How to Set Goals That Get Done

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???? New Year Special: Are you looking to update your Linkedin strategy for 2021? Check out my upcoming Leverage LinkedIn course focused on helping people grow their Linkedin presence to boost their career!

This Week’s Set-up:

?? Problem: Everyone knows that setting goals is important, but very few people know how to keep them after motivation dies.

?? Solution: To set goals that you *actually* reach, find accountability and build in "fun friction" to fuel the fire

?? Next Play: Turn your 2021 goal into a daily habit that’s accountable to someone you know with a fun challenge which will force you to keep it the whole year... 

Intro

It’s January 5th. ?? How are you doing on your goals?

On a 5-day streak? Still in the process of setting them? 

Let's not deny it; goals are hard to reach. We often set goals because we think it’s a good idea and we want something to change… but us humans can be horrible at sticking with them even if we really want the result ??

As I'm sure you know, there’s a ton of research out there on goal-setting. And although I'm no Tony Robbins, I've learned a thing or two about making goals that stick. Today I'll try to cover the cheat sheet I use.

Here’s a thought I like to challenge friends with: before you set your goal, envision who you want to become 20 years from today. The success of your future self and who you want to become is directly tied to the goals you choose today. When we understand this, I believe it positions us better to pick goals that become building blocks that shape our lives.

I expanded on this theory earlier this week in a Linkedin post below. In the examples James Clear gives, you can see how you have to own your identity first which then helps reach the goal. 

The Impact on Personal Branding

 So what does goal-setting have to do with personal branding? A lot. How other people see you is directly related to how you see yourself. If you don’t see yourself as a respected professional or aspiring industry leader in X industry, why would your online community think that you are one?

Obviously, your reputation is built greatly on your social cred and past experiences. But you won’t be able to create the credibility you need unless you believe that you can get there. This shows a need for the daily habits to help bring you to that result ??

Once you clarify your mindset for what you want to achieve, set specific goals to help drive you there. 

Goal Setting Framework:

Here’s the strategy I use to set goals that "get done":

?? 1: Set a goal that you care about. Change it from a lofty one-liner into a daily measurable task you can text to a friend and prove a pass/fail progress report.

“Measurable” means that you know when you’ve completed it (and you can celebrate that it’s finally done!). Make sure that it doesn’t feel too daunting to get started. Remember: your actionable goal doesn’t have to be the final result, it just has to be something you can do to move in that direction. For example, “read 30 books” doesn’t happen in a day, but “read for 30 minutes/day at 7am” can ??

?? 2: Find accountability and build in public. When we’re in front of a crowd and forced to report our progress, results always grow.

One of the best ways to stay accountable to your goals is by letting other people keep you accountable to them also. My favourite hack is finding a friend to do the goal with you and checking in every day/week to update them on your progress ??

If that 2nd point causes your goal to flop, here's my last strategy I use to ensure a goal gets done...

?? 3: Add "Fun Friction" and put something on the line if you don’t complete your daily goal ($20, # of pushups, no Netflix for the month etc.) 

As humans, we don’t like discomfort, so the trick is making your goal MORE uncomfortable to skip than it is to buckle-down and do it. You’re 200% more likely to complete your goal if you have something on the line. Especially if that something is painful to give ie. $50 e-transferred to your best friend that will mock you for not completing your goal, Netflix access for the month or 100 pushups each day you miss. You choose the friction. Just make sure it's just hard enough that it's doable but painful and pushes you to actually follow through on your goal.

 What sounds more likely that you'll complete our goal? 

“Hey Jane, let’s try to run more this year in 2021?” ??

 OR

“Hey Jane, wanna agree on a running goal this year? Let’s commit to running 30 mins/day for 5 days/week for 2021. Each day let's send a photo of our run proving we went out. Each time we miss a day, let's e-transfer $50 to the other person. Deal?” ?? 

I think you get which goal format performs better…

After friction is added to the accountability, you’re destined to reach your goal to keep your bank account safe. 

To give you another laugh, here's a photo of a goal framework I used in 2020 which cost my bank account a bit ?? BUT led me to reaching a 98% success rate on my goal over the year: 

If you can set goals that *actually* get done, you’ll not only be able to apply that to building a personal brand, but also building your health, career and finances.   

ACTION-BYTES ??  

?? The Formula: 

passion + habit + accountability + friction x time = goal achieved! ?? 

?? Building Personal Brand Goals 

My advice to you on building a goal to scale your personal brand is to use the same formula as above:  

?? Make it something you care about (ex. educating people on women tech founders through a weekly newsletter)   

?? Form a timely habit (ex. everyday spend 20mins researching, connecting and writing the copy)

?? Find a friend (ex. Tim from Toronto that knows me from university will check in with me once/week)

?? Add friction (ex. every week Tim doesn’t see the article, I pay him $20 or buy him Ubereats dinner as payment…)

?? Time: evaluate your goal each quarter to see if it’s building toward the identity you’re wanting

The template is that simple. The part people miss is catering it to what YOU care about.

If you’re a realtor, maybe your personal brand goal formula looks like this: 

Helping people find their dream home + sell X amount of homes + compete with a realtor friend + donate a portion of your commission if you don’t meet your goal x 6 months = best sales in your region 

passion + habit + accountability + friction x time = goal achieved ??  

Either way, I hope this first article of 2021 helps you kick off your New Year goals.  

Remember: don’t wait for someone to decide your future ??

Lean in, write your goals down and turn them into actionable daily habits that drive you forward ?? 

If you want me to review your goal, drop me a message!

Riff of the Day: Looking for more inspiring voices to follow in 2021? Here’s my top 15 creators on Linkedin I love to learn from ?? 

Thanks for reading till the end. If you have any ideas that sparked or want to ask a question, drop me a note here! 

Stay outta’ trouble and catch you next week.

??? Joel

P.S. Are you wanting to update your Linkedin strategy for 2021? Check out my upcoming Leverage Your LinkedIn course for easy, applicable ways to bring you closer to your career goals - whether it’s landing your dream job or developing your online presence, this course is for you.