How to Achieve Goals

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Goals are essential to your ability to thrive in the workplace and build a satisfying career. Pursuing specific goals can help you measure your professional success in a meaningful way, so the steps you take toward each goal should be considered thoughtfully. Whether you are interested in improving your professional skills, increasing your salary or earning a promotion, you can use similar strategies to set and accomplish many different goals.

Why are goals important?

Goals are important because they provide benchmarks for success as you work towards your ideal career and lifestyle. Setting goals in the workplace can provide a sense of purpose and motivation to plan and implement objectives that will benefit you. As you learn new skills and gain experience, accomplishing professional goals can increase your satisfaction at work. Although your goals may change over time, setting clear and realistic goals can provide essential guidance as you progress in your career.

How to achieve goals

Depending on what you hope to accomplish, achieving a goal can occur over the course of a day or over several years. You can complete both short-term and long-term goals more efficiently by creating a plan for success. 

Use the following steps to set and achieve goals in the workplace:

1. First, consider your professional interests

When planning your professional goals, consider what you enjoy most about your job and what you would like to be doing differently in the future. Decide on what you need in your workplace to have a satisfying career, such as a higher salary, a leadership position or the ability to make an impact in your community. By understanding what aspects of your career are most rewarding, you can choose goals that suit your motivations.

2. Then, research possibilities that involve your professional interests

Research what it will take to achieve and pursue your various professional interests. Consider asking senior employees at your workplace about their career path in order to envision the benefits of being promoted to various positions. Especially when forming a long-term goal, make sure you understand the level of commitment it requires.

3. Third, decide on your goal

Once you are well-informed about the steps to achieve different types of professional success, choose a specific goal to pursue. While you may have multiple goals at once, list them separately so that you can have a clear plan for each achievement. One useful method for deciding on a goal is the SMART goal framework, which ensures that your goal can be clearly tracked and implemented in a way that is most helpful to you.

4. Fourth, create an outline

Write your goals in an outline or mindmap form to remind you of your objectives. You can stay determined and focused on achievement by having a place where you can write out explanations of why you chose your initial goals and necessary steps for achieving them. Write down when you would like to accomplish your goal and how you will pace the various steps. Your outline can help hold you accountable when facing challenges and remind you of the main reasons you are pursuing your goal.

5. Fifth, set smaller objectives

Taking small but consistent steps toward goals gives you the flexibility to make adjustments as your career evolves. Consider each step towards your goal as its own objective so that your workload remains manageable and you can avoid feeling overwhelmed. Setting smaller goals can also increase your efficiency, allowing you to focus on one task at a time.

6. Sixth, document your progress

As you move towards accomplishing your goal, document your progress. This will help you recognize if you are pacing yourself correctly and gradually measure your success. Make notes on your initial outline and include reasoning for any adjustments made. Documenting when and how you accomplished various objectives can also provide motivation and guidance for future achievements.

7. Seventh, reward yourself for success

In order to stay motivated toward achieving your goals, reward yourself for successfully completing objectives or pursuing professional development. Achieving a particularly challenging portion of your goal deserves the same recognition you would give to colleagues who accomplished a difficult project. You can reward yourself by taking a celebratory lunch, upgrading your workspace or simply sharing your accomplishment with others.

8. Eighth, work with others

Seek input when you need help to achieve your goals. Find a mentor or other advisor to help you understand what you need to do to reach your goals. Choose a coworker or manager who understands the company and industry to give you insight about what is achievable with your goals. You may also consider asking a trusted friend to hold you accountable to your timeline.

9. Finally, be flexible

Goals allow you to measure your success, but changing circumstances or new strategies on how to succeed may influence your achievements. If you accomplish a goal much faster than anticipated, you may consider setting a more challenging goal. Alternatively, if you find that a goal no longer suits your professional needs and abilities, you might choose to change focus and pursue other interests. Being flexible allows you to remain motivated while acknowledging that as you grow in your career your goals may change.

Goal achievement plan example

Here is an example of a professional goal along with a plan for achieving it:

Example goal: Get a promotion and greater salary at work.

  • Objective one: Increase my performance metrics by delivering projects before deadlines. Use my day planner or online calendar to keep track of deadlines and schedules related to delivering projects on time or before schedule.
  • Objective two: Make myself more marketable by taking classes in my profession. Take classes or go to conferences to sharpen my skills.
  • Objective three: Become a subject matter expert (SME) in my profession so I can mentor and manage others. Take initiative about leading and teaching others about my industry and skills needed to thrive in my industry.
  • Objective four: Network with other people by going to conferences and networking meetings. Show initiative in seeking subject matter experts in my industry to learn from them and seek new opportunities in my industry.
  • Objective five: Become part of management. Show leadership in my work by taking on new initiatives in the workplace and working longer hours.
  • Goal summary: I will get a promotion and greater salary at work by increasing my performance, taking classes, becoming a subject matter expert, networking and becoming part of management.

Having a goal can help you plan the course of your career, cultivate your skills or simply improve your quality of life.