2021 finishes in two and a half weeks (but, who’s counting). If the end of the year puts you in a reflecting mode, it’s the perfect opportunity to set up your goals for 2022. These five simple and practical steps will leave you ready for a fresh start.
Why goals matter
When we talk about public policy it’s clear that we need a clear objective of where we want to go. In our personal lives, sometimes we are not as intentional. This blog gives you 5 practical steps to set and reach your goals for 2022. Having your goals clear makes you 10 times more likely to have a positive change after six months, compared to those that don’t set up any goals. Why not give it a try?
Step 1: Start with a year review
I know this might seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth your time. Don’t stress too much, just be honest with yourself. You want to learn of the year that just passed without judgment. The easiest way to do it is by answering these 5 questions:
- Think about 3 to 5 things that make you proud from 2021.
- If you set goals for 2021, how far did you get?
- Try to identify what worked well, what didn’t work and why.
- Are there things you would like to improve, start or stop doing?
- What are some of the lessons you learned this year that you want to keep moving forward?
“The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves”
Richard Bach
Step 2: Identify the areas of your life where you want to focus on
Now that you have done a short review of 2021, what are some of the areas of your life you would like to focus on? It could be family, improving your relationship with your friends, your health, work, etc. One important thing to keep in mind, this is not about anyone else but you. Choose the 3 areas that matter the most to you.
Step 3: Set your goals for 2022
Once you have gone through your year and identified the areas to focus on, it’s time to set up your goals. Try to choose no more than 12 goals. Ideally you want to have 2 to 3 goals per quarter. Make sure that each of your goals has a clear why behind it. In other words, a clear purpose.
Characteristics of a good goal
Choose SMARTER goals: SMART goals are those that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. You’ve probably heard of them as it is the most popular acronym. I like the version that adds the ER at the end to make them SMARTER. That is Evaluate your progress frequently and Re-adjust as needed.
Be specific: Be clear on what you want to achieve and turn it into something actionable. For example, instead of saying I want to exercise more, you could say after I wake up, I will exercise 20 minutes 3 times a week. Instead of I will get better at managing my emails, try I will address all my emails by the end of the day.
Write your goals down: Writing your goals is strongly associated with goal success. According to neuropsychologists, we memorize better material we have done ourselves. But also, it helps your brain focus on the things that matter most.
Step 4: Build a system around it to achieve them.
Until now, all we have done is set up our intentions. Now it’s time to turn that into action. These five tips can help you take action:
- Plan for it. If you have a goal, you need to make time for it. The most efficient strategy is to block out time in your calendar. This simple action could increase your chances of success by 300%.
- Break your goals down into actionable steps: If the goals are too big or complex it can be paralyzing and become the perfect excuse for procrastination. The easiest way to start is by breaking it down into manageable steps. For example, if you want to exercise more you can start by subscribing or finding an exercise program, setting up your alarm and blocking space in your calendar.
- Design your environment to help you achieve your goals. If you set up your environment right it can be your biggest ally. Staying with the gym example, you could leave your clothes for the gym ready the night before. Other examples are silencing your phone during work time or avoiding buying sweets if you’re on a diet.
- Don’t be afraid of starting small. According to Stanford Professor, BJ Fogg, one of the common mistakes we make when setting goals is that we do it at the highest point of our motivation when we should be doing it at the lowest point. Willpower is not reliable, particularly on our bad days. Fogg proposes to start with two-minute actions, something you could do no matter what, to create a habit.
- Celebrate your small and big wins. One of the problems of change in the long run is that we see all the effort but no reward, at least in the short run. One way to change this is by bringing the gratification forward. While you won’t see much change in your body after one day of going to the gym, you could start filling a jar with coffee beans every time you exercise. It’s a way to visualize your progress.
Step 5: Anticipate potential setbacks
Finally, try to identify potential barriers that can set you back and make a plan to overcome them. There are two common ones and a small trick that could help you overcome them:
- Procrastination: Writing down your main tasks for the day and breaking it into small, simple and manageable steps is a great antidote for this.
- Multitasking: Researchers estimate we lose 28% of an average workday to multitasking ineffectiveness. Try blocking space to do one thing at a time and find the time of the day where you are more productive and try to allocate the most important tasks at that time.
Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time
Steve Uzzell
Set and reach your goals
Setting goals and writing them down makes you more likely to achieve them. Why not try it in 2022? Start by thinking about 2021, what went well and what could’ve gone better. Then think about the areas where you want to focus on for 2022 and set no more than 12 goals. Ideally 3-4 per quarter. Build a system around it to achieve it and try to anticipate potential setbacks by planning in advance how to overcome them. For a wonderful 2022 for you and your loved ones!
