I cannot believe another new year has slammed down upon us.  I want you to honestly ask yourself right now, are you the kind of person to grit your teeth, clench your fists and work your butt off this coming year or do you want to just let it happen?

I thought so, now here is a simple process for how to set annual goals in 4 easy steps:

Step 1

Decide WHAT matters most to you so you can align your actions with your intentions. I do this by reviewing my priorities. In my case they are:

1 – Family

2 – God

3 – Friends

4 – Work Ethic

5 – Education

Step 2

Decide HOW you define success. You must specifically detail something measurable. You cannot use vague phrases like “do better, try my best, a lot”. Some of my examples in past years have been the following:

Family – At least 1 week long out of state family vacation for all of us

God – Attend Church X number of times this year

Friends – Host at least one sit down dinner with friends each month

Work Ethic – Accomplish X number of dollars in sales this year

Education – Read X number of books this year

Step 3

Write these goals with check boxes representing the progress of your goals. For example, if you have “Sell $100K this year” put 10 little boxes in a row next to your goal so you can check off each 10K and feel the progress.

Step 4

Carry them in your wallet or purse and review your progress at least once per week checking off your accomplishments.

Creating these generally takes me about 45 minutes from opening Excel to final printing.  Below is an example of my 2009 goals.

Example Goals Sheet for Wallet

Remember: Nothing great has ever been accomplished without a detailed plan.  I guarantee if you do this brief assignment this coming year will be one of the best ones yet.

Now that you know how to set annual goals – Get Moving!