Are you at the beginning of another year wondering where the time went? Do you have a goal that, after yet another year, is still not accomplished? Check your goal. Does it have a clear deadline? If not, that is probably the reason your goal is not crossed off.
A deadline will help you to focus. When you know you have a certain amount of time to do something, you are much more likely to get it done. Remember, Parkinson’s Law says, “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Let’s say you have a report to write for work. If you give yourself 8 hours to get it done, it will take 8 hours. If you give yourself 4, you will get it done in 4. This isn’t a perfect rule, but I’ve found that if I give myself a deadline for a task and set a timer, I can finish the task in the amount of time I set. On the other hand, if I work on the same task without setting a timer, it is likely to take me all day or longer.
A deadline will also give you the motivation to keep working toward the goal. Let’s say you have a goal to be healthier. We all know that our goals have to be specific. So, what does “being healthier” mean? To you, it may mean working out at the gym three days a week. So, if you work out at the gym three days a week for the whole month, you’ve accomplished your goal, right? WRONG! What happens if you don’t do the same the next month? You’ve failed at your goal, right? Wrong again! The problem is you haven’t set a goal; you’ve created a process. Working out is just a means to an end. Remember, the T in SMART goals stands for time-bound. That means your goal has a start date and an END date. So how do you fix this?
Here’s what you need to do. Ask yourself WHY you want to be healthier. You might say “Because I want to feel better.” Huh? What does this even mean? How will you know when you feel better? “I want to have more energy,” you say. More energy for what?
I recently had this conversation with one of my students. He said his goal was to be healthier. I asked him, “What does it mean to be healthier?” He said he wanted more energy to play with his kids. What would give him more energy? “Eating better,” he said. How would that give you more energy? “Well, I would finally be able to lose some weight.” Ah, now we’re getting somewhere. To be healthy, you want to lose weight. To lose weight, you need to eat better and workout.
So now let’s create our “real” goal. Since you can safely lose 2 pounds per week, it will take you 5 weeks to lose 10 pounds. So you would write your goal like this: “I have lost…” (remember, write your goals in the present tense, as if it’s already happened.) “I have lost 10 pounds in 5 weeks.”
Some people will say, “I’ll give myself 8 weeks in case something happens.” Making your goal longer than it has to be is setting yourself up for potential failure. You want your goals to be attainable, but not too easy. You want to work to reach your goal. You want to set goals that are just slightly out of reach.
If you need to lose 50 pounds, be sure you break this goal down into smaller pieces. Set a goal to lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks. When this goal has been accomplished, set a goal to lose 10 more pounds. These smaller goals will help keep you motivated. If you try to lose 50 pounds all at once (that is, in 25 weeks), you may get discouraged and give up. So, breaking down your goals into smaller pieces will give you a better chance of accomplishing your Big Goal.
So, when you’re struggling with your goals, take a look at your deadline. Is there one? Does it make sense? If the answer to either of these questions is “No,” go back to your goal and reset it. Be sure it is attainable, and just a little bit out of your reach.