Identifying your goals for the new year

Goal setting is a really important part of December/Jan for us here at Avidmode. Like a lot of people, the reflection bug grabs us and forces us to take a look at what we have done through the year. We all know that setting goals is something that is good for business and also good for your personal life, but how often does your goal setting turn into planning and how often do you reach out for those goals.

This week, let’s take a look at some different ways that goal setting could benefit you and also at some ways that might help you stick to them after the holiday season is over.

Why set goals?

Having a goal is always a good point to start from. They can come in many forms. More personal ones might include losing a certain amount of weight or keeping to a set schedule each week. Business goals might include attending at least three sector-specific events per year or making a certain amount of profit.

Goal setting is important for some obvious reasons. We enjoy structure, we like to have defined times for things, we like to set schedules and set up processes that can be used over and over again. Goal setting is another way to take control of your business. Having a small business can often be daunting, overwhelming and at times can leave you feeling somewhat out of control. Having goals and plans to fall back on is a simple way to get yourself back on track after a setback. Working towards a goal is a fulfilling task, think of games that we play and hobbies that we take part in, we usually have a goal in mind when doing so and the fun part is moving towards the goal.

Now we’d like to share with you some of the goal-setting processes that we like to use!

Michael Hyatt’s – Design Your Life

This is an interesting way to help you think about your goals and position yourself in a way to gain “forward momentum” in multifaceted aspects of your life. Micheal’s series discusses how many of us are just floating through life (drifting or driving) and he believes that in order to design the life we want we need to make sure that all aspects of our lives are being fulfilled, that we have clarity on what our goals are and that we should be planning for each of our goals. The first video in the set came out early in December and then next two will be available in a couple of days time.

One of the great things about this series is the ability to apply it to your own life specifically. There is even a quiz that you can use to help understand areas in your life that might be lacking. If you’re looking for a solid explanation of goal setting and the ability to reflect on why your goals haven’t been met in the past then this is the one for you!

Charlie Gilkey – Productive Flourishing

Charlie is another fantastic proponent of goal setting, we have used his resources many times in order to keep track of goals and plan for future endeavours. In addition to all of the free tools and blog posts, the website is also has it’s very own podcasts. The topics differ from week to week including business topics as well as dealing with more personal topics such as stress.

One of the top resources that we love to make use of is the Monthly Momentum Planner. If you’ve got a lot of projects coming up and need a way to plan your time better then using one of these might just do the trick. You are able to set out your goals for the quarter as well as for a specific week, there is also lots of space so you can keep track of meetings and events that you should attend!

As it says in the name, the aim of the website is to help people thrive/flourish, be productive and ultimately achieve their goals.

Action Coaches –

We wanted to mention a few action coaches that are local and well known to us! Maybe what you are looking for is a closer relationship to someone that has experience and knowledge in areas that you are lacking. These guys are all action coaches who specialise in helping you reach business-related goals.

Nell Op de Beeck, Mark Van Rol, Vickram Kumeria – If you’re in the Berkshire, Hampshire and Buckinghamshire area and want to try and reach for goals with help then these guys are exactly who you’re looking for!

Gem – I’d like to join a social/exercise group (I’m thinking yoga), to limit my takeout and meat intake and focus on being more creative in my off time by building an outside catio and finally getting around to creating my very own resin table. From a business perspective, I’m looking forward to gaining more experience in SEO and Marketing and am also considering a jump into my master’s degree in Digital Marketing!

Robyn – My goals are centred around my plans to attend university next year, I’ll hopefully be moving up north to live on my own and attend the University of Chester for Graphic Design. I’d also love to take the opportunity to travel more around the UK with a focus on Wales, The Lake District and Northumberland.

Kittie – I think most business owners would always mention growth, that’s also a big one for us. I aim to continue systemising our processes to make it much more efficient and effective for our clients to jump on board. I’d also like to continue working on my health, I have enjoyed playing tennis and doing yoga this year so I will continue with that!

Those are some of our thoughts and goals, we’d love to hear some of your ones for the upcoming year!

Thanks for the images by Kelly Sikkema and Brett Patzke on Unsplash