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Setting Goals: Knowing How To Set Goals

Knowing how to set goals is a great problem solving and decision making skill. Setting goals is among the habits of highly effective people. Smart goal setting reduce stress and feeling overwhelmed.

Any business school with its goals setting theory will tell you that setting goals and the achievement of goals are not the same thing. To measure progress you need to set realistic goals. The first step to setting and achieving goals is to write down what needs to be done. Prioritize each task.

Then set a timetable. Work backward to determine start dates. Write down what resources you will need. Resources may include other people with needed skills. Set only specific goals. Not only specific but specific measurable goals.

What tasks need to be accomplished first? Setting a priority helps avoid feeling overwhelmed. Work backward from the completion date to determine the must start date. People who in January set a goal to lose weight or something else accomplish little because there is no completion date. Have goals to set a completion date.

Write goals where you can see yourself making progress. Initially make it a point of making goals small. Break up large projects into small goals. Failure to achieve even small goals leads to frustration.

If you're not in the habit of placing time limits on your projects or tasks, you need to start now. By not doing so you are putting yourself on a path to failure at work and in your personal life.

In project management software a project is made up of tasks. Completing each task completes the project. Find what tasks are essential before other tasks can start and do those. If tasks are not related, then you have a different project. Set a time table for that project, too.

Finding yourself with the complete satisfaction of having achieved your goals in a week or a month in a timely manner builds momentum. Self esteem shoots through the roof. Make it one of your career goals to accomplish projects in a timely manner.

Our previous article is on Prioritizing Tasks.

Other wiki resources: set goals; delegating authority; things that rob your time; procrastination; anger control