If you don’t write down your goals with clear instructions, your plans will be mere wishes.
I read the post Daniel brought to us to usher in the new year Write Down and Share Your Goals, and I thought it would be a good idea to expand on it to make sure you maximize the potential of your blog in 2014 by being specific about your goals.
Write down Your Goals
This might seem obvious and an echo of what Daniel said earlier, but this is still a very important step. You must be clear and concise with your goal writing. You can’t leave out anything, and you can’t imply it because your subconscious won’t understand it when you see it again.
It is best to have 5-10 goals in present tense, as active, affirmative statements.
- I post 3-5 posts a week on my blog…
- I earn $500-$1000 from my blog a month…
- I am a successful blogger…
Write the Time Frame You Want Your Goal Completed
To reiterate: If you aren’t specific about your goals, you are merely wishing. If your goals do not have a deadline (somewhere between 3 months to 1 year), you’re unlikely to reach them.
Some people are reluctant to set deadlines, but they do three things to help you along.
- You will have the date in the back of your mind, even if you only write it once.
- You will be accountable, which will motivate you more than fear or shame from others.
- You will be able to prioritize your work accordingly.
If you say “I post 3-5 posts a week on my blog by March 31st, 2014,” you are committing to do just that.
Write What You Will Do to Complete the Goal
Flesh out your goals so that they become real plans. Add a line to each of them explaining what exactly you plan to do.
If you say “I post 3-5 posts a week on my blog by March 31st, 2014 by writing two short posts in the morning to create a back catalog,” you are now committing to what you’ll do and taking it upon yourself to adjust your morning routine to accomplish this.
Repeat Writing Your Goals until You Complete Them
There is something to be said about repetition. Through the act of writing your goals down every day, you are reinforcing your desire to do the task at hand. It will infuse your day with energy and emotion as you keep going through your day remembering what you wrote down.
It’s fine to change the wording of the goals, and their order, especially early on. You might have your posts goal in the number 3 position, but then the next day you have it in the number 6 position. Just keep writing them down. As your priorities change, so will your goals. This is a necessary part of the process.
Results!
I tested this out for myself from Sept. 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2013. I wrote down 10 goals to start off with, but trimmed it down to 5 to make sure I could accomplish what I set out to do. They were:
- I am a successful writer, completing 5 stories to 2nd draft by December 31st, 2013 through dedicated morning writing and taking any opportunity I can to write during the day.
- I am a well-read person, completing 10 books on writing by December 31st, 2013 through reading first thing in the morning as I wake up for 30 minutes each day.
- I am a learned person, earning two certificates through Coursera by December 31st, 2013 through focused study and diligent note taking when the classes were released.
- I am a wiser saver, setting aside $2500 by December 31st, 2013 through a tighter budget and setting aside at least 10% of my income (and whatever bonuses I acquire).
- I am a healthier person, weighing 200 pounds by December 31st, 2013 through better eating and steady exercise.
I am pleased to say I completed four of the five goals I set out for me by December 31st, 2013 (sadly, my love affair with burritos keeps me above 200 lbs).
With these steps, even just a few written goals can change your life.
Happy blogging! Once you’ve written down your goals, tell us about them in the comments.
Nice article explaining ways for creating better goals for blog, thanks 🙂
Hi Mathew and Ali
I have recently started a blog and my goals are:
1) I write two post daily one to publish and one as stock
2) I read latest posts of three selected blogs daily one each on niches of blogging, SEO and social media
3) I read five blogs for the sake of dropping comments on them
4) I share one valuable post on social media either mine or someone else
I am so humbled to say for the last 27 days I have been strictly following this plan
hello Ali,
my Goal
1. Joining a Software company After 2 Month.
2. Purchase One Luxury 4 Wheels Till june 2015
3. Purchase One Laptop After 2 month
Hi Ali,
My future Goals is
1. purchase One Bike till November 2014.
2. Increase My salary till June 2014.
3. Take One Government Job till July 2014
Hello Ali,
My goals:
1. 200 Articles till June 2014.
2. Write an e-book till August 2014.
3. And will reduce atleast 3kgs till May 2014.
Informative article, I must say. By the way why you’ve removed adsense ads.
I never gave thought to re-writting my goals to use repetition, but it makes absolute sense!
Something I like to do in addition to writing my goals down is to write down the risk I take by not taking action on the goal… It lights a fire under me and motivates me more than the goal itself at times!
Hey there,
Very useful post , your guide for building better goals are useful. Of course to making goals and then to follow it in blogging is very hard , as blogging isn’t temporary success.
Thank you.
Great advice, Matthew. Setting goals for my blogs works for me, too. I create one primary goal each month for each blog, so I know what I want to achieve. Although I achieve my goals most months, it seems that having the goal is what drives you forward.
Whenever I omit setting goals, I tend to meander, get bored with a blog, and procrastinate.
Thanks for this post. This post motivate me to write another post on my blog. last weak my website traffic was down and after that i stop to write post but i think i should write. thanks you again
Nice Article. Your writing skill is awesome. It’s totally clear and relevant.
Blogger can get it the clear meaning about blogging from this article.
It is helpful for new blogger too.
Thanks for sharing this.