Ah, December. The most wonderful time of the year! It the time of year when my energy starts to ramp up, my creative juices start to flow, and I get all warm and tingly inside.
What’s that? Am I excited for the holidays, you ask? NO! I’m excited because December is when I start to set my business goals and intentions for the new year. Every year about this time, I find myself ramping up and dreaming big. It’s like 12:01 on January 1 wipes the slate clean and gives me a do-over – a chance to do and be BETTER than the year before. It’s time to set my BIG HAIRY-ASSED GOALS (BHAGs) for the year – those 2-3 things that, when I accomplish them, will have a huge, positive impact on my business!
*deep breath*
Okay, a bit calmer now. My enthusiasm almost got the best of me there. And, isn’t that the way it always goes with goal setting? Your energy and passion for the new and better, and the desire to leave your missteps and oopsies in the past, lead you to create BHAGs that inspire you and pump you up and make you want to do it all RIGHT NOW. And that energy carries you. For a while. Then time passes and puts distance between you and that sense of urgency. The everyday slog of running your own business settles back in and your time gets occupied with the mundane, and the inspiration fades…
What I’ve found in working with business owners is that there’s no shortage in goal-setting ability among the general population. The average human is really good at aiming high and dreaming big when they set their BHAGs. Most of us are taught to set goals, but we’re not taught the mechanics of how to achieve them. Which is why I don’t coach around “setting goals”, I coach around “achieving goals”. Because I’ve developed a process to tame those BHAGs and help you create a monthly, weekly, daily plan for accomplishing everything you’ve set out to do. And, in the spirit of the holidays, I’m going to share that process with you!
Download my FREE Taming Your BIG HAIRY-ASSED GOAL workbook here.>>
Taming Your Big Hairy-Assed Goal in 5 Steps
- Set your BIG HAIRY-ASSED GOAL: This might be your overall income, the number of new clients or projects you want to secure, or something more personal to you. Your BHAG is something epic. It’s something that could take an entire three months to accomplish and will have a significant impact on your success.
- Determine your timeframe: How long will it take you to accomplish your goal? One month? Three? Six? A whole year? Set a start and end date for working on each goal.
- Create monthly sub goals: If you’ve set aside three months to accomplish your BHAG, think about the three main tasks you’ll need to tackle in order to get it done. For instance, if your BHAG is to secure three new clients, your three monthly sub goals might be to contact existing clients for referrals, identify new networking opportunities, and start a PPC ad campaign.
- Create weekly mini goals: For each of your monthly sub goals, break them down further into four mini goals that you can work on each week. Say your monthly sub goal is to contact existing clients for referrals. Break your client list into four equal parts, and assign each part of the list to one week during the month.
- Make daily plans: Now that you know what needs to be accomplished each week reach your monthly sub goal, you can plan your daily activities to move you towards that goal. Still working on your goal of getting new clients and contacting existing clients for referrals? Take this week’s portion of your overall list and divide it into five. That’s how many existing clients you need to reach out to each day to keep moving towards your BHAG of gaining three new clients. Breaking your BHAG down into short, daily tasks means that you are consistently doing what you need to reach your goal, while making sure the “everyday stuff” gets done as well.
- Get shit done: Now that you have small, manageable tasks you can work on every day, DO IT! By tackling these small tasks, you’re actually making a huge, positive impact on your business. Because it all adds up to achieving your BHAG, which ultimately means your success. Keep up the momentum and celebrate the milestones along the way. Treat yourself to a Starbucks when you achieve each weekly mini goal. Take yourself for a mani-pedi when you knock off your monthly sub goal. The reward for reaching your BHAG is greater income, a stronger business, and a huge sense of accomplishment and success. You go, girl!
Seems pretty simple right? Download my FREE Taming Your BIG HAIRY-ASSED GOAL workbook here.>>. It sets out the process in a little more detail and offers blank weekly and daily worksheets that help you outline the tasks you need to succeed.
By breaking your ginormous, ambitious BIG HAIRY-ASSED GOAL into what you’ll do each day you’ll be sure to achieve your weekly mini goals, which ensures you’ll reach your monthly sub goals, and (ultimately) your BHAG. It gives you confidence that you’re constantly making progress towards your goal even when the everyday requirements of running your business seem overwhelming.
Now, go tame that BHAG!