The Iglu Guide | Blog

How to set personal goals – and stick to them

April 1, 2022

Personal goals are a great way to guide focus and get us thinking about what’s really important. The simple act of defining goals can give clarity and focus, trigger new behaviours and provide the momentum required to turn aspiration into reality.

Taking control of your future gives purpose and meaning, and setting personal goals is an ideal way to home in on specific ambitions and desires.

Here’s how to make it work.

How to identify your goals

Pick goals that are important to you, as you’re much more likely to achieve success in areas that inspire you. The most common areas to consider are social, academic, wellness, financial and personal growth. Setting both short-term and longer-term goals is often suggested as a way to keep motivation high. For example, a short-term academic goal might involve learning something at university that will contribute to your overall career ambition in the long term. Think about what you want to achieve and be specific in your ambition.

How to set your goals

Now you know a bit more about what you want to achieve, it’s time to understand the best way to get there. This is about setting up a system that really works for you – even if you have to mix and match to do it. There are a number of strategies that can help.

Setting SMART goals

If you want to create Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Trackable goals, this is the acronym for you. The SMART goal strategy encourages you to take specific steps that allow you to evaluate progress towards your goal along the way. If your goal is to meet deadlines this semester, your SMART goal might look something like this:

Specific: I will hand in all my assessments one day prior to the due date
Measurable: Each deadline will come to pass
Achievable: To do this I have created a list of assignments with an organisational schedule and personal completion deadlines
Relevant: This will help me improve my commitment to university work
Trackable: My personal deadline will be indicated every day before the official deadline

Talk about them

Publicly voicing commitment to personal goals is a great way of making them tangible and real. By breathing life into goals, we reinforce our own belief and motivation which then increases the chances of success. When we express an intent, or paint a picture of ourselves to others, our brains will unconsciously strive towards this because the idea of letting others down sits strongly within us. So if you’re half thinking about running that marathon and need a little motivating nudge, there’s nothing like an Insta post to get you out pounding the streets.

Break it down

Make your goals more digestible by breaking them up into smaller parts. That way, they become objectives on the way to achieving your larger ambition. Bite-sized objectives are less overwhelming, more achievable and encourage flexibility because the impact of any adjustment does not greatly affect the overall goal. You can use a goal ladder to motivate your progress.

Create an action plan

Goal setting doesn’t have to be complicated. Creating a simple action plan is a great way to get started and helps enhance your motivation by allowing you to cross off each checkpoint as you pass. Documenting all the individual steps you need to take to reach your goal keeps you accountable, incentivised – and most importantly, on track. If you find yourself falling behind, simply adjust your expectations. It’s far better to achieve your goal over a longer period than give up on a technicality.