Serene Almehmi is an Intern from the University of North Carolina. (photo by Donn Young.)
Setting clear goals and objectives help us to get things done. Continuous planning ensures personal and career success. To develop a plan, first define your goals, objectives, and weekly priorities on a regular basis.
Goals
Goals should be somewhat broad in nature as well as achievable within 90 days. Before drafting your goal, consider your current role and how you contribute to your company’s higher-level plan (or if your goal is a personal one, how does it support your higher purpose.) Then, create a compelling goal that contains both a “what” and a “why.” For example, in 2021, Momentum set the goal of launching the Men with Momentum program (what) in order to engage a strategic group of men from sponsor companies as allies in equity for women leaders (why).
Objectives
Objectives are specific tasks that help you achieve your goal. Objectives should be measurable, time-bound, and relevant to the bigger picture. Creating impactful objectives requires measurable benchmarks to ensure you stay on track, so due dates and time frames are often beneficial.
Weekly Priorities
Prioritization is necessary to guarantee that all important tasks get completed. Prioritizing increases productivity and limits stress, so you don’t scramble to finish a slew of tasks at one time. Each week, set three priorities that feed into your objective and ultimately help you achieve your overarching goal.
With a little discipline around these three planning activities, you’ll dramatically increase your chances of reaching new goals.
