Accomplishing tasks is impossible without motivation. Unfortunately, motivation isn't something handed to you. It doesn't come on a silver platter ready for your taking. If you work in marketing, you learn early on that motivation comes in different form and most of the time, you're the one who needs to create a motivation for yourself.
One of the most popular ways to motivate yourself is through goal-setting. It sounds like a pretty easy concept. You set an objective and try to achieve it. Sounds simple enough, isn't it? But goal-setting can be tricky, since it doesn't necessarily equate to successful accomplishment.
Assess your resources.
Before setting your goals, you need to consider all your resources. It must be feasible and for that to happen, you need to make sure that you have everything necessary to make your goals happen. It's best to reassess your resources when goal-setting so you can also plan how you can compensate.
Here's a mini checklist of the things you need to consider:
- Time – The most important resource, and possibly the number one thing to beat in aiming for your goal is time. Do you have enough to carry out your plan? Do you even have enough time for it? If no, see if you can readjust your deadline for your goal or find a way to make it more feasible for your allocated time period.
- Knowledge – Information falls under this category. You must thoroughly understand what you want so you can plan how to get it. Can you access the materials you need to help you reach your objective? What do you need to make sure that you won't reach the finish line with a low quality product?
- Finance – Some goals are attainable for cheap, while some demand a fortune. If you're aiming for something that will require the cost of a house and lot, check your budget. If it's not enough, then scheme how you can have finances for it.
- Skills – It's not just yours, too, but the skills of people who'll work with you. It's good to think that anything is possible if you believe. But it's better to be prepared and acquire all the skills necessary to reach your goal.
Use the SMART principle.
No goal-setting is complete without talking about the SMART principle. Big or small, your goals must follow this simple concept. It makes following through a lot simpler.
- Specific – The one thing you must avoid in goal-setting is being too general. Know exactly what you want, because how else will you know you've actually achieved it?
- Measurable – There must be an indicator to assess if you achieved or failed your goals. It can't be subjective so you can come up with your own feedback.
- Attainable – Don't be afraid to reach for the starts, but don't forget to come back down to earth, too. If the only way you can achieve your goal is through the help of magic powers, revise it.
- Relevant – This time, go outside your reality and take a look at the reality of your field or market. Is your goal necessary?
- Time-bound – Achieving your goals can't go on forever. It must have a limit.
Don't forget to write your goals down and post it where you can see it everyday. It's a great reminder of the things you have to do in order to attain the goal.
Plan everything down to the smallest details.
When dreaming of the big goal, look into the specifics, too. You can't reach the one big goal before going through the little goals. Even the little plans need crucial planning if you want things to go smooth-sailing.
After all, you're not just going to wing it and think you'll easily achieve what you want. It's better to have a detailed plan on how you'll achieve your goals than improvise along the way. And just like for your major goal, apply the SMART principles to have an easier time executing your plans.
Marketing is not always effective. Aiming for your objectives won't always go the way you want it. But once you have set your goals and how you'll achieve them, the only thing left to do is to stick to the plan and see your efforts pay off.