing more. The body mobilizes all its energy at a certain moment, a person achieves results, and then setbacks occur. And if you move according to this scheme, you will end up with a jerky movement that does not help achieve global results. On the contrary, it instills a false understanding that everything can be done at once.
Discipline is more important than motivation. In order to develop a certain habit, 20-30 days are enough. And this is any habit. You just have to kick yourself every day and do certain things. Motivation will give one charge. Discipline will force you to work every day, regardless of the availability of charges.

To summarize all of the above: using game mechanics to achieve your own goals is the easiest way to get results. You need to set yourself clear, small tasks and triggers for achieving your goals. Seeing your own progress can help you achieve sustainable success.

Imagine your own funeral

This task may seem gloomy and extremely unpleasant, but its completion is necessary for a person to understand the value of his own life, and to clearly imagine what kind of trace he wants to leave behind. Don't take these questions as a bad omen.

Imagine being at your own funeral. Recommend something to yourself in the present tense from this perceptual position.
What will your loved ones, relatives, friends, colleagues and acquaintances say as a farewell word? How will they describe you and your achievements in various areas of life?
What would you like to hear from them?

After re-reading your own answers to the questions, draw conclusions that will help you improve the quality of your life and appreciate today. When faced with death, even mentally, a person experiences a powerful surge of life.

Forecast for the future

If a goal is set, then you cannot give up when faced with failures that will definitely come your way. Experts say that the more thorny the path, the faster the reward will come.

Try to keep your goal in mind all the time, scroll through its progress, imagine the result, fantasize, creating a positive aura that will lead you to the intended path.

Move forward, strengthen and develop willpower, increase self-esteem, believe in yourself and your strengths, then nothing can stop you. Take action and then you will definitely receive the energy and resources necessary for this.

Program yourself for success and move forward with your head held high. This is how you will definitely succeed!