In this post: examples of ways you can track your goals to keep them front of mind, includes a vision board tutorial!
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve looked at how having goals can increase your happiness and some tricks to setting goals that are meaningful and important to you.
This week, I want to share with you some ways that you can keep track of your goals so that you are making good progress towards achieving your goals and increasing your chances of goal success.
If all we do after setting goals is to write them down in a notebook and then put them in a drawer never to be referred to again (or not write them down at all!), we risk forgetting about our goals altogether and going back to status quo: living our lives as normal without any thoughts of goals we want to reach.
As a believer that having goals actuals helps us to have happy and meaningful lives, I think it is worth taking the time to not only set goals, but also to plan ways that are going to help us hit those targets.
And one of the best ways to do that is to keep your goals front of mind and track your progress. Doing this keeps you aware of your goals, gives you clarity over what you are trying to achieve and can keep you hungry to achieve your goals.
So here are some easy ways that will help you track your goals:
Have a vision board
You’ve probably heard of this one before because it can be a really powerful element in your goal achieving toolkit.
A vision board is created with images and/or words that inspire you and represent what you are aiming for with your goals and life in general.
It’s effective because it’s quick to look at and it triggers our emotions – when you get your emotions involved, you become that much more driven to reach your targets.
Keep your vision board somewhere you’ll look it at least once a day to get the most benefit out of it.
Psst! Want to see how I created my own electronic vision board? Click here to watch the step-by-step process!
Journal on your goals
Take some time to journal about your goals. You might want to make it a daily or weekly practice depending on your schedule and what goals you are working towards.
What sort of things should you journal? Ask yourself what is your most important goal and why, as well as what the next 3 steps you need to take to get closer to goal success.
Get an accountability buddy
An accountability buddy is someone you tell your goals to and what actions you are planning to take to get there, and they tell you theirs too. You then check in with each other regularly – daily, weekly or fortnightly – to discuss how you are going with what you had hoped to achieve in that timeframe.
The fact that someone else will be paying attention to how you are going with your goals can be really motivating in getting it done (rather than putting it off and not having anything to report!). Plus, having someone else to talk about our goals with gives us a really great sounding board and brainstorming partner to work through any obstacles that come up.
Set reminders
Nowadays, it’s pretty easy to set reminders to come up on our phone and/or computer, so why not use it to your advantage!
Choose some words that inspire you and remind you of your goals and why you want to achieve them and schedule them as notifications on a regular basis.
Another way you could do this is to have reminders about action items to get you closer towards your goal. For example: ‘Write for half an hour to create my dream book this year’ or ‘Go to a cafe by myself to grow my bravery’.
Linking in to your why is going to make it harder for you to ignore and putting things off (again! – been there, done that).
Bonus tip: turn off any other notifications you receive, unless they are essential, so you pay more attention when you do get a reminder.
Have symbolic passwords
I picked this one up from Denise Duffield-Thomas from Lucky Bitch. She recommends changing your regularly used password to reflect your goals and dreams.
This way, when you’re signing into your computer or logging into your email you’re reminded of your ambitions and what’s important to you.
Set up your goal tasks in a project management system
If you have to take various steps or actions on your way towards goal success, then having these tasks set up in a project management system can be a great way to keep on top on things.
You can find free online programs that are perfect for this. My favourites are Trello (card/visual based) and Asana (list based).
With these programs, you can set up due dates and create tags or labels to help you see at a glance where you are up to. So handy!
Visualise success
Spend 5 minutes each morning visualising what goal success would look and feel like for you.
What emotions do you feel when you think about hitting your target? Tap into those feelings and use them to fuel you to take action towards your goals.
Use a mantra
A mantra is a word or phrase you say to yourself regularly to focus your mind on what your vision is for what you want to achieve.
It can simply be one word that is symbolic of your goal, or it can be a full sentence that expresses what you are striving for and why.
Mantras are most effective when you fill yourself with the emotions you will feel when you have achieved your goal (similar to when you do a visualisation).
Make notes/dates in your day planner or calendar
If you use a day planner or calendar to organise what’s going on in your life then it’s the perfect spot to make notes about your goals as well.
You can write reminders or inspiring words in bright colours or even schedule in time slots for when you will work towards your goals. Some planners even have pages specifically for your goals, so fill these out and tag them for easy referral.
Use a habit tracker
Regular action towards our goals greatly improves our chances of goal success, so it makes sense to link your goal to a daily habit you can complete and track.
There could be an obvious action that you need to take regularly to succeed with your goal, such as daily exercise if you want to get fitter, or writing for 20 minutes if you want to create a novel. If there isn’t any obvious recurring activity, simply set yourself a timeframe to do what needs to be done, e.g. 30 minutes each day of taking whatever is the next step towards your target.
Once you’ve identified a suitable daily habit, use a habit tracker (digital or printed) to motivate yourself to take action.
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So that’s it! I hope these 10 tips to help you to easily track your goals and increase your chances of goal success.
To recap, they are:
- Have a vision board
- Journal on your goals
- Get an accountability buddy
- Set reminders
- Have symbolic passwords
- Set up your goal tasks in a project management system
- Visualise success
- Use a mantra
- Make notes/dates in your day planner or calendar
- Use a habit tracker
I’d love to know: Have you tried any of these before and how did you go?
Wishing you every success with your goals!
Sarah xo
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