Just because January is over, doesn’t mean goal setting is off the table. Setting goals isn’t something that has to happen at the beginning of the year. In fact, I recommend setting multiple goals for yourself and your business throughout the year.

I always set big goals at the beginning of the year, but then throughout the year, I create more, smaller goals for myself. This makes goal setting fresh, new and exciting all year long, instead of just for a few weeks at the beginning of the year.

For example, one of my goals for this year is to write a book. That’s a pretty big goal. Throughout the year, I plan set more goals for myself, to help me reach that big goal, such as:

• Write 3 chapters
• Write 10 chapters
• Edit the manuscript
• Have a ghost editor edit the manuscript
• Finalize manuscript
• Get artwork done for book cover
• Send book to publishers (or start down the self-publishing route… I haven’t decided yet!)

Setting these smaller goals helps me to break that big goal up a bit, so that it doesn’t seem unattainable and overwhelming.

If you’re new to goal setting, or just want some tips on making goal setting work better for you, here are some of the things I’ve learned over the last few years:

1. It’s never too late to set goals. 
Never, ever! Even if it’s the middle of December. Goals are always helpful in giving us that little push to get things accomplished. When you set goals for yourself, you get excited about them, but if you don’t continually set goals, that excitement can fade away, which means you are not likely to complete them.

I recommend setting a few big goals, and then breaking those goals down into smaller goals as you go through the year. (You can set those big goals any time, though - it doesn’t have to be at the beginning of the year!)

2. Don’t set too many goals.
When it comes to your bigger goals, try to stick to 5 goals for the year, or up to a maximum of 10. Any more than that, and you are likely to feel overwhelm, and overwhelm will not help you to accomplish your goals.

If you’re an over-achiever like me, it can be hard to limit the amount of goals you set for yourself, but I can tell you from experience that more goals does not necessarily equal more success.

3. Include more than just business goals.
When you sit down to write out your big goals, don’t just think about your business. You can’t be all about work all the time, or you will go a bit crazy (trust me on that one!).

In your list of 5-10 goals, include a few personal, family, financial, and marriage goals, if applicable. Remember that to improve your business life, you also need to be regularly working on your personal life.

4. Work on your goals every single day.
That’s right - weekends included! When you wake up each morning, think to yourself “what is just ONE thing that I can do today, that will move me in the right direction towards completing my goals”?.

Let’s say one of your goals is to write 3 blog posts per week for your blog. One day when you wake up, you can write one post, or write 100 words for your post.

Another goal may be to lose 20 pounds. So, when you wake up one morning, go for a walk around the block. Or go for a run. Or walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Or do 50 jumping jacks.

You get the idea.

Working on your goals everyday not only pushes you closer and closer to completion, but also keeps you engaged and excited about them!

5. Celebrate your successes. 
Big or small, always celebrate your success when reaching a goal. Even if you just reward yourself with a night off, or a giant cookie and a glass of wine - do something for YOU. Something that will make you happy.

As an entrepreneur, it can be easy to just go, go, go all the time, and never really slow down to celebrate all of the things you’ve accomplished, but you should do it more often. Do yourself a favour and give yourself a pat on the back once in a while. Allow yourself to be proud of your accomplishments!

It’s easy to set a bunch of goals and forget about them, but if you really want to see improvement in your personal and business life, you should actively be setting new goals and working towards completing them.

I’d love it if you shared your goals with me in the comments!