Goal Setting & Time Management: The Unstoppable Duo

You have the same amount of hours in a day as Beyoncé. And Bill Gates. And Jeff Bezos. Sure, maybe you don’t have the billions, the Bentleys, or the butlers to help you out. But, the hours? Those are the same.

So, how can you be just as effective as some of the most influential people in the world? With goal setting and time management: the unstoppable duo.

How to Set Effective Goals

There’s a difference between goals and activities. Goals are the tasks that are important to your job, your career, or your wellness. Activities, on the other hand, can make doing a job easier but are not essential to your success.

Since taking on too much in a day can derail any attempts at productivity, it’s up to you to determine which tasks need actually to be fulfilled. This can be done by goal setting.

When deciding your goals for the day, remember the acronym SMART. Every goal you set should be:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Time-Bound

Setting generic goals can make your goals seem unattainable while using definable and specific goals motivate you to complete tasks on time. Break down vague goals into specific goals, such as responding to emails based on a specific date or time range, and you can then attack those goals to complete the task on time.

Why Goals Need Time Management

Any time management system needs goals to be effective, and vice versa. Without deadlines to meet, your goals just become a system of watching the clock while waiting to finish your task.

Get a grasp of your time management by spending at least three days assessing how you spend your time at work or home while completing tasks. What were you doing? Where was the majority of your time spent? Where was time wasted? At the end of day three, tally up your time spent per task.

This activity gives you a baseline for goals moving forward. For example, say you calculated that it took you 2 hours to finish one task, but 30 minutes were spent browsing social media instead of working. Moving forward, make it your goal to complete the same or similar task within the hour and a half it takes, eliminating time spent on extraneous activities.

Boosting Accountability and Productivity with Both

Developing effective time management skills not only makes your time seem more abundant but will also help you achieve your goals with greater ease. For one, you’ll no longer be watching the clock, waiting for the day to end. When you set goals in accordance with time, the clock becomes an instrument you use to ensure you meet your deadlines.

Secondly, using goals to manage your time allows you to accomplish more in the day than when you were watching the clock. When we base our daily performance on reaching goals on schedule, we can eliminate the things that waste our time.

Ready to conquer your time?