Planning for the New Year: How to Set and Hit Your Goals
December 07, 2023
The end of the year is fast approaching, and it’s an excellent time to reflect on how far you’ve come, fine-tune your goals, and start planning for the new year. Take the opportunity to reflect on what you’ve learned — from your successes to things that didn’t quite work out as planned — and apply these newfound learnings to your business. Key takeaways from the past year will provide you with direction for new goal setting and implementation.
Planning for the new year will give you a renewed sense of purpose in your business. It will serve as a reminder of why you started your business and give you the motivation to hit the ground running in the new year.
To get started with planning your goals for the upcoming year, it’s important to first reflect on the past 12 months. Start by reviewing your business plan for the year and consider what worked for you and what didn’t. Ask yourself why you were able to reach some of your goals and not others. You can gain clarity by asking yourself questions such as:
Take note of what information you can gather from different tools that can also assist in your review:
Once you’ve reviewed the past year, you’ll be ready to determine what you’d like to focus on achieving in the upcoming year.
Take note of both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of your business when considering your goals. Use your dreams as inspiration, but ensure the goals you set for yourself are attainable and actionable.
Quantitative outcomes are objective, measurable, and numerical in nature. They aren’t influenced by your personal feelings or opinions. Consider reviewing the following quantitative information when planning for the new year:
Qualitative outcomes are more subjective and refer to the quality of something. These aspects of your business can typically be observed but not directly measured. As a business owner, these are important considerations when thinking about the culture of your business and the type of work environment you foster when planning for the new year:
What a successful business looks like will vary depending on the practitioner, so whether you want to focus your goals on the qualitative aspects of your business, the quantitative, or a combination of both, there is no right or wrong focus when it comes to goal planning.
Implementing a strategic plan can turn your desires and dreams into real goals that are ready to be put into action. Once you’ve determined what you’d like to achieve, it’s important to further break down your goals into smaller action steps.
A strategic approach to consider is the SMART goals for creating well-defined objectives: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This is a formula for ensuring your goals are actionable and can be followed through on.
Breaking down your broader goals into smaller actionable tasks will ensure efficiency and accountability and can help you turn your dreams into reality as you start planning for the new year. Consistent small steps add up to big wins! Smaller tasks will also make it easier to roadmap and create a timeline.
Starting with small, easier-to-implement tasks will also provide quick wins that can boost your sense of progress and help build momentum. This momentum will build so you have the confidence and motivation to take on bigger tasks along the way.
Work backward to break down your goals. Start at the end and think of all the steps it will take along the way to get you to your end goal. When working backward to map out your tasks, identify roadblocks you’ve experienced in the past or are anticipating encountering. This will allow you to be proactive in your approach rather than reactive as hurdles and other challenges present themselves along the way.
Now that you’ve mapped out your goals for the year ahead, it’s important to implement a clear follow-through plan so you can stay on track when planning for the new year. There are many accountability exercises and strategies to consider:
The end of the year is a great opportunity for reflection and strategizing on how to reach new heights in your business. Reviewing your business to date, determining your goals, and mapping out an accountability plan will ensure you are planning for the new year with your best foot forward!
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on November 10, 2020, and has been revamped for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
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