In my last post about vision casting and goal setting, I mentioned that my next post would be about how to set yourself up to accomplish your big 2023 goals. So here we are.
The problem with most conversations about goal setting is that people focus solely on the creation of the goal itself. And yes, it does matter that you create SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound).
But setting good goals is not the end of the journey. Setting good goals does not mean that you’ll automatically accomplish them.
In order to accomplish your biggest goals, you need to be extremely clear about the resources you need and the process you plan to use to get there.
Take stock of where you are right now with your goals
It’s likely that your big 2023 goals have been percolating in your mind for some time already.
Consider why you haven’t yet achieved these goals yet. Do you have limited time, resources, attention, or motivation? Are there external factors that are hindering your ability to be successful?
I want you to be really specific when you think about this because most likely, these challenges are not going to magically disappear.
Rather, you are going to need to take action to work around these challenges or remove them from the equation. So make a list of the challenges in the status quo that are going to impact your ability to accomplish your goals.
Understand the challenges and make a plan for addressing them
Once you have a list of everything that could make it difficult for you to accomplish your goal, you can make a plan for addressing these challenges.
I alluded to it above, but most challenges can be classified into one or more of these categories:
- Time
- Resources (specifically money)
- Attention
- Motivation
- Skills
- External factors
The challenge of limited time can be solved by taking things off of your plate, streamlining your processes, and/or delegating tasks to others (which might mean bringing on new team members).
The challenge of limited resources can only really be solved by bringing in more money.
Attention is a tricky challenge to solve because it’s often a symptom of having too much on your plate. I know that it is hard to let things go, especially if you have a small team (or if you are a team of one). Sometimes making something a priority means letting things go. Consider which of your tasks are truly essential and which tasks have the most impact when you’re deciding what to let go of.
If lack of motivation is one of the things holding you back, I recommend taking time to reacquaint yourself with your “why.” Why did you get into this work in the first place? It’s natural for motivation to ebb and flow, so don’t beat yourself up if you find that the spark of passion is dimmer than before. REmember what it is you love about what you do, and build more of that into your routine, and I think you’ll find that your motivation will come back.
Not having the skills required to accomplish a goal can really hold you back. Check out “Your next steps” below for two educational opportunities that will help you build your skills.
Finally, it’s important to consider the external factors that will affect your ability to achieve your goals. These might include local or national events, legislation, economic factors, public perception, and more.
Plan your planning process
I love to think about processes in my business.
I know that everyone’s process is going to be unique to their situation and their starting points, but I want to share a few tips for planning your process that should apply to everyone:
- Escalate your goals. What I mean by this is that if your goal is to serve 1,500 people in 2023, you don’t arrive at your monthly goal by dividing 1,500 by 12. Instead you start with lower goals and then increase them over the course of the year. For example, you might aim to serve 50 people in January, 75 in February, 100 in March, and so on. (It can sometimes take a moment to get the math to math, but be patient and work through it!)
- Consider contingency. This is so important. When you’re planning a process, be aware of any tasks that are dependent upon other tasks being complete or other factors. It’s impossible to plan for everything, but be aware of big factors.
- Involve others in the process planning. In some cases, your team will better understand how feasible parts of your plan are than you, particularly the parts of the plan that fall under their scope of work. It’s also important in creating buy-in – as much as you need to remember your why, your team wants to feel that the work you do together reflects their why.
Your next steps in accomplishing your goals
If your focus for 2023 has anything to do with growing your nonprofit’s impact of expanding your reach, the reality is that you are going to need stable funding to make it happen. We have just a few spots in Grant Writing Made Easy opening up before the end of the year, and they’ll go first to folks on the waitlist. You can join the list here.
If you have your eyes set on grant writing consulting success in 2023, I would like to invite you to join the waitlist for Boss Club. We’ll be sharing a lot more info in January, but joining the waitlist will get you access to early registration and more!
