If you’re anything like me, you’re excited to set new and exciting goals. But you lose track somewhere along the day. As much as you want to cut back on your screen time or spend more time outside, nothing ever seems to change. But I’m here to tell you that setting daily goals might just be the key to your goal getting success.
You can hang on to those long-term goals but use short-term goals to help you get to your destination. Keep reading to find out the benefits of daily goals and how to use them.
Goals can be separated into outcome goals or process goals. Outcome goals describe the desired outcome or end goal. And process goals refer to the steps taken to get there. For example, your outcome might be to become a famous singer. But the steps involve getting singing lessons, finding an agent, writing and recording song and practising your performance.
You can add to the outcome goals or process goals by also making them into smart goals. Ensuring they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
The benefits of daily goals
Building that momentum each day will help make it easier to persevere. Seeing the results of each day can be incredibly motivating, spurring you further and further.
Stay focused
It’s easier to stay focused. It doesn’t take long for your goals to get buried under your day-to-day responsibilities. Short-term goals help you remember your purpose because you are working towards your goal daily. Keep your dreams in sight while you go about your daily activities.
Break it down
Breaking down your larger goals into a daily routine or action plan also makes big projects less overwhelming. Pick out one or two steps that you can complete each day to propel you towards your goal.
Create urgency
I know what happens when I put off doing something. I procrastinate by doing anything and everything that’s not important. Sometimes a tighter timeline or time management can help me complete things on time, rather than putting them off until the last minute.
Consider setting time aside in your calendar for you yo focus on your goals.
Adapt faster
Sometimes you need to change or adapt your goals based on what’s going on in your life. And by operating on 24 hours at a time, it’s much easier to resolve any issues before they grow into something bigger.
How to use daily goals
There are a few things you need to know about goal setting for daily goals. Take some inspiration from these tips and use as many or as little as you see fit.
Leverage your strengths
Design your goals and what you are going to do to achieve them in a way that takes advantage of your talents and skills. Figure out what you like to do and what you excel at and use that to your advantage. Understanding your abilities will help you aim for realistic targets.
If you’re a morning person, you probably want to do your most important tasks in the morning. Of if you’re a night owl, you might prefer to learn something in the evening.
Clarify your values
Just like leveraging your strengths, setting goals that align with your values will feel more exciting and satisfying once complete. Take some time to think about what you really want, and what goals align with that.
Think positive
This might seem obvious. But positive statements create more motivation and less anxiety. So, identify something you want rather than something you are trying to avoid.
Avoid distractions
You can maximise your productivity by adjusting your habits and environment. Starting with a clean work area, putting your phone away, and turning off the tv, they can all help minimise distractions.
Take breaks
Making sure you take time for a break and rest is also important. I often like to use the Pomodoro method. Which is when you work for 25 minutes and then take a five-minute break. After doing four Pomodoros, take a longer break. You can also work for 50 minutes with a-10 minute break. Make sure to use your break time well by shifting your attention and moving around.
Reward yourself
Giving yourself an incentive can renew your enthusiasm when you fall into a slump and reward you for a job well done. Make sure to pick a treat that is something you want to make it more motivating to work towards.
You can tie your rewards to your breaks to change it up. For example, after you complete the four Pomodoros you take a break and each your lunch in the sunshine or go out for lunch
Learn from your experience
Learn from your experience, which in some cases will be flat-out mistakes. Use the setbacks and mistakes to teach you how to enhance your performance. Take responsibility for your actions and decisions and focus on what you can for differently next time.
Ask for help
Reach out to friends and family and let them know what they can do to support and help you. Ask for constructive feedback and encouragement.
You could also look for an accountability buddy that will provide the reassurance and some liability. Look for someone that is trying to accomplish similar things, so you can collaborate and hold each other accountable.
Write it down
Make your goals a little bit more concrete by writing them down. There are many ways to record your goals. You can use a list app or go old school, with paper and a pen. Consider putting reminders where you will see them frequently; on the fridge, on the mirror or on your phone’s Lock Screen.
You could also go one further, and tell the important people in your life what you are working towards.
Give yourself time to start making progress
Take one of the daily goal examples; drinking more water. A few years ago, I set out to drink 1L of water a day. I’m a little embarrassed to say that it took me about 6 months to start hitting it constantly.
Do one thing at a time
If you are trying to focus on a new daily goal that you are hoping to build into a habit, just focus on one thing at a time one day at a time. If you try to focus on too many things you will get burned out pretty quickly. And once you’ve mastered one thing, you can move on to the next. As you are able to continue doing the thing each day, you build momentum to add more and more to your plate.
Take time for yourself
Protect your emotional and physical health by looking after yourself. It doesn’t have to be head to the grindstone 24/7 for you to achieve your personal goals. Look after yourself by eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep to help keep that life balance we all crave.
Daily goals examples
So, what are some good daily goals to have? You could pick daily goals for work, healthy daily goals, daily goals for success (whatever that looks like to you), small daily goals and even fun daily goals.
- walk 10,000 steps
- drink 2L of water
- take the dog for a walk
- eat dinner at the table as a family
- meditate
- exercise
- write down three things you are grateful for
- work on your business
- reach out to a friend
- no screen time for the first hour of the day
- read for 10 minutes
Do a little bit of daily goal setting to work out your goals for the day. Perhaps you create a daily goals checklist to ensure you work on your goals for today.
The most effective daily goals are the ones that you push you a little bit but are also easy enough for you to accomplish.
