Reaching Your Destination: Navigating the Highways & Byways of Goal Planning

by Lissa Cupp, vice president, e-Commerce and Consumer Marketing for ACCO Brands Whether you’re a business professional, an aspiring student or the CEO of your household, setting goals and planning for their achievement are crucial components to your success. Oftentimes, the two are thought of separately, but it’s not uncommon for the “planning” stage to be overlooked when setting your goals, despite it being one of the most important parts of the process. The two need to merge onto the same road that leads to your future success. This is not always an easy road, of course. Just like any journey, there will be various things impeding your path—road hazards, if you will. There will be detours that need to be taken and, quite possibly, new passengers joining (or leaving) your trip along the way. To help avert these potentially goal-busting hazards and changes, there are many tools in place that can help you not only plan efficiently but also adapt to the ever-evolving environment. This article outlines why planning is an imperative step in setting goals and what tools and techniques are available to you in case you get a flat tire along the way. What this article does not address is time management, which is a related but completely separate topic to this discussion. Instead, we’ll start with determining your destination, mapping out the route to get there, taking the actual journey and addressing issues that occur during your trip. The Destination The first question you need to ask yourself when developing goals is, “Where do I want to go?” This question gets right to the core of goal development, as it points directly to your desired outcome and starts to define the steps you’ll need to take in order to get there. This, as you can imagine and have probably experienced, can be difficult to map out and organize in your head. It’s much easier if you take steps to visualize your goals and the journey to reach them. By visualize, I mean actually putting your thoughts and items of importance to your goal development on paper. Better yet, get creative and put together what I like to call a “vision board” using either a journal or binder. This vision board will consist of images and/or short articles or headlines, all of which define a part of your goal. For example, perhaps you’re trying to set a personal goal around the issue of working too much outside of the office and not allowing yourself personal and family time. The vision board for this may include vacation pictures, visuals of places you like or would like to visit, and other graphics illustrating the things you like most in life. The vision board exercise is fun and enlightening, and in the end, a very powerful tool to help you truly visualize where your want to go. There are many other ways that may be helpful to you personally as you develop and prepare to plan for your goals. Again, making sure to make these visual in nature, you can:

Use a planning calendar and determine ideal days and weeks for reaching your destination

Make a “I want to do more of” list

Run through the BE-DO-HAVE exercise (i.e., if you can see/feel/imagine yourself where you want to BE, then you'll be inspired to DO the things that will allow you to HAVE all that you want)

Define your legacy and what you want it to look like

Envision where you think you’ll be—and where you want to be—five years from now Mapping the Route Now that you’ve determined your destination, it’s time to map out how you plan to reach it. The best way to do this is to develop a framework around your goals that will identify the crucial elements which need to be addressed in order to succeed.

For example, using the previous example of work/life balance, make sure to correctly identify the different aspects of your life for which your goals are set. Aspects of your “Me Time” goals would address the different parts or components of your life, such as family, home, work and friends. Looking at time with your family, unique aspects of these goals could include health and fitness, learning and education, careers, and hobbies. For your children, goal aspects may key in on reflection and spiritual time, finances and community. As you can see, though many of your goals have similar desired outcomes (e.g., a better work/life balance), there are numerous facets of each which need to be addressed. Be sure to pick and choose the aspects of your lifestyle that most apply to your goals. Once these are identified, it’s time to lay out the direction on your goal planning map. For each aspect of your planning, you should not only match it to the proper destination or goal, but you also need to determine the:

Methods: How will you get there?

Measure: How will you know you’re there?

Obstacles: What detours will you need to take?

Motivation: Why do you want to do this?

Timeline: When do you want to get there? Let’s look at one of the work/life goal planning aspects identified previously: finances. Your goals addressing finances as they concern work/life balance may be to become debt free and/or have a balanced checkbook. What methods will help you reach this destination? To become debt-free, perhaps you can get all of your debt organized by balances and interest rates, set an amount to pay down per month, or pay your store credit cards first and then concentrate on your Visa card. For balancing your checkbook, methods may include scrutinizing your last bank statement for extra charges and contacting the bank with discrepancies or questions. What will you use to measure your success in reaching your destination? For this example, your bottom-line measurement may be reaching a “zero” balance on all of your credit cards as well as maintaining a checkbook that is balanced with your bank statement every month. What types of obstacles will you meet along your journey? They may include unexpected expenses or your inability to curb your spending (not that any of us experience that!). What is your motivation for doing this? When finances are concerned, the answer is almost always less stress and more stability in your life. What’s your trip timeline to reach your destination? If this goal was for 2012, you may set milestones like paying off store credit cards by June 1, and paying $100 per month toward your overall debt, not to mention starting the year with a balanced checkbook. Take to the Road The route to your destination is laid out, so it’s time to hit the road! Actually initiating your trip is often a hurdle in itself, so remember the wise words of Mark Twain to get you going: “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” As you make final preparations to embark on your journey, be sure to get yourself “road ready.” That is, take a few easy steps to help ensure a smooth trip with minimal detours.

“Clear the decks” of any loose ends or small items that won’t add anything to your journey.

Make sure there is time for “good stuff” worked into your itinerary.

Take note of the things you don’t necessarily enjoy but will need to deal with on your trip, such as certain tasks and “toxic” people.

Map out your “have-to’s” versus your “want-to’s” to avoid unnecessary diversions and delays.

Similarly, have your “DON’T” list in hand! There are several planning and organization tools available to help with these preparatory steps. Also available to you—and critical to your success—are planners and calendars. If you don’t get your itinerary

The Big Rocks of Life

by Dr. Stephen R. Covey from First Things First

One day, this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either. As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achiever, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time, the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more, he asked the question “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!” “No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.” What are the big rocks in your life? A project that you want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these Big Rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.

and trip on the books and visualized, your goals will never be reached. Use these tools to put your timeline in perspective and ensure reasonable due-dates are established. Basically, take a look at the year at-a-glance. While you have your calendar out, look at it month-by-month and again make certain your goals and timelines are achievable. For example, look at the first few months of the year and ask yourself, “What must be true in January in order to reach my goals?” Always remember to keep these goals visible. In other words, according to renowned self-improvement and leadership guru, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, those are your “big rocks” (see “The Big Rocks of Life”). Detours, Milestones and More As mentioned earlier in this article, there will be detours as you continue the journey to your destination of meeting your goals. What will these detours look like and where will they take you? It’s hard to tell, as most are unanticipated and, therefore, out-of-sight and out-of-mind. What you do know is that you need to keep adapting, despite the road hazards that are thrown at you. Do this by updating your itinerary to address and overcome these detours. Don’t make changes to make things easier on you, as some journeys are definitely tough ones, but rather add or remove pieces that directly affect your end-goal. Use the example of a GPS. When you come across a closed road, an accident that is backing up traffic or you need to make an unscheduled pit stop, the GPS “recalculates” the route in order to still get you to your destination in an efficient and effective manner. Hitting mile markers along your trip are essential. Not only do they help you determine your progress, but they provide a solid measurement of what you’ve achieved and, thus, allow you to adjust your itinerary, if needed, for making future progress. They also act as “toll stops” to pay your dues as you overcome detours and hazards. Ultimately, your final mile marker will be affirmation that you have, indeed, arrived at your destination. Keep Your Eyes on the Road…or Not Just like the advice given during actual operation of a motor vehicle, Keep your eyes on the road, as this is the path to achieving your goals. However, it’s not necessary to do so the entire trip. In fact, it’s encouraged to pay attention to other factors on your trip beside the actual route. Think about fellow passengers and their own goals, needs and wants, and how all of this fits into your trip. Be sure to look for rest stops, because it is certainly not recommended to proceed when you’re tired at the wheel. Bottom line: Remember that it’s not about the trip; it’s about the journey.