Goal Planning: How to Set and Achieve Your Goals

The goal planning methods we’re sharing in the video series below can be used with any goals planner or just a document.  No matter which journal or planning system you use, setting goals and working them daily is a habit common amongst successful creators.

The process of planning your goals—deciding, refining, and setting goals—will absolutely keep you on track, if you work the plan daily.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Audio Article – Goal Planning
  • How do I…
• Start Now… Don’t Wait
  • Goal Setting
• Goals Planning – How do I Set Annual Goals?
  • Step 1: Setting Annual Goals
  • Step 2: Deciding Which Goals to Focus on
  • Step 3: Refining Your Goals
  • Step 4: How to Set 90 Day Goals
• The iCreateDaily 90 Day Goals Journal
  • The 90 Day Goal Journal helps you plan, set and track goals
• 7 Step Decision Making Process — How to Decide

AUDIO ARTICLE – GOAL PLANNING:

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”
~Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, poet, playwright, 1881-1973

Do You Struggle with Goal Planning?

There are three questions people struggle with most: 

How do I…

1. “…set goals?”
2. “…break down my bigger goals into daily tasks?“
3. “…prioritize what to work on first when I have so many ideas?“

What do successful creators all have in common?
Disciplined focus over time.
~iCreateDaily.com®

Success is Just Disciplined Focus Over Time

As creators and entrepreneurs with more ideas than time, we completely understand the struggle. Deciding which to set as short and long term goals can be challenging for creative ideators.

Having too many ideas sets up a tremendous tension between what we’re humanly able to do versus what we want to do. Trying to do it all can quickly lead to frustration, overwhelm, and even depression.

In today’s world of unlimited opportunities and options, the discipline of focused consistency over time is the only way to excel.

“You can do it all, just not all right now.”
~multiple authors

Start Now… Don’t Wait

While the first video in this 90 Day Goals Journal series is about getting your annual goals on paper, keep in mind that “annual” does not have to mean January 1st. Even though it’s nice to follow the calendar year, you can use this to help in setting yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals no matter the time of year.

Now, is always a good time to start.

No matter when you’re reading this, getting started now is the best time. The good thing about goal planning and setting is that you start where you are with what you have. Even if it’s just a blank piece of paper, and halfway through a week that’s halfway through a month.

Don’t wait to start goals planning. Start right here, right now, even if it’s just notes on a piece of paper.

Starting, sets everything in motion.

Daily steps in the direction of your dreams is a proven path to success.
~LeAura Alderson, cofounder-iCreateDaily.com®

Goal Setting

Our goals planning approach is an amalgamation of our own and best practices of other virtual mentors, including Warren Buffett. So if you’re struggling identifying and setting your goals, we cover that in the first video below.

Once you start the process of setting goals, then work on and tweak them daily, you will make more progress more quickly. You’ll also start to gain clarity around your goals.

Goals planning begins as a goal that quickly becomes a habit and then a way of life.

You may be surprised to discover that many people are not clear on what they want. If that’s you, no worries. The more you work on goal setting and planning, the more clear you will be on what does—and does not—belong in your plan.

Goals are where you are going… not how you’ll get there.
Set your goal, then plot your course and work on it daily.
~iCreateDaily.com®

Goals Planning – How to Set Annual Goals?

Step 1: Setting Annual Goals

This first step is all about a goals “brain dump.”  You want to get all the ideas from your head, onto paper.

Generally, people write down about 10-25 goals. These will vary in size and areas of life. For example, you may have several professional and business goals, personal and family goals and also spiritual goals.

Don’t feel bad if you only get 5-10 though. That could indicate you already have a pretty clear idea of what you want to focus on and you just need help knowing which goal to tackle first, and how to break down your macro goals into micro, daily and weekly goals.

How to Decide?

SETTING ANNUAL GOALS:

Topics covered in this video:

• When your year actually begins
• Perspectives on goal setting
• The orienting foundational question to ask yourself even before you set your goals
• The questions to ask for identifying your one year macro goal
• The perspective on goals in the quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Where to start if you’re still not sure where to start with your goal setting

“Goals are the sunrise on the horizon of your future.”
~LeAura Alderson, writer, creator iCreateDaily.com®

Step 2: Deciding Which Goals to Focus on

Once you have a list goals, you can begin the process of prioritizing that list. This next video will walk you through how to go about organizing and prioritizing the original larger list you created in the first step.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE ‘HOW TO DECIDE ON GOALS’ VIDEO:

• How to define your goals
• Identifying your priorities
• How to make a decision
• Honing your top 5 goals list
• Identifying what to keep and what to omit
• What do to with the goals in different areas of your life
• How to definitely get more done, and when it’s more likely to happen

Step 3: Refining Your Goals

The next stage is refining your priorities organized above to your Top 5 List, or Top 3 List. These will become your Macro Quarterly and Monthly goals. Which you’ll again break down, using the same method, to determine your Weekly and Daily goals.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE ‘HOW TO REFINE YOUR GOALS’ VIDEO

• The 7 Step decision-making process
• Questions to help you refine goals
• Honing in the top priorities
• Allocate the clear priorities for your 90 day goals, month-by-month

“Setting goals is the first step to turning the invisible, into the visible.”
~Tony Robbins, American author, entrepreneur, coach, b.2/29/1960

Step 4: How to Set 90 Day Goals

Now that you have a clear list of the top 3-5 macro goals you want to tackle, you’ll need to divide these into months. We break that down in this How to Set 90 Day Goals video below.

You will most likely want to keep referring to the Step 3 video because that process is how you’ll break the larger goals down into your Weekly and Daily actions.

TOPICS COVERED IN THE ‘HOW TO SET 90 DAY GOALS‘ VIDEO:

• Structure goals within 90 days
• Create your structure
• How to segment your goals
• Identify macro vs micro goals
• Ordering your goals: quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily

You can use the exact same process for any level of goal setting. For additional insight, you can visit these articles on Monthly, Weekly, and Daily goals.

The iCreateDaily 90 Day Goals Journal

This goals planning process works well no matter what system you’re using for setting and tracking your goals.

If you are currently looking for a new journal, not sure what to buy, or need a new system, we’d love for you to give the iCreateDaily 90 Day Goals Journal a try!

The 90 Day Goal Journal helps you plan, set and track goals:

• Annually
• Quarterly
• Monthly
• Weekly
• Daily
• Daily, Weekly & Monthly review pages

Each step above is outlined in the iCreateDaily Quarterly Goals planner which includes example pages, quotes to keep you inspired, and prompts for helping you measure progress.

You can get the 90 Day Goals Journal in four different colors: Purple, Teal, Maroon, and Blue to help you easily identify the different quarters.  You’ll find that the interior of each journal has the same structure with variables being different daily quotes and Day 7 Reflections pages.

Learn more about the 90 Day Goals Journal here!

We offer a free digital 30 Day Goals Journal download if you’d like more info and to give it a test try in your goals planning. Or you can get it directly from Amazon.

7 Step Decision Making Process — How to Decide

Here’s that same 7-Step Process in text form.

7 Step Decision Making Process

1. List your top 10-25 goals under consideration, then ask.
   (Place a check mark next to each item on your list that’s a “yes” to these questions)
   “WHICH OF THESE THINGS:”
2. Can be done in the least amount of TIME?
3. Will move me closer to my career or life GOALS?
4. Can be done in the least amount of EFFORT?
5. Can be done in the least amount of COST?
6. Which do I most want to do and ENJOY? (Place a star next to any of these)
7. Circle the option with the most checks plus a star. That’s your primary goal to focus on first.
   ~iCreateDaily.com®

What’s circled is your next goal to focus on. When that’s done repeat the process.

For more on goal setting, you may also enjoy this article on how to set goals through the lens of the day.

“Here’s to freedom, cheers to art. 
Here’s to having an excellent adventure
and may the stopping never start.”
~Jason Mraz, singer-songwriter

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