Whether personal or professional, goals are important. They provide motivation and a sense of accomplishment. But setting goals can be tricky. If the goal is too small, it may seem unproductive. If the goal is too big, it may seem impossible to achieve. There’s a fine balance to setting goals. Here are some goal setting tips to help you year-round.
Create SMART goals.
SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive. This guideline is crucial for creating goals.
Here’s an example: Increase crop production. While a good start, it’s not a SMART goal. This goal isn’t specific, measurable, or time-sensitive.
Here’s a better goal: Increase soybean production by 5% this year from last year. This goal meets the SMART goal criteria.
Specific: This goal is specific. The main goal is to increase soybean production.
Measurable: This goal is measurable. Soybean production is meant to increase by 5%.
Attainable: This goal is attainable. An operation can increase by that amount from the year prior.
Realistic: This goal is realistic.
Time-sensitive: This goal is meant to be completed by the end of this year.
Remember that goals will be different for different operations. They are meant to be tailored to your operation’s needs.
Write them down.
Write down your goals and place them in a central location where they are visible. If goals are visible, they will serve as a reminder and keep you motivated. It becomes easier to achieve a goal if you can see it and remember your motivation.
Break your goals into smaller steps.
Goals can seem impossible to achieve. Breaking a goal into smaller steps helps you stay on track.
I’ll use the example from earlier: Increase soybean production by 5%. This seems like a lofty goal. Let’s break it down into smaller steps.
Step 1: Figure out where you can add crops and if you need to rent additional ground.
Step 2: Figure out the labor needed and hire additional employees if necessary.
Step 4: Keep track of the goal and the current progress.
Step 5: Evaluate.
Celebrate!
Celebrating the small steps is just as important as celebrating the big steps. Celebrating your progress towards a goal helps keep you motivated and gives a sense of accomplishment.
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Written by Abigail Tomalewski, Marketing Assistant
