A Goal A Day
October 20th, 2006If you have never regularly set goals for yourself, the process may seem a little daunting at first. Don’t be discouraged, there is an easy way for everyone to begin. The best way I found to begin to set and achieve goals was with the goal a day strategy. A new goal everyday sounds like a lot to start with but it is not so much the goal we focus on but the idea of committing to achieve a set daily task within our usual schedule.
When setting a goal a day, it is important to meet two basic objectives. Firstly we want to set a goal that we know we can achieve in the time set aside each day for this particular goal. Secondly we want the goal to be somewhat meaningful or otherwise it won’t mean anything to us if we achieve it or not.
Looking at the first objective it is necessary to take a few moments, I think on the day before, to see when and how much time on the following day we will have exclusively to achieve our daily goal. This step is crucial in being able to successfully achieve our task each day. If you don’t make any provision for a set amount of time to commit solely to achieving your goal it will be unlikely you will get it done or even make any attempt at it. It doesn’t need to be a number of hours, it might just be 15 minutes a day depending on what your goal is. In fact it is better to start off with small increments of time and that way you will more likely stay committed and it won’t interfere too much with the rest of your day. Eventually you may work up to periods of an hour or more per day as you can successfully incorporate the goals into your day.
The second step of the process ties in with the first objective in relation to how much time we will need to get the job done. Like I mentioned above, we want the goal to mean something but not take up too much of our day. When this process of setting and achieving a daily goal just feels like a regular part of our day we can take the next step to bigger and more complex goals but to begin with we should concentrate on something small, achievable but constructively worthwhile.
In choosing your daily goal, there are many places to start. Perhaps look at the little things around your home that cause you constant frustration but could easily be fixed with a tiny bit of regular commitment. It may be something as simple as putting the garbage out every morning or evening. I like to eat canned tuna but I certainly don’t want an empty can of tuna building up a horrid smell during the heat of the day for me to arrive home to at night. So that example is so simple and easily achieved but it also would mean something to me if the smell from the garbage was bothering me regularly.
Another great example of a daily goal would be to incorporate some daily exercise into your routine if you currently aren’t doing any. You don’t need to run a marathon each day but a 30 minute walk around your block maybe before or just after work would not only be healthy but the mild exercise will stimulate a rush of the natural endorphin chemical in your brain to spread through your body and give you a natural high, which in turn makes you feel good.
I work a full time job as a fitness manager and personal trainer and write articles for my website in my spare time. My job requires me to sometimes work long hours but I set aside at least 30 minutes each day to work on an article. By doing this I see myself doing something constructively personal everyday and although I may be tired some days, I often finish the article I’m working on. But on those days when I am too tired or have other things to do, I still do my 30 minutes a day and know that I achieved my daily goal.
Once you get into the habit of setting and achieving a daily goal you begin to see how you can get more and more out of each day. A 15 minutes a day goal can turn into a solid hour per day of regular and constructive goal achievement and eventually you may look back on your life before you started your goal a day strategy and realize just how much time you used to waste.
If you find this site helpful, please leave a donation for John
Other Related Posts:-