5 Step Goal Setting Plan

A goal setting plan creates a blueprint for your success. It turns your goal into systematic steps of action from beginning to end, with clear targets for each step.

Whether you want to:

• achieve financial success,
• learn new skills or get a better job,
• become healthier or lose weight, or
• become more effective at work.

....you maximize your chances of success by having a plan.

Why is goal setting your blueprint for success?

Goal setting provides direction and purpose…the very foundation upon which to build success

Let's suppose that you want to build your dream home.

Wouldn't you draw up plans and organize the materials that you needed before you started to build your dream home?

It goes without saying that the foundations and walls are in place before the roof goes on.

Once the roof is on, you then start to work on the interior and doing the electrics.

You plan your dream home so that your house ends up as a reality of your vision.

Do you apply the same ideas of goals and planning to your own life?

A plan helps you to construct your priorities and design the life that you want to have!

5 Steps to Your Goal Setting Plan

A goal setting plan gives you clear steps for setting and achieving goals. The 5 steps to your plan include:

1. Developing a clear vision
2. Writing goals: Download a goal setting plan template
3. Practicing zero-based thinking
4. Identifying the actions that support your goal
5. Reviewing your goal progress

1. Develop a clear vision

Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements

Napoleon Hill

In developing your goal setting plan make a list of the areas of your life that you would like to change.

Some of the typical areas include personal relationships, finance, career and community.

To think more deeply about this feel free to download the life domains worksheet.

Download a goal setting worksheet (PDF file).

This provides you with some of the the common life areas.

On your goal setting worksheet, rate these different areas in terms of importance for you.

What life area is most important to you? If you could improve one life area, what would it be?

Ask yourself what type of person would you like to be in each of the life areas. These goal setting activities help you to brainstorm this vision.

2. Writing goals: Download a goal setting template

Now that you have a clear idea of the values and the life areas that are most important to you, it is time to develop your goal setting plan.

Choose the most important life area to you.

Step 1: Download this goal setting form (PDF file).

You will need one for each goal that you set.

Step 2: Write down the goal that you want to achieve in this life area domain.

Step 3: Write down how will success be measured when you achieve this goal. This is an important part of smart goal setting.

There are more steps to this worksheet which I cover below. But first….

3. Practice zero-based thinking

You have set a goal of where you want to go. The next step is to identify where you are now.

Whether you are setting

• career goals,
  
• finance goals,
• fitness goals, or
  
• personal goals...

....it is important to identify where you are now.

Suppose that you wanted to lose weight. Firstly you need to identify your current weight.

If you want to be a millionaire you must identify your current financial worth.

Taking a realistic view your current weight or net worth allows you to identify the knowledge, obstacles, and constraints that stand between where you are now and the goal that you want to achieve.

I remember working with an Olympic swimmer who identified what time was required to win his event at the next Olympics. He then identified what times he was doing now and worked out how much he would need to improve each day to achieve this time.

He then identified what actions would support his goal to win his event at the Olympics.
4. Identify the actions that support your goal

Lets go back to your goal setting worksheet that you downloaded.

Step 4: (cont.) On your goal setting plan worksheet make a list of all the actions that support your goal.

Ask yourself what strategies you can put into place to achieve each action.

What are the target dates for each action?

Here, you are developing short-term goals with clear target dates for achievement - the basis of setting specific goals (goal setting theory states that specific goals are stronger goals)

Imagine a staircase taking you to the next floor. Your long-term goal is the top of the stairs with each step being a short-term goal.

By writing down your short-term goals and creating a deadline you dramatically increase your chances of goal setting success.

These goal setting templates enable you to further break your goals down into smaller bite-sized chunks.

5. Review your goal progress

An important goal setting tip is to review often because one of the biggest mistakes in goal setting is to 'set and forget' your goals.

For example, many people, with the best of intentions, set goals each year, only to make the same goals the following New Year!

Why…because they ‘set and forget’ their goals.

If you liked this goal setting plan then you will also like these goal setting forms.