Follow Through On Your Goals
Every work at home mom has goals and ideas, but it`s so easy to lose sight of them in the hustle and bustle of daily life. After months of struggling to move toward your dream and getting knocked back by dozens of little things happening in your life, you will probably just want to give up.
Sticking with your goals and actually achieving them requires follow up and following up on your goals requires discipline. If you don`t have it, you`ll continue floundering. The good news? You can learn to be disciplined.
- Find your motivation. Everyone is different in this area. Maybe your big motivation is to build an addition onto the house. Another work at home mom might dream of sending her kids to university and yet another might just want a new washer and dryer. Your motivation doesn`t have to be big, though it can be, what`s important is that it`s something you long for. Put a reminder where you`ll see it every day, perhaps a photo of your dream home beside the computer screen.
- Break your goals down. Planning to earn $10,000 a month might be a great goal, but it`s going to be terribly intimidating if you`re only making $100 a month at the moment. Rather than setting your eyes on the distant goal, break it into manageable steps and figure out how to build your way up to that income.
- Set a time frame. Goals, even good ones that have been broken down into baby steps, are useless if you don`t actually do what`s necessary to reach them. A schedule can really help you stay on track. If your goal is to work from home 100% within a year, figure out what you need to do each month to accomplish that. Then figure out what you need to do each week to accomplish your monthly goals. You can even break it down into days, if need be.
- Get an accountability partner. Not just anyone can be an accountability partner. You know that almost annoying friend who is very tough and always tells it as it is? Well, she`s perfect. Having to report to someone each month or even week is an excellent way to stay on top of things. You can even give your partner a copy of your goal schedule.
If you remind yourself on a daily basis why you are working so hard, it will be easier to keep going. You`ll find that as you hit your goals each month, you`ll be encouraged and motivated to keep moving forward.
One word of advice, however. Don`t try to do this with several goals. Pick one in particular and follow through on it first. If you try to focus on several things at once, you`ll end up losing it again and will end up lost. Pick one important goal and do that one first. Then move on to the next one.
Don`t miss a single article! Subscribe to my feed. And remember to enter to win 500 customized postcards to promote your business.
Great post, I needed the reminder to set a time frame. I feel like I didn’t get much done at the end of the day. Any advice?
Katy, to tell you the truth, I frequently face that dilemma myself. What I`ve found works is to simple push through the urge to do something else. When I`m tired and want a nap or feel like I could really use a break and watch some TV, I promise myself I`ll do it later and just keep working. It`s the only way to get past the distractions sometimes!
My business partner is my “accountability partner,” and it makes all the difference in the world!
If you’d like a tool for setting your goals, you can use this web application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.