4 Goal Setting Tips for Better New Year's Resolutions

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Forget resolutions. Everyone knows that most of the time no matter how determined you were to lose weight or be more organized, by the time February rolls around with its old routines and depressing weather, most of us will be back to our old ways.

Instead of the usual half-baked aspirations, blogger Lindsey Pollack urged her readers to set their sights higher on her blog recently, offering a crash course in goal setting for young professionals. Her four tips might help you make 2011 the year when you finally make those changes you’ve been promising to accomplish for years.

Be honest about what you really want. The first rule of goal setting is to make sure you are truly passionate about achieving the goals you��re setting. If, instead, you��re setting goals because you think you travel more or your parents think you give up your freelance career for a ��real�� job, then you��re not going to be very motivated. Don��t be afraid to think big. One of the biggest mistakes young professionals make is not dreaming big enough. There��s nothing wrong with being realistic, but when you are setting goals, why not start by going after what you really want and then, if necessary, tweaking as you go along? As recommended by inspirational posters and greeting cards everywhere, start by asking yourself, ��What would you do if you knew you could not fail?�� Mark dates on your calendar. Months go by very quickly, but days are long. Similarly, big goals can be daunting, but small tasks are relatively easy. As you��re goal setting, start to think through the small tasks that add up to achieving your biggest dreams. (I��ve heard this called ��chunking down�� your goals.) For example, if you want to find a new job by June, work backwards on your calendar and start marking in milestones that will help you achieve your goal, such as revising your resume or pre-registering for networking events. If you want to write a book next year, mark off 30 to 60 minutes each day on your calendar for writing or research time. Get some help. There are some great, inexpensive books and tools to help you with goal setting large and small. Two of my favorite resources are and an app called Things. You can also work on goal setting with a career services professional or a friend who agrees to be a goal setting buddy. While no book or app or person can force you to achieve your goals, what these resources and people can provide is accountability. When you submit to a formal, written goal setting process or ask someone to call you once a week to check on your progress, you��re more likely to stay on track.

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