As 2010 draws to a close, many home-based professionals are working hard to meet deadlines while making time to celebrate the holidays with friends and family. While this is a busy time of year, it is a good idea if you can find a little time in between Christmas and New Years to sit down and set your goals for next year. Setting goals is a good way to help yourself stay motivated, if you do it correctly. Here are some simple tips for setting goals that will motivate and inspire you instead of leaving you feeling frustrated.
One hallmark of a good goal is that it is specific. Some people shy away from specific goals because they do not want to feel badly if they do not reach them. However, the problem is not in selecting a target and then failing to reach it. The real problem is selecting the wrong target to shoot for. For example, setting a goal to increase your sales by 10% each month may not be a good idea because in this economy it is very difficult to increase your sales by 10% per year, let alone per month. If instead you choose a goal of one or two percent per month, you will feel like you can reach that goal. In fact, some months you may even exceed it. Reaching that goal each month will inspire your sales efforts for the next month and so on.
Other characteristics of good goals are that they are simple, meaningful, and measurable. If you try to cram five different ideas into one goal, you end up with a long and confusing statement of what you would like to achieve. Your brain will latch onto the information better if you break that large statement into five short, concisely worded goals. Do not set goals for yourself based upon what other people are doing or what other people say that you should do. Choose goals that are meaningful to you, because otherwise they will not motivate you.
Another thing to consider when you are setting your home-based business goals for 2011 is that goals are even more powerful when you write them down. For an even greater impact, tell other people about your goals because sharing your goals with others not only gives the goals more power, it can help you to create a network of people that support your business aspirations.
What are your home-based business goals for next year?