Why 90-Day Goals Will Make You More Effective
How You Can This Simple, Yet Powerful Technique to Increase Your Achievements
Setting 90-day goals instead of annual goals will make you more effective and increase your achievements.
Popular goal setting systems suggest yearly or three- to ten-year goals. While that is valuable, having 90-day goals often works better.
If you use 90-day goals, you will align yourself to how nature works. There are four seasons per year, roughly ninety days long.
Businesses typically work in 90-day cycles, so you can also use the same methodology for your goals.
The Limitations of Long-Term Goals
It’s valuable to know setting goals is better than not having any. However, when you set long-term goals, the limitations include:
- Inability to adapt quickly when things change.
- Increased procrastination.
- Delay in achieving them.
- Confusion about what to focus on or what actions to take and when.
- Feeling overwhelmed as you get closer to your deadlines, especially if you have delayed taking action.
If you know the benefits of having 90-day goals, how you operate and what you focus on will change and make you a consistent goal achiever.
5 Ways 90-Day Goals Will Make You More Effective
Here are five ways 90-day goals will make you more effective, which will lead to higher levels of success quicker and inspire you to set more goals.
- You will adjust quicker if you are not on track. When setting annual goals, usually the last quarter gets busy if you know you have not made a lot of progress. With 90-day goals, you will review your progress regularly, which means you can adapt faster and fix what’s not working.
- You will focus on your priorities more. When you have 90-day goals, the deadline is in sight compared to annual or multi-year goals. That will help reduce procrastination, which means you will know what you need to do daily.
- You will know what to say yes or no to. If you know what to focus on daily, it’s easy to say no to things that are not important. 90-day goals will give you greater clarity and help you stay committed to your priorities.
- You will manage your energy better. 90-day goals makes it easier to give attention to the different areas of your life. If you have annual goals, sometimes one or two areas can take most of your time and energy. When all areas of your life get the focus they need, you will feel good about yourself and your life.
- You will improve your ability to deal with change. If you set and review your goals frequently, it means you are taking into account changes in circumstances or conditions. That will allow you to respond faster when things change. It will also help you get comfortable coping with what’s changing.
Ninety days gives you the opportunity to review your progress and keep you motivated and committed to achieve your goals, without getting bored or distracted.
How to Set 90-Day Goals
It is helpful to create a template that will make it easier to set effective 90-day goals. Here are a few things to consider when setting 90-day goals.
- Create a vision for your personal and professional life first. Goals are how you will get to your vision. If you don’t have a vision, achieving goals may not give you the joy or satisfaction you want. Your vision can range between two and twenty years. It comes down to the season of life you are in and what’s most important.
- Define where you want to be in twelve months. Having a narrow focus will help you create relevant 90-day goals. If you were to view your life in twelve months, what do you want to have experienced or achieved?
- Set between one and three goals to focus on for the next ninety days. It’s not wise to have too many goals because you will not have enough time or energy to give them. If you achieve your goals within ninety days, you can set new ones. The downside is if you set too many goals and don’t achieve them, you may get discouraged, which will affect the actions you take.
- Identify action steps you can take to move your goals forward. Without taking action, you will not achieve your goals. When you take the first step, you will know what to do next. Each step you take will reveal what you need to do to get closer to your goals.
- Schedule time to review your goals regularly. At a minimum, review your goals every week. Ideally, review your goals at the start and middle of each week. That will make it easier to change things and identify actions you can take.
Final Thoughts
Having any goal-setting process is powerful and will differentiate you from most people. You can increase your achievements if you set 90-day goals and commit to them.
If you do not set goals, or have set annual or multi-year goals previously, consider changing to working with 90-day goals, so you can become more effective and achieve what you want faster.
Action Step: Create a template and use it to set your 90-day goals. As you get comfortable using it, continue to adjust it so it works best for you and supports you to achieve your goals.
Question: Why else do you think 90-day goals will make you more effective?
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