I'm often asked questions about setting goals.

• How important are they?
• What sort of goals do I need?
• How do I go about creating goals?

Yes, having goals, aims or objectives, call them what you like, IS important. To challenge and give you something to aim for. They help you to prioritise your time and give you focus whether at work or in your personal life.

They don't have to be massive, 'change the world' type goals but they do need to motivate you.

You don't have to create them at the beginning of the year, although that's often a good time. There are school years, starting in September; financial years in March/April; birthday and anniversary dates. Any start time is good when it comes to goal-setting.

Follow these steps to create more meaningful goals.

Getting started

You can create long-term and short-term goals.

Long-term

Provide a high level idea of where you'd like to be in the next 2, 5 or even 10 years time. These change depending on your time of life.

• At the start, you'll be thinking about your career and personal (family) goals.
• When you have a family you'll be planning goals to support you and your family, through school and university/college.
• As you get older, you may be thinking about changing career or retirement.

Short-term

What would you like to achieve in the next 6-12 months? Do you have one BIG goal or three or four smaller goals you want to achieve.

Goals that will improve your life and you can commit to. Perhaps you have a work related goal - to improve your career, grow your business, get a pay rise or a promotion. Maybe it's a personal goal to get fit, start a family, move house.

What is your BIG goal or dream? Whether it’s a small hill or high mountain - what do you want to change in your life? Where do you want to be physically, mentally and emotionally in the next 12 months?

If you're not sure where to start, begin by jotting down a few thoughts and ideas. Use Post-It notes, your journal or notebook and create a mix of work and personal goals.

Create smarter goals

Now with a few ideas you can start to expand them into more meaningful goals by making them SMART or SMART(AR). You may already be familiar with the acronym. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound ... with the addition of Accountable and Review.

• Specific

  Rather than being non-specific 'get fit' – make it more specific such as 'be able to walk, cycle or run a certain distance within a certain time'.

• Measurable

  Have a way to measure your goal, so you can track your progress. e.g. run 5k in a 40 minutes, earn £££, grow your business by ??%.

• Achievable

  Create goals to match your skills and abilities so you avoid setting yourself up for failure. However it's a great way to challenge yourself and it can spur you on to success. Stretch yourself but be realistic or you'll lose motivation and you're more likely to give up.

• Relevant/Realistic

  Make sure your goal fits with your vision for your life or business and it's relevant to YOU.

• Time-bound

  When you will achieve your goal? This is important because it gives you something to plan towards and stops it drifting or becoming indefinite.

• Accountable

  Share your goals with someone your trust who you know will support you. Not only will it keep you motivated but it helps you stay on track.

• Review

  Once your goals are clear and written down, don't stop there. Review them regularly to stay on track and adjust or modify them as you go.

Your goals aren't written in stone and they don't need to be perfect from the start. They can and will change. If you find they need more clarification or you need to adjust, do that as you work on them.

Make them happen

Once you've created more detail and clarified your goals, the next step is to make them a reality.

• Visualise: What does it look like? How does it feel to have achieved it? Picture it in your mind as if you've already achieved it.
• What's your motivation? What makes it important and what will it mean to you? How much do you really want it and what impact will it have on you, your life and those around you?
• Write them down and put them up where you’ll see them every day. In your calendar, journal, as a screen saver, pinned up next to your desk.

These steps are important. If you can visualise your goal and have the right motivation, you’re far more likely to succeed.

Take action

Breaking your BIG goal(s) into smaller, more manageable steps makes them less overwhelming and easier to achieve.

What do you need to do within the next 3-6 months towards your goal? 90 days is a good timeframe to work with because it's short enough to be manageable and long enough to make a difference. You can stay focused without feeling overwhelmed.

Plan

Next, plan what do you need to do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to move you closer to achieving your goal(s)? Do one thing each day/week that is directly connected to your goals.

Remember to take into account how much time, energy and resources you have as you set your goals. Don't take on too much all at once. Focus on ONE thing at a time. Less is more.