Let’s face it, the last couple of years have thrown up one curveball after another so when we are thinking of the next year we need to be prepared for anything that is thrown at us both personally and professionally.
Setting clear goals in your personal and business life can help you to navigate through or around almost anything that is thrown at you.
With 35 years of experience in business under my belt (and plenty of blunders along the way), I’ve learned that setting goals are a vital part of keeping your business running well and profitably.
If you are not setting goals your not reaching your potential in both your personal and business life.
When I am thinking of my goals I normally work on personal goals and business goals.
In this article, I have listed the categories that I work on in my personal life to make sure that my family and business succeed.
1/ Family Goals
I put family goals first because most of us are trying to build our business to set up the future for our family. Family is the most important element of your life. Nobody ever said “I wish I spent more time at work” Rather later in life you might say, “I wish I spent more time with my family.” To have a great family life though you need to put some intentional effort into those relationships, you might be surprised at how strong your bond becomes when you set a goal to do that. Don’t get so busy with business that you don’t have time for your family.
This year, I want to travel home (Victoria) more often to spend as much time as possible with my Dad who I haven’t seen for 2 years. So I’m planning a specific number of trips over the course of the year. Here are some more examples of family goals you could set:
- Keep your relationship with your parents and siblings going strong by calling them once a week to catch up.
- Plan a trip to surprise your grandparents by setting aside a few dollars a week to pay for it.
- Stay involved in your brothers and sisters lives by setting a coffee date with them once a month. Or if they live far away, put away a bit of money each week to go and visit.
- Brighten your families lives by reminding them on a regular basis how much you love and appreciate them.
2. Financial Goals
Being financially stable is an important goal to keep your personal life on track. One of the most important things you can do is pay yourself first.
Often when cash flow goes up and down it’s easy to put off your personal wages to make sure that you pay your bills first. I would encourage you to make sure you pay yourself first to keep your personal world free of financial pressure.
Here are some more examples of financial goals you could pick from for this year:
- Make a goal to spend less on Uber Eats
- Save up a starter emergency fund of $1,000 by a certain date by setting aside money from every payday for savings.
- Pay off all credit debt by a certain date by cutting something (like entertainment or clothes shopping) out of your budget for a few months, selling a specific amount of items you don’t need, getting rid of all credit cards, staying away from money traps . . . the list goes on.
- Start investing so you can retire when you want to by setting up additional payments to your superannuation fund.
- Don’t use Afterpay or Zip pay or other services that allow you to delay spending.
3. Spiritual Goals
When I think about spiritual goals I don’t necessarily think about God but things that feed my soul.
Recently I helped train 100 riders who raised 1 million dollars for cancer research while riding 360km in 3 days. Why don’t you think of goals that can help your community and feed your soul?
4. Educational Goals
Even though you own a business, make sure that you are still learning and growing. Don’t just learn about business stuff find something that you enjoy learning about. I love cameras so I spend some time each week learning about new ideas to make my photography better.
Here are a few examples of things you might learn:
- Build your knowledge by taking a class on a language that you are interested in
- Read a new book every month by committing to read a certain number of pages every day.
- Hone your teaching skills by teaching someone else how to do something you’re good at.
- Share a book or other resource with your family and discuss.
5. Fitness Goals
The last thing you probably want to do when you wake up (or get home after a long day at work) is hit the gym or exercise. But I promise it will give you a mood boost, and most importantly, you’ll be healthier in the long run. For me, I ride a lot so I am often out of bed by 4 am and on the bike at 4.30 am. If bike riding doesn’t do anything for you there are lots of other things that will lift your mood and that of your family.
Maybe the gym just isn’t your thing so here are a few other things that will lift your mood and keep you fit and motivated.
For example:
- Go for a walk with your spouse in the morning or at night.
- Find a partner to work out with to make you accountable.
- Join a touch football or other team.
- Work out and get some vitamin D by going for a run outside with a friend on a regular basis.
- Do a YouTube workout with your family on a regular basis
- Take the stairs at work instead of the lift.
- Go for a swim or two each week.
6. Social Goals
After setting all those other goals, who even has time to be social?
This category is one of the hardest to set and keep goals around but also one of the most important.
Having a healthy social life and maintaining friendships is still super important, even with a tight schedule. In the last two years it’s been difficult with lockdowns and a 1.5-meter distance rule isn’t conducive to social harmony but human beings are meant to have community, so set a goal in this category, even if it’s a small one.
Here are a few examples:
- Make new friends by talking to someone new at your local takeaway.
- Get to know your current friends better by grabbing dinner (or making it at home) with a different friend every month.
- Get out of your comfort zone by saying “yes” to at least one invitation per month.
- Stay in contact with your friend group by texting a friend every week to encourage them or let them know you’re thinking of them.
- Comment on a post on Facebook or Instagram for each friend that you have.
7. Celebrate Milestones And Achievements
Last but certainly not least, remember to celebrate the milestones you reach and the goals you accomplish—no matter how big or small they may seem.
You’ve invested so much time and energy into reaching your goal, so take a moment to take it all in and celebrate your accomplishment with your family or friends.
Smaller accomplishments can be simple rewards, like lunch at your favourite restaurant or a cake. As milestone accomplishments are met, you might splurge a little more with your celebrations to match the goal you reached.
Start Setting Goals Today
So there are a few ideas of personal goals that you can set for yourself. Why not go ahead now and write down some of your own goals and next month we will talk about setting goals for your business.