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Learn to improve your goal-setting skills.
The New Year is a time for setting goals and making resolutions. Take this nine-question quiz to learn your style of goal setting. How you use that information is up to you, whether it’s to form concrete goal setting strategies to improve your productivity or to help you make a really good tuna casserole. We’re not really sure how the quiz results would be useful for the latter, but we’ll support you nonetheless.
For the Planner
So you set great long-term goals, but it’s time to put the focus on the present!
To start making impactful short-term goals, you must first take your long-term goals and divide them into multiple more manageable, short-term goals (tip: use a mind map!). With your focus set on one of these goals, create a deadline that’s not a lightyear away. Setting a timeline for yourself helps determine if your goal is set too far in the future. You want to set attainable goals that you can start to make tangible progress on today! This can be tricky, though, because if your goal is too easy, that’s not good either. For example, if your goal is to eat some cookies, it might be time to stretch your comfort zone (but we get it).
Lastly, since you’re used to achieving long-term goals, accomplishing your short-term goal may seem to pale in comparison. However, this type of thinking isn’t justified! Remember to celebrate yourself when you finish any short-term goal, even if that means simply checking off a box on your to-do list. This minor act of fanfare offers a mental break and an instinctual release of dopamine that will give you momentum towards your bigger goals!
Check out Smart Lists in the Rocketbook App for a (digital) helping hand with short-term goals.
For the Daydreamer
So you set great short-term goals, but it’s time to put the focus on the future!
To start making concrete long-term goals, you must first establish a way to track your goals. The first step towards keeping tabs on your progress is to rid yourself of mental clutter and confusion by updating your list of goals often (may we suggest the Rocketbook Core which allows you to easily erase outdated to-do lists 😉). With your freshly revised goal list, look for ways to quantify each goal. For instance, upgrade “I will start running” to “I will run one mile, three times a week”. Use the quantifiable components of your goal to check in with yourself and make the process of tracking your goal progress easier.
Lastly, since you’re used to achieving short-term goals, you may not be used to failing to complete a goal. Blast away any self-doubt with full thrust, and acknowledge that it’s okay not to succeed in achieving your goal. All this means is it’s time to adjust your goal and your strategy. Remember, failure is the first step towards success!
For the Team Player
So you’re great at setting team goals, but it’s time to put the focus on yourself!
To start making powerful individual goals, you must first pinpoint what you want to achieve. Create a few categories of goals to begin brainstorming (e.g. career, social, physical wellness). Once you’ve got a few ideas in each category, get those goal juices flowing (why does that sound so gross?) and cross out any goals that are what someone else wants for you, rather than what you want for yourself.
Here’s a great exercise for this: for each goal, ask “why” this goal is important to you. Then ask yourself “why” that reason is important to you. Do this 5 times, and as you reveal the underlying motives for this goal, you might realize it’s not as significant as you initially thought.
Lastly, since you’re used to achieving goals with a team, at first it might feel lonely to be working on a personal goal. Combat this by picking a friend and telling them your goal. Although this person won’t directly help you along your journey, the added social pressure will keep you on track.
Now that you’ve assembled a stellar list of meaningful goals that you’re motivated to accomplish, you’re ready to set the world ablaze. So what are you waiting for? Stop reading, go set some goals!
