Ask yourself this—what are my long term goals? Jot down everything that comes to mind and later put numbers to them based on priority. It’s okay if your dream car comes before your dream house, because you’ve probably gotten too used to living in your rented 1 or 2 BHK to bother saving up for actual ownership.
However, such won’t be the case with all your goals, especially if they include travel and/or owning other materialistic things because those you’ll have to work for… really damn hard. But, sweat it now so you never have to later right? So here’s showing you how to achieve your goals in the most actionable and realistic ways possible.
- First ask yourself why
- Get into the details
- Cut out your distractions
- Reward yourself constantly
- Diversify your sources
- Have someone accountable
First ask yourself why
Even though it is your goal, you may have gotten carried away along the way, due to multiple factors (peers, status, society, ego), that kept you from seeing whether you actually wanted it. So give yourself a reality check first.
Instance: Write down all the reasons for wanting it and later weigh down the reasons to see if they’re strong enough to keep you motivated on a bad day.
Get into the details
Jotting down your goals was easy, now comes the hard part—how are you going to achieve them? Don’t just dream about it, write down your plan of action—in detail. You’ll automatically realise how realistically possible it is.
Instance: If you want to buy a new car by the end of next year, start by writing down how much you plan on saving up for it each month.
Cut out your distractions
This could be harsh, but depends on how badly you want it. It’s only a matter of focus after that. In fact, this could be made hella fun if you challenged yourself to make it, you know—for the good things hardly ever came easy!
Instance: Spend lesser time with friends if they’re the spendthrift kind or allot yourself a specific budget for it and don’t exceed. These little things count!
Reward yourself constantly
These could be little rewards but you’re going to need them to keep yourself motivated, if not for quantifiable gratification. So each small goal accomplished would be a shoulder pat to self—that, or a box of something materialistic.
Instance: Treat yourself to a cheat day at the end of each week or a domestic getaway in the midst of saving up for an international one and reward yourself.
Diversify your sources
Just like you have a diet chart and sauna sessions to add up to and diversify your workout routine, having multiple sources of income to meet monetary goals works too. The trick is to have one focus and multiple action points.
Instance: Take up a freelance job and/or get paid for working overtime. Invest that money in a bank, only to have it reach maturity just in time for your goals.
Have someone accountable
Your goals could fade as easy as they came if you didn’t hype them enough. So make yourself accountable to someone—mom, dad or best friend—and map your progress and ups and down with them as if they were their own.
Instance: Don’t just say I’m going to start my own business, analyze on a weekly basis the number of trials done, vendors met, proposals pitched—and discuss.
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Written by Shreya Contractor on May 18, 2017