It is easy to get carried away with your dreams and goals when you are planning to make mini-goals. It can be easy to neglect the little steps that you must take to reach your desired success. In order to keep yourself on track, set a goal for the next five years, then five months from now, set another goal for another five years, and so on.
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Make mini goals as you go. Do not worry if you do not achieve every one of them the first month or the fifth month. Once you have reached one goal, do not stop and think that it is too little. Try again and make it bigger the second time.
Each goal should have a time limit. You do not stay too long on a goal that you lose interest and it becomes a maintenance activity. Set a deadline for yourself and stick to it. If you fail to keep to it, move on to the next goal.
Each goal should have a deadline. Set one and stick to it. The most common mistake is to leave the deadlines hanging. If you want to reach your targets, you cannot afford to miss the deadline. Similarly, you cannot keep putting off your goals forever.
Make sure your mini goals are easy to achieve. If you set a goal to buy a particular pair of shoes each month, do not stretch yourself to three or four pairs. Do not make the commitment to work out for an hour each day, when you only need to do an hour. Likewise, you cannot commit yourself to learning a new skill or hobby unless it is something you really want to do. Otherwise, stick to the tasks you choose.
In the process of setting your mini goals, it is a good idea to take stock of your skills, interests, strengths, weaknesses, etc. This will help you determine how to best use them to create a plan and schedule for yourself. It will also help you make sense of what exactly you need to do in order to meet these goals.
You can also use the knowledge gained from your mini-goals list to get back on course after a rough patch. You may find yourself wondering why you haven't succeeded the last time you reached a goal. For example, did you overwork yourself or did you forget to rest? These things happen and can be fixed.
Mini goals serve as stepping stones to bigger goals. If you stay on course with them, you can move up to the next level. Once there, you can take your mini goals to the next level and so on. Achieving any goal is a combination of brainpower and patience. Keep at it and you will soon achieve your dreams!
So, where does your mini goal checklist come into the picture? Your goal list will help you keep track of the activities that you need to do in order to meet each small goal. For example, if you are writing a new article, you may add a sub-goal to include a brief description of the process to produce the article, an outline of the article and finally, a short but specific goal to describe what you intend to do once you have completed the writing task.
For example, let's assume that you want to write an article for your website. On your mini goal checklist, write a sub-goal of researching the best keywords related to your niche. Then, write another sub-goal about writing the introduction and the first couple of paragraphs.
Next, you should include a section for providing excellent quality content for your website. On your mini goal checklist, write another section for collecting your necessary information and tools. Last, but not least, write a section for promoting your mini goal. You may also want to include a section for building a network of contacts for your business.
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In order to stay on target, you need to be aware of what is going on with your mini goals. You need to check your list for any unfinished tasks. Make a notation or two in your daily planner or in your email to remind yourself of the things you need to do. Then, follow up with your sub-goals. In the end, you should always remember to end with a mini goal checklist to ensure that all your sub-goals were accomplished.