Setting timers is critical to achieving your business goals, don’t you think? So do you ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day? Do you have enough time to get everything done? When it comes to business, it sometimes seems that there could never be enough hours in the day. I feel that way often and I’m sure you do too!
Time Management
Time management is a stumbling block for many business owners. Sometimes it helps to find a way to hold ourselves accountable for how much time we spend on certain things. Timers are a great way to accomplish this.
Why Should Setting Timers Be Helpful?
Timers can be used for just about anything that you feel that you may be spending too much time on. As a business owner, your time is money so you don’t want to waste a minute.
Here are some examples of why you should use them:
Email
Some of us tend to get caught up in our emails for entirely too long. We click links, then find interesting links on those pages and end up surfing the web. Or we read newsletters that could wait until later. Setting a timer when reading our email can help us remember to cut to the important stuff and save the rest for non-business time.
Research
The Internet is one of the best research tools anyone could ask for. But it is also home to numerous distractions. Setting a timer when researching can help us stay on track.
Networking
Networking online can help you grow your business. But it also has the potential to eat up time that could be better used getting work done. Setting aside a certain amount of time to network and not going over it allows us to make connections without causing our work to suffer.
If you are working on multiple projects, setting a timer for each one can help you dedicate the appropriate amount of time to them. Projects that involve a lot of work or have approaching deadlines may need more time than smaller or lower priority ones. You can always reset the timer if necessary and add more time.
Why Taking Breaks is Important
Breaks give us time to clear our heads and tend to non-business matters. But sometimes it’s tempting to take longer breaks when we’re working for ourselves, and that cuts into time that could be spent on business. And sometimes we get so caught up in getting our work done that we make our breaks too short to serve their purpose. Setting a timer can help us take breaks that are not too long or too short.
Managing time successfully is one of the most important things a business owner can do. Setting timers can help us avoid spending too much time on some things and not enough on others. Give it a try. You just might find that the timer is your new best friend.
Need help? I offer 1×1 mentoring services that would help you with your goals, time management, and your mindset. Why don’t you set up a FREE CALL with me to see how I could help you. Use this link to book your call: BOOK NOW!
Many people have issues with goal setting due to setting limiting obstacles in their own way. Some of the most common barriers to goals setting involve fear and lack of belief in yourself enough to even set a goal, much less follow steps toward achieving them. Perhaps if you know some of the most common goal-setting obstacles you can work toward overcoming them.
Obstacles That Limit The Process
You Don’t Want What You Think You Want
Some goals are set because other people want them for you. If you don’t really want what you say you want, it will be very difficult to set a goal for that thing. Be sure that you’ve set the goals for the right reasons and that it’s something you really want. Write down the pros and cons of any goal and know why you want to achieve that result before setting it in stone.
You Don’t Truly Understand the Importance of Goal Setting
Many people think goal setting is just hocus pocus and doesn’t really work. If you don’t really understand the power behind appropriate goal setting, it can be hard to take the time out of your day to truly set a goal. To understand the importance of goal setting, read several books about success and you’ll find that the most successful people set realistic goals, and then worked that goal into their schedule every single day. Even people who experience “overnight success” didn’t really achieve everything overnight. It was many nights of following a plan that brought results.
You’re Not Really Sure How to Set a Reasonable Goal
If you’ve actually tried to set a goal before but didn’t experience results, it’s probably because you just don’t know how to set a goal. It’s not as easy as just writing down a dream. Goals aren’t dreams. They are realistic, specific, achievable end results that you want to see. Take the time to learn the best goal-setting techniques in order to experience goal-setting success.
Fears That Control You
You’re Scared of Failure
Many people do not bother setting goals because they have a self-limiting belief that they’ll fail anyway. Therefore, if they do not set a goal, they won’t have to be a failure. But remember that the idea of planning to succeed over planning to fail is realistic. No goal setting is a recipe for failure; goal setting is a recipe for success. When you accept that you can only achieve real success through goal setting, you’ll overcome this obstacle.
You’re Afraid of Judgment
Sometimes people are scared to set a goal for something because they see it as outrageous. For instance, let’s say that you want to go back to college to get a Master’s degree, or you want to start your own business. You fear that if you set that goal, and other people know about the goal they’ll judge you harshly for wanting it or for some other imagined issue. If you are worried about what others think of you, it’s time to dig deep inside yourself and get over it. The truth is, what you think of yourself is more important than anything else. When you stop judging yourself, you’ll stop worrying about the judgment of others.
You’re Afraid of Success
Believe it or not, some people are literally afraid of success. They feel too much pressure surrounding success to actually make goals to be successful. They are more comfortable in their role as someone who is not successful or who is “normal” instead of as someone who sets a goal, works toward achieving it and is seen as a success. The truth is, there will always be people who want to tear you down once you achieve some success, but the saddest thing in life is regretting not doing something. Most people regret the things they did not do, more than the things they did do – right or wrong.
Limits And Internal Battles
You Secretly Don’t Think You’re Worth It
This is where the way you see yourself is important because if you see yourself as someone who doesn’t follow through, who doesn’t succeed, and who can’t change their life, you’ll avoid goal setting like the plague. You’re the only person on Earth who can control your actions, so you’re the only one who can set the goals for you and the only one who can make yourself feel worthwhile.
You Don’t Really Believe It’s Possible
People avoid goal setting because they simply do not see the vision of what can be. They don’t believe. They don’t picture themselves fully at the point of success, experiencing success. Since they think it can’t happen, they don’t try. But, the truth is, you can’t know for sure about anything unless you follow the steps necessary to reach a goal. You can dream big, and reach for the stars. Trying is more important in most circles than actually making it. And, chances are that if you really try, you will make it after all.
Goal setting is imperative if you want to truly see all your dreams and visions come to fruition. It doesn’t matter if it’s business-oriented or personal – setting a realistic and achievable goal, and then working toward realizing that goal on a daily basis does work.
You just have to do the work. If you’re resisting this process I completely understand because it’s easy to do. If you need help with creating your goals, book a FREE call with me. It’s easy, just use this link FREE CALL!
Our goal series is just about to wrap up this month, but today’s topic is about Limiting Beliefs and Your Goals. Now, wait, what do limiting beliefs have to do with achieving my goals you ask?
A lot! Read on to find out.
Everyone has conscious or subconscious ideasthat can become limiting beliefs. These will often stop us from achieving our goals if we let them. See that? Everyone does! Sometimes these beliefs are instilled in us in childhood and sometimes we create them ourselves.
What is a Limiting Belief?
An example of a limiting belief that can get in your way of success is how you see yourself with money.
If you believe you will always struggle and always be poor, chances are you’ll set yourself up for failure. Your limiting belief that you’re poor and that you always will be poor becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The same can be said about anything negative in your life that limits you – whether it’s a career, education, or personal such as being healthy and of normal weight. If you see yourself a certain way, it can be hard to change that view and let go of that belief.
The 8 Phrases
There are eight telling phrases that point to a limiting belief:
1. “It’s hopeless” – Anytime you use the word “never” is a clue that you’re focusing on a limiting belief. For example: “I’ll never have any money because you need money to make money.” How many times have you heard this one?
2. “I’m helpless” – When most people feel uneducated or helpless, they blame their circumstances instead of working to change them. “I can’t manage my money because I don’t know how” sounds insightful. But the part that’s missing is the feeling of helplessness. All you need to do is take a personal finance course or buy, read and practice the lessons in “Personal Finances for Dummies”.
3. “It’s useless” – The idea that nothing you do will make a difference is that you believe that any action you take won’t make a difference. “It doesn’t matter if I work out an hour a day, I won’t lose weight anyway.” How do you know? Have you tried to do anything for longer than a couple of weeks?
4. “It’s the universe” – Sometimes a limiting belief has to do with the idea that outside forces that you can’t control are at work keeping you down. You can’t find a job or get clients because the economy sucks, where you live is depressed, you don’t have the right clothing, and so forth. But if you do nothing in your power to change it because it’s destiny. You know that’s BS, right? “Everything happens for a reason” type of thinking can be very limiting and make you feel powerless.
5. “I’m worthless” – The idea that you’re not smart enough or good enough to do what you really want can be a very strong limiting belief system. For some reason, this seems to affect women more than men. You feel you’re not pretty enough, smart enough, or good enough to have something. So you don’t take the steps to achieve it, because you don’t feel that you deserve it.
6. “It’s genetic” – While there are certainly some instances where genetics play a huge role in a person’s life, the truth is that almost everything that is genetic can be fixed with the right mindset. The right training, exercise, and outlook will help you immensely. You’re not stuck with your genetics, but if you think you are, you may not try any of the things to pull yourself out of the rut you’re stuck in. So you need to get busy on yourself.
7. “I’ll fail” – The truth is the fear of failure is something most people have as a limiting belief. “I’m a bad public speaker so if I do it, I’ll be judged, and I’ll fail anyway so why try” is a common refrain. But, how can you set that belief in stone if you’ve not tried?
8. “I’m different” – The limiting belief about being different is that different isn’t necessarily bad. You don’t want to be who you are because you’re different and you’ll be looked at as different by other people. You’re afraid to be who you are. Because of that, you don’t even know who you are. And you’re too scared to find out due to fear of rejection and ending up alone.
If you ever hear any of these phrases go through your head, disconnect from them immediately! Turn them around to “why not me” instead of “why me.” Always ask “why not me” because the truth is, you’re not feeling anything different from anyone else who has made goals and achieved them.
The difference is in the doing, not the intelligence or talent. So there, that’s my 2 cents for this week’s article.
Is there anything I left out? If so, send me a message and let me know. I’ll be happy to do research on it and let you know the results.
We are continuing our topic about goals in today’s article. One thing I can’t stress enough is how important it is to have business goals. So, we’re going to discuss how to set and achieve business goals so your business will be as successful as you want it to be.
It’s important to have real, specific goals in your business. These goals can be financial, personal, or simply involve an aspect of your business (“build an effective website” for example). It can sometimes seem overwhelming to determine goals, and even more overwhelming to think of achieving them.
Here are some great tips on doing both of these.
1. Set Your Goals With Intention
How do you set business goals, anyway? As you sit down to determine your goals, here are some things to keep in mind that may help.
* Money – How much money do you need? Have a number here – $1500 a month? $100 a week? $50,000 a year? Financial goals are very different for everyone. Just make sure you have a real number. You might want to set two financial goals – long-term and short-term.
* Strategy – As you develop a strategy to reach your goals, you will have goals within that strategy. For example, if your goal is to start your own small business making hand-sewn handbags, then your strategy may be to make ten handbags to have available before beginning and to sell all ten in your first month.
Within this strategy, there are steps – you will need to schedule in the time it takes to make the handbags, and determine the amount of money needed to buy the materials. Then you may also need to set up a website and post ads to get the word out.
Even within these steps are more steps – setting up a website involves multiple steps, as does advertising. Break everything down into small, specific steps and look at it on paper.
* Time – Be honest about how much time you have. So many times it’s tempting to set goals we can’t reach because we just don’t have a grasp on how much (or how little) time we have. Also, hours on paper seldom work out exactly right in real life – you need some breaks (no one is a machine), and life happens.
For example, if your kids are in school from 8 am to 3 pm, you may think you have seven hours to work that day. But if you’re honest, it may be more like five by the time you factor in lunch, bathroom trips, driving to and from the school if you drive your kids, and so forth.
2. Achieving Your Goals
If you have been honest in the above exercises, achieving your goals will be much easier and likely. Still, you can be as detailed and careful as you want on strategy lists and such, and still have trouble reaching your goals. Below is a good example of How to Set and Achieve Business Goals.
Keep the following in mind:
* Keep track – Keeping a record of your business ventures, expenditures, income, and overall progress toward your goals can help you get a handle on how well you’re doing. This can also help you see areas in which you need to improve and areas where you excel.
* Accountability – Some sources suggest an accountability partner, goal buddy, or whatever you want to call someone who holds you accountable for reaching your goals like a mentor.
* Marketing – It is important to have a marketing plan. How will you get your name out? How will you tell people you are open for business? This is an important component of any business goal.
3. Tracking Your Success
Once you have laid your plan out, have a tracking method to look back on at the 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, 5-year progress. Then you will see how much growth you’ve attained in such a short amount of time. If you remember the saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” you will realize that a business doesn’t grow overnight. It takes time and the right goals for your business to succeed.
If you are looking for help creating your goals or looking for a mentor, that is where I can help you. Book a FREE Consultation Call with me today and let’s get started!
Today’s topic of discussion is all about the 5 Tips to Setting Realistic Business Goals. Most people think that setting goals are easy, and they are, but you need to get down to the specifics. Just what kind of business goals will help you create a successful business?
When it comes to setting your goals, it can be tricky to find that middle ground. If you set goals that are too high, you might get discouraged. If you set them too low, you may end up bored or complacent. You might even become disillusioned with your business. So how do you strike a balance?
The 5 Tips To Goal Setting
The tips below should help you to make your decisions.
1. What do you want?
First, you need to determine what you want. Go ahead and brainstorm – make a list as you do. Put it down on paper and don’t hold back.
2. Assess your list
Now, take a look at your list. Make a sub-list of steps you have to take to reach each of those goals and dreams. Are there some items on your dream list that involve steps you can’t take? If you cannot take the steps necessary to achieve that goal, then it needs to be modified or removed from your list.
What Comes Next?
3. Strategize
As you are making your sub-list of steps, you need to develop definite strategies for those items on your dream list that are achievable. Being able to see what is necessary to achieve that dream can help you decide whether or not to pursue it. Because the strategy may in fact be doable, you might be unwilling to take those steps for personal reasons. That is fine; it’s your list and your goals.
Go ahead and don’t judge yourself – if you can’t/don’t want to adopt a certain strategy for your own reasons, then cross that goal off the list. The point is to narrow things down.
Determine a timeline for your goals. Do you need to make more money right now, as in this month? Or do you have more long-term goals, such as eventually quitting your day job? On your master list, write down your timeline. This will help you further narrow things down – if the goal can’t be reached within your allotted time, then it doesn’t belong on your list of goals.
Being 100% Honest
5. Know yourself
So, one of the keys to succeeding is to be really honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes we think we can do it all, or do anything…and other times we think we can’t do anything. Neither of these extremes is likely to be true! If you can, ask others what they think they can see you doing. Once again, break out your pencil – list things you like to do and abilities you feel confident about. Just about any skill or attribute can be channeled into helping your business succeed.
These list-making exercises can help narrow down your goals and keep them realistic and reachable.
Need help figuring out how to create your goals? Let’s set up a time to do that. Here’s my booking link to make it easy for you to schedule a time to get together. → Calendar Link I would be more than happy to help you.
If you missed the SMART GOALS WORKSHEET you can get it here →Worksheet
I hope you enjoyed today’s article on goal setting. See you next time!
