"January without new year resolution - is that one a January"
This is expectedly so as there's so much energy that come with the "new beginning".
Unfortunately, this surge of positivity don't last long for MOST people. This explains why many studies found that ONLY FEW people actualize their resolutions at the end of the year.
So I ask, have you been struggling to make your resolutions happen over the years? Do you need an easier and more practicable alternative? - Well, here it is!
So, what is better than new year resolution? - Daily goal setting!
A good way to accomplish your yearly goals is to break the year down into 365 days and to do something about the goals EVERY DAY!
This article is a summary of daily goal setting - its advantages, how to set daily goals, and lastly, examples of common goals individuals can set.
What is a goal? Simply put, a goal is a result that one is attempting to achieve.
Advantages of Daily Goal setting
The advantages of daily goal setting are endless. The ultimate one is that IT HELPS YOU GET THINGS DONE!It helps you accomplish significantly more than you would without it and its results can be noticed within the shortest period.
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Specific advantages follow:
1. Renews motivation daily: Zig Ziglar has a beautiful quote:"people often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily"The sense of a NEW BEGINNING is main push for new year resolutions - but January don't come often enough.
Treating each day as a new beginning means that every day brings forth its own energy. Having this much energy for 365 days is surely a fuel for success.
2. Helps you take action and defeat procrastination: Breaking "huge" goals into tiny daily bits encourages you to put them to action.
As the saying goes "A journey of a thousand miles begin with a footstep". The tiny little "steps" in the form of daily actions will sum up as the thousand mile journey of goal achievement.
3. Helps you prioritise: Since a day can take only a few planned activities, important activities will naturally knock off the less important ones in the process of daily goal setting. Thus helping you to focus on your priorities.
4. Helps to build positive habits: As Aristotle rightly said
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit".Daily repetition of actions that contribute to achievement of goals will make them your habit. What's better than making success a habit?
5. Maintains consistency and commitment: Success is a marathon - not a sprint race. The little consistent drops of daily actions will sooner or later form a large ocean of life goals realisation.
6. Serves as an accountability tool: Daily goals written down and reviewed at the end of each day become a tool for you to hold yourself accountable. You feel a need to complete the task before the day ends. There's also a daily feeling of accomplishment when you complete most of your planned task for the day.
7. Helps focus thoughts on important things: Having an already planned day means that your thoughts will be directed more toward achieving those goals. This reduces and eventually eliminates non-productive thoughts. For example, you will find yourself thinking more about your pending projects than players signing for European football clubs - who football transfer epp?
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How to set daily goals
If you're looking for how to start setting your goals by the day, here is the summary of steps to follow.Click Here for more on How to set daily goals
The first two points were included because they are just as important as the daily goals themselves.
1. Set your goals (short-term and long-term): There is no point spending much of your daily time on activities that don't propel you toward your life goals. Therefore, your daily goals must be tiny pieces of your life goals.
Just like every airplane must know its destination before even taking off, everyone must know and WRITE DOWN their life goals.
The advantages of writing down life goals is a comprehensive discussion on its own but in summary, Goal setting is a sine qua non for success. Search the Internet for how to identify life goals if you need that help.
2. Prioritize the goals: If you have a long list of goals, you need to prioritise. This is important because splitting attention on many different goals at the same time will reduce your efficiency.
First divide them into short-term and long-term goals. Then pick a few most important ones to work towards.
Of course, everyone have unique goals and the possibilities are endless
3. Derive your daily goals: Once the most important life goals have been well defined, next step is to break them down into bits for each day.
For example, if you have a debt of 12,000NGN to pay over a period of 1 year. It means you have to save 1,000NGN every month. This can be further broken down to about 33.33NGN per day. You can then aim to save 34NGN daily.
Similarly if you plan to write a book with 38 chapters over 18 months, this book can be broken-down to assign number of pages to be complete per day
This is very easy to apply for some goals but for others, it may not be very easy.
For example; finding love, quitting cigarette or alcohol may not be easy to break down in that manner. For this type, one will need to structure daily goals according to nature of long term goals.
4. Write them down daily: Daily goals may be set the night before. This makes sure that you have your day all planned before even waking up.
Once set, they should be written down in ink and their allocated time (very important) should be indicated. This doesn't mean you have to write down all your daily activities - though this is a good habit too.
Writing goals and having them in your pocket throughout the day makes it much easier to accomplish them.
5. Set electronic reminder: Additionally, you can setup a to-do list or an alarm for each activity on your smartphone. Note that this is not to replace your written down goals. Rather, it helps to call your attention when daily activities start distracting you.
6. Try you best to complete most of the goals: This is where self discipline comes in.
Do not let a football match, TV show or a random gist prevent you from getting them done - except, of course, if they have contributory roles to your life goals.
7. Review your list at the end of the day: This should be done before writing out goals for the next day. It helps you monitor your progress, points out activities to be carried over and identify when you need to put in more commitment.
Examples of Daily Goals.
1. Make my bed - This is particularly important as it ensures you start your day with something from your goal list. Once you start, you're hard to stop!
2. Exercise for xx minutes
3. Write certain number of pages of my new book
4. Complete a chapter of a book I'm reading
5. Memorise 1 verse of the holy book with its meaning and explanation.
6. Read academic books or do assignment for xy hours.
7. Save xyz naira towards registration of my new company
8. No alcohol today. (Stay off beer parlour)
9. Take not more than x stick of cigarette.
10. Avoid xyz food or xyz drink
11. Do not spend more than xxx naira on airtime (save xyz naira)
12. Visit my in-laws.
13. Replace Brazilian hair with cheaper hair, save xx,000 naira towards settling loan
14. Watch CSS tutorial videos (45 minutes)
15. Make a blog post
16. Give xyz out in charity.
The list is endless.
Don't procrastinate any further. Start daily goal setting tomorrow!
