5 Surprisingly Effective Steps to Set Your Goals (in 90 Mins or Less) By Ruby McGuire.

STEP 1. Do A Mini Review (10 mins)

When setting goals, it’s always good to start with the past in mind. So, let’s do some time-travel and get some gems to help you create some exciting new goals. Once you know what works and what doesn’t then you’ll find goal setting a lot more effective.

Action: Write out your answers to the following questions. No over-analyzing, this is just a quick review. You’ve got 10-minutes. Ready, get set, go!

1. What 3 lessons have you learned in the past six months?
2. What dreams have come true?
3. What 3 things are you most proud of yourself for?
4. What didn’t work for you?
5. What do you need to let go of? (something you didn’t achieve)
6. What would you like to stop, start and continue?

STEP 2. Three Little Words (10 mins)

In this step we’re using the power of emotion.

Action: Grab your pen, paper and set the time for 10 minutes!

1. Start by focusing on how you want to ‘feel’. Write out 3 words that will help you achieve your goals and bring you the most happiness, eg.

1. • Freedom/Wealth/Family
   • Peace/Excited/Cherished
   • Organized/Positive/Fun

1. Next write down 3 words for how you want the next 6 months or year to be (go with your gut instinct on this one).
2. Write out how you already live those words.
3. Answer the question, “How would my life/business be different if I allowed these 3 words to be my guide?”

STEP 3. Define Your 3 BIG Juicy Goals (30 mins)

This is the time to think really big and get excited about your goals. If they don’t excite you, don’t do them!

Action: Get a warm drink, put on your favorite music and get into dream creation mode.

1. First choose 3 empowering words and use these to guide your goal setting (as you did in Step 2).
2. Write down what you would REALLY love to achieve.
3. Convert this into 3 BIG juicy goals – not just the “nice to haves”, but the ones that excite you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. You can choose to do some SMART goal setting here – where you make sure your goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-related (you’ve probably come across these if you’ve done a coaching qualification).

You could also use a FUNKY goal setting system:

• F – Make your goal FABULOUS- It MUST excite you.
• U – Create an UNSHAKEABLE plan – Allow time for things that might crop up. Think about the times you do your best work etc.
• N – is for NOW. Don’t just let the dust settle on it. Take one piece of action within the next 24 hours.
• K – KEEP at it. Plan to do something every single day towards your goals.
• Y – Say YES and commit to success! You can do it, if you just commit and follow through on your plan.

TIP: You may be tempted to create lots of goals. Don’t! Choose only three, no more. When you achieve those 3 goals you can then move onto setting some more – and keep focused!

“Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” Gloria Steinem

STEP 4. Review Your Goals (10 mins)

Sometimes we get stuck in other people’s goals and set things that aren’t what we desire. For example, it’s easy to get caught up in, “I want to make 10K a month” so we set this as our goal, when actually that might not be our real desire.

Action: Do a mini check in to check your goals (Spend no more than 10-minutes on this):

1. Ask yourself if these goals are what you REALLY want?
2. Do they get you into that ‘WOW’ place?
3. Moving forward, what will you be/do/have when you’ve achieved them?
4. If you could have your goal right now (as in you’ve achieved it) would you take it? (This question is SO important)

STEP 5. Pull Together a 3-Step Action Plan for Each of Your 3 Goals (20 mins)

Now, KISS (Keep It Simple & Special) and set yourself 3 simple action steps for each of your 3 goals.

Action: Write out each big goal, and underneath it note 3 actions to get you started on achieving your goal.

Here’s an example:

Goal 1 – Attract 3 new clients by (date)

• EXAMPLE ACTION 1: Pull together a little offer that I can share with people
• EXAMPLE ACTION 2: Write a list of 10 past clients/people I can share my offer with
• EXAMPLE ACTION 3: Write a blog post and share the offer at the end of the post

Wrap-up

So there you have it, 5 surprisingly effective steps to set your goals in less than 90 minutes! If you stuck to the plan then you should have 3 BIG juicy goals with powerful words to help you stay focused and a simple action plan to follow. Now you need to do the work – it’s time to take action!