I’m sure that most of us are happy that 2020 is over. That was the toughest year that anyone has ever faced. Last year we faced a deadly pandemic, lockdowns, travel restrictions, job loss, business closures, and death of loved ones. Now that 2020 is over, many people are looking forward to fulfilling their hopes and dreams in 2021.
We are now about three weeks into the New Year, and although we have started this year in lockdown with the second variant of Covid-19 spreading infection throughout the whole region faster than the first one, it is still possible to set goals that are realistic and achievable, even in a global pandemic. Here are five effective tips to help you set achievable goals in 2021.
1. Set SMART goals.
What does it mean to set SMART goals? SMART is an acronym used to describe the steps needed to set goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. When setting goals you should be clear and specific in what you want to achieve.
Your goals should be measurable so that you can track your progress and keep yourself motivated. They should be achievable meaning that you need to determine how you are going to accomplish your goal and determine how realistic it is to achieve it based on your skills and the resources available to you. Make sure that your goal matters to you and that it is relevant to the other goals you want to achieve.
And finally, your goals must be time-bound, meaning that each goal you set needs to have a deadline. This will help you to stay focused on the goal and it will give you something to work toward. You need to calculate how long it will take to accomplish each goal.
2. Write down your goals.
It is important to write down your goals rather than just thinking about them. If we just think about what we want to accomplish we may not act on it because we might get distracted by other things.
But if we write down our goals, this will help us to stay focused on what we want to accomplish and it will help us to be more productive. You will feel more motivated to make the effort to work towards achieving your goals if you can see what you have to do, rather than just thinking about it.
3. Break down your goals into smaller achievable steps.
We may set really big goals that may take a lot of time and financial resources to be successful. For example, I had set a goal to get my master’s degree in England before the age of 45. It took a lot of time and money, but I took that big goal and broke it down into smaller more achievable steps.
First, I saved money to travel to England to live with my sister. Then I got a job and applied to different colleges and universities. I found out that I had to live in England for 3 years before I would be considered a British citizen and pay the local fees for tuition.
I was very patient and worked hard. Fortunately, about 5 years later, I discovered an opportunity to get a student loan from the government to pay my tuition fees. So I found a university that I wanted to attend, applied to the school, and got accepted, and then I applied for the student loan which I was granted. I was then able to get my master’s degree and graduated at the age of 41 in 2019.
4. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
Sometimes it can be good to put pressure on yourself when setting goals because you want to make sure that you achieve them within a certain period of time. But the pressure may be too much if you start to feel anxious and worried that you’re not going to meet the deadline you set for yourself.
It’s okay if you are not able to reach your goals at the exact time you set for yourself. You shouldn’t beat yourself up if you failed to meet your goals. Remember that nobody’s perfect. Ask yourself what went wrong and learn from your mistakes. You may need to adjust the tasks that you put in place to accomplish your goals.
Sometimes some goals may take a little longer to achieve than you anticipated because there were a few obstacles that you need to overcome to reach your goals.
For example, you may have decided that you want to pay for lessons to learn how to drive and you booked your driving test in 3 months. Unfortunately, the whole country went into lockdown because of the pandemic. Because of this, you were forced to cancel your driving lessons and you had to change the date of your driving test.
These are minor setbacks that should not discourage you from getting your driver’s license. While you wait for the lockdown to be lifted you could watch driving tutorials on YouTube and refresh your memory on the rules and regulations of driving on the road. You could also search online for the type of car you want to buy when you pass your driving test.
5. Tell others about your goals.
It can be difficult to accomplish your goals if you are doing it alone. Teaming up with someone else who has the same goal can motivate you and increase your level of success.
Also telling others about your goals may be beneficial to you because your friends and family members will encourage you to work towards achieving your goals and they will hold you accountable for your actions, or lack of action. It is great to have people cheering you on and encouraging you to achieve your goals.
