Goals Give Direction

great tidbit! I don't always write down my goals, but I try to make sure that I am moving forward everyday! Tammy

Tammy -

You should try it! Even 1 or 2 goals to start with. For the week, it can be a checklist of things you need to get done. Set a time to accomplish them, it will help you have focus to accomplish that which "needs" to be done. If you have weekly and monthly goals - you will find that you will get sooooo much more done than you would have normally. It takes a little getting used to in the beginning but when you start seeing how much you are accomplishing, you will really feel good about your progress!

Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted (S.M.A.R.T ) goals. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that it's an effective tool for making progress by ensuring that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from them.[citation needed] On a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives—most commonly with financial or career-based goals.[citation needed] Goal setting features as a major component of personal development.

Goals that are difficult to achieve and specific tend to increase performance more than goals that are not.[1] A goal can become more specific through quantification or enumeration (should be measurable), such as by demanding "...increase productivity by 50%," or by defining certain tasks that must be completed.
Setting goals affects outcomes in four ways:[2]
Choice: goals narrow attention and direct efforts to goal-relevant activities, and away from perceived undesirable and goal-irrelevant actions.
Effort: goals can lead to more effort; for example, if one typically produces 4 widgets an hour, and has the goal of producing 6, one may work more intensely towards the goal than one would otherwise.
Persistence: Someone becomes more prone to work through setbacks if pursuing a goal.
Cognition: Goals can lead individuals to develop and change their behavior.

In business, goal setting encourages participants to put in substantial effort. Also, because every member has defined expectations for their role, little room is left for inadequate effort to go unnoticed.
Managers cannot constantly drive motivation, or keep track of an employee’s work on a continuous basis. Goals are therefore an important tool for managers, since goals have the ability to function as a self-regulatory mechanism that acquires an employee a certain amount of guidance.

Randy Bailiff
Dean Graziosi Investment and Life Coach

It comes back to the phrase "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Setting goals gives you a roadmap and should be the very first thing that you do. Make a plan and work your plan....and then rework your plan and rework it again and again. Rarely are goals set and it's over. Things change and you need to be flexible and adjust when needed.