5 Ways to Make Your Goals Visible
Goal-setting is at the crux of realizing your business dreams. We all know what we want to accomplish, but we don’t always spend the 30 minutes to write them down. Writing them down is key to making them tangible ideas that we can work to accomplish. But, writing them down and never revisiting them doesn’t do you any good. You WILL forget about them. Goals need to be a part of your EVERY DAY life.
Here are…
5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR GOALS VISIBLE:
1 – Post them on the wall.
This is certainly the simplest way to keep your goals visible and the one that people think of most often. Yet, it’s rare that people actually do this. Tape them up to the wall next to your desk. When your mind is wandering throughout the day, you’re sure to scan them from time to time.
2 – Set a password on your computer, email, and/or bank account, with a goal.
This was a great tip that I read in Gretchen Rubin’s book The Happiness Project. Pick one goal and make this your password on a few electronic accounts. This could be as simple as setting a password of “20pounds” for a goal to lose 20 pounds. Typing in a password (and trying to remember it) is so commonplace. Each time you type it in you are reminded of your goal.
3 – Place an “electronic post-it” on your computer desktop.
Mac computers (and I believe PCs) have “stickies”. These are electronic versions of post-its. I’m a post-it maniac, so this works well for me. This is the method I use lately for keeping my goals present. The sticky toggles whenever I access my calendar or calculator. It helps remind me of what I WANT and NEED to do instead of only what I sometimes feel obligated to do.
4 – Place goals above your kitchen sink.
You’re in the kitchen washes dishes. Where are you looking? Forward… either out the window or at a wall. This is usually a great place to post a personal goal. Your mind is lost in the chore at hand with not much to do. This is also generally where you begin your day and end your day. Both are good times to reflect on what you want to accomplish in your personal life and business life.
5 – Place sales goals on a chart or white board.
In addition to the gazillion of things we do as business owners, we are salespeople, whether we like it or not. And, it’s important to set sales goals and keep them highly visible. I give myself a sales quota each month. This is based on some leads that I expect to turn into sales and also some not-yet-defined leads that I expect from my promotional activities. It’s a simple sheet that I have for each month. It’s usually small (4″x6″) and is the only piece of paper I allow on my computer. When I get the sale, I place an “x” next to the name. It looks something like this:
Sarah $1000
Melanie & John $2200 x
Bethany & Marcus $1800
Anne & Peter $2700
Lead from Ad with American Weddings Website $1500
This helps me focus every day on the fact that I need to SELL. Otherwise, I get consumed in my other “work” and weeks can go by before I realize I don’t have any new sales in the pipeline. ALWAYS be PROMOTING. ALWAYS be SELLING.
How about you? Can you share some of the ways that you keep your goals visible?
Thank you. I needed that.
Ooh, I like the password trick. Very sneaky!
I love the idea of having your leads on a small card nearby!
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