When you aren’t smashing your goals most of us feel like a failure. But I don’t want you to feel that way because chances are you are making some simple goal setting mistakes that you didn’t even know about.
Working from home makes me feel pretty aimless if I don’t have my day mapped out and have a fire in my belly about WHY I am doing all this work I have set for myself. I need to have goals AND be working toward achieving them, one task at a time. Otherwise I lose myself in whatever show I can binge for the next three days, or I go down the rabbit hole of planning my next holiday – and then not actually booking anything. The importance of goal setting for women in business is something that can’t be overstated. To reach financial success, create meaningful relationships, and find fulfilment in your career, understanding how to set and achieve goals is essential.
Unfortunately, goal setting isn’t always easy – and even the most successful entrepreneurs make mistakes along the way. As a businesswoman myself, I’ve seen firsthand how these common pitfalls can derail our efforts to reach our dreams.
In this article, I’m going to share 5 of the most common mistakes women make when it comes to goal setting – and more importantly, what you can do to fix them. I hope that with this information at hand, you will be able to take action towards achieving your biggest goals and aspirations.
"Set a goal that makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning." - Unknown
5 common goal-setting mistakes
Mistake #1: Setting Unrealistic Goals
We often set goals that are too grandiose or ambitious. We want to double our income, lose 10kgs in a month, or write the next best-selling book. While these objectives may be inspiring and motivating, they may not be realistic – which can lead to disappointment if you don’t reach them.
How to Fix It: When setting your goals, start small and break down large goals into smaller achievable milestones that you can work towards. For example, if your goal is to increase your income by 10%, focus on activities and strategies that will help you do this such as increasing clientele or working additional hours each week. Smaller, more attainable accomplishments will lead to greater success over time!
Mistake #2: Focusing on Too Many Goals at Once
When we’re motivated and inspired, it can be tempting to want to tackle every goal at once. But this kind of multitasking is setting yourself up for failure. I know that being super busy means I have often got a few different things on the go simultaneously.
But in reality it makes me pretty frantic. Some days I sit down and think that it doesn’t look like I have done a single thing around the house, yet I have been running around for the past hour picking up, wiping down and putting away.
When you’re over-stretched, it’s hard to track progress and stay organised – making it difficult to know what steps need to be taken to reach your goals.
How To Fix It: Focus on one or two goals at a time and prioritise them according to their importance. Make sure that all of the tasks associated with each goal are completed before moving on to the next one. This will help keep you focused and ensure that everything gets done efficiently.
Mistake #3: Not Making Goals Specific or Measurable
It’s hard to achieve a goal if you don’t know how to measure your progress. Without knowing when you will know when you have completed your task, it can be difficult to stay motivated and push yourself further.
I find that some kind of visual scoreboard helps me. Whether it is using post-its on my wall, or my whiteboard, having a daily reminder somewhere I can see helps. It motivates me to be able to actually see my progress.
How To Fix It: Make sure each of your goals is specific and measurable. For example, instead of setting a goal such as ‘make more money’, set a target such as ‘make an additional $5,000 this month by increasing my clientele’. This way you will be able to track and measure your progress to stay on track.
Mistake #4: Not Writing Goals Down or Tracking Progress
It’s easy to get distracted and forget our goals if they’re not written down somewhere. We can easily slip into procrastination or let other things take priority without an action plan in place.
How To Fix It: Take the time to write your goals down on paper, use a planner/calendar app, or create an online task list. Physically writing down your objectives will help keep you accountable and track your progress as you move forward. Additionally, rewarding yourself for small successes along the way is a great way to stay motivated.
Mistake #5: Giving Up Too Soon or Not Celebrating Milestones
It can be difficult to stay the course when you’re facing adversity or things aren’t going as planned. Oftentimes, we give up too quickly or become overwhelmed and stop putting in the effort.
How To Fix It: Celebrate your milestones! Reward yourself for small successes and take time to appreciate how far you’ve come. This will help keep you motivated and remind you that progress, no matter how small, is still progress.
Additionally, don’t forget to ask for help if needed – mistakes are inevitable but they do not have to define who you are or what you can achieve.
So to recap -
- Don’t set unrealistic goals – start small and break down large goals into smaller achievable milestones that can be tracked and measured.
- Don’t try to tackle too many goals at once – focus on one or two goals per time frame and prioritise them according to importance.
- Make sure each goal is specific and measurable so you can track progress accurately.
- Write your goals down somewhere, whether it’s a physical notebook, planner/calendar app, or online task list for accountability purposes.
- Celebrate your milestones! Reward yourself for small successes and don’t forget to ask for help if needed – mistakes are inevitable but they do not have to define who you are/
Start setting effective goals today. Your different tomorrow starts today.
As business women, goal setting is a powerful tool to help you stay organised and focused on achieving success. It’s important to understand the common mistakes that can be made when it comes to goal setting so that you can avoid them and set effective goals.
Taking the time to plan out your goals will help ensure that they are achievable and measurable – and don’t forget, celebrate each milestone along the way.
So let’s get started and make today the day that we start taking action towards our goals. With focus, determination, and dedication there is nothing we cannot achieve.
