Start These 6 Habits Right Now to Help You Reach Your End-of-Year Goals | Tech News

BY Megy Karydes – 15 Jun 2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Most of us draft our business plans or write out our goals at the beginning of the year. It’s a good time to reflect how the past year went and what we hope to achieve come the new year. Considering only eight percent of us actually achieve our goals, now is a great time to dust off that business plan or goals and perform a mid-year review.

Some entrepreneurs, like Daymond John of Shark Tank fame, says setting his own goals, rather than letting others set them for him, is the number one reason for success or failure. Others successful entrepreneurs, like Elon Musk, leaves the operational details of business plans to others so he can focus on more ambitious and bigger picture opportunities.

With six months left of this year, now is the perfect time to review what you’ve set out to accomplish this year and still have enough time to reach them if your goals haven’t been met.

1. Change your mindset.

Sometimes the biggest obstacle to achieving our goals are ourselves. Don’t think you’re going to win that new client? Don’t think you’re going to hit a six or seven-figure sales goal this year? Then you likely won’t. If you think your goals are achievable, you’ll work harder to reach them. Negative talk is self-defeating.

2. Review your goals.

I’d argue that changing your mindset is one of the best habits to incorporate into a daily routine that will positively impact your bottom line but the second one is writing and reviewing your goals daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly. This may seem excessive but I’ve found that it’s helped me reach my business goals, or get very close to hitting them, every single year because I’m so meticulous about tracking them.

Each day I review my daily work plan and then review my bigger goals. What am I doing today to help move the needle in a positive direction and help make those bigger goals a reality. In some cases, it might be sending out a letter of introduction to a potential client. Other days it might be following up with a source for a new story idea. If you don’t know what goals you’re trying to hit, you won’t know what to work on today to help you meet those goals at the end of the year.

3. Show up.

Be on time and show up to networking events and let people know your goals. It never fails me. Whenever I have an opening in my client roster, I attend events and let my network know I’m available. Referrals don’t usually come immediately, but they do come and I’ve gotten some of my very best and long-term clients this way. Check to see what kinds of events are coming near you or you think might be beneficial to attend this year and make plans to show up.

4. Share your knowledge.

What kinds of skill sets do you have in which you could teach others? Can you offer a class your local university or community center? Not only will you be sharing your knowledge with others, you might get paid for it as well as introducing yourself to prospective customers and clients. I teach graduate-level communication courses and what I love about that experience is that not only do I get to teach, but I’m always learning new things from my students that I apply in my day-to-day work, too. Consider ways you can reach new business by teaching what you already know or do regularly.

5. Be part of something bigger.

If you have some down time or want to meet new people, why not volunteer with a non-profit organization that either shares your business mission or provide you with the opportunity to learn new skill sets while giving back?

A colleague wanted to offer social media management to her company’s portfolio of services but none of her clients was interested in being the guinea pig. She found a volunteer-based non-profit whose mission she valued and offered to do their social media as a volunteer. Not only was she able to give back to a cause but she was able to learn a business skill that she can apply both immediately and over the long-term.

6. Get a good night’s rest.

Getting into the habit of incorporating a sleep and wake-up routine isn’t easy for many entrepreneurs but since most of us are more productive after getting a good night’s rest, it’s worth pursuing. Like the rest of your day, schedule your sleep time. And if the jarring noise of a wake-up alarm is too harsh, set it to soothing music.