Long Term Goal Planning

LONG TERM GOAL PLANNING

“I am too busy” “I don’t have the time” “I would love to, but I cannot make it.” Have you ever said any of these? Are these words common in your daily life? If your work consumes all the hours in your day, how will you live the life of your dreams? In this article, you will understand how to be productive in shorter amounts of time.

1. Write Down Your Goals

A goal that’s not written down is just a
wish. As humans, we are prone to daydreaming and wishful thinking. We need to take concrete steps to realize our goals. When you set long-term goals, you
need to write them down. This single act will take your goal out of the realm of the mind and into the physical (real) world.

2. Determine how long it will take to complete

After you have determined what you want to
accomplish, it's important that you identify how long it might take to complete them. While there may not be a definitive time for how long it takes to complete a goal, you can make some general estimations depending on your personal circumstances and the specific goal itself.

3. Start by focusing on outcomes, not outputs

Forget about your current backlog, ongoing sprints, and looming deadlines for a second, and let’s ask a simple question: "What are the high-level goals of you is working towards?"

4. Break Down Your Long-Term Goal into Smaller Goals

Long-term goals take hard work to achieve,
so it’s normal for them to feel a bit daunting at first. That’s where short-term goals come into play. These smaller stepping stones break the work down into bite-sized tasks you can tackle within a shorter time frame, such as a day, week, or month.

5. Adjust your weekly plan to achieve balance.

When we give ourselves realistic expectations, we can stay balanced. We can be productive without feeling
guilty. We can worry less and enjoy life more. Be less concerned about daily achievements and more focused on weekly progress. The bigger picture helps us thrive and stay resilient.

6. Track your progress

In order for long-term goals to be effective, they should be connected to your day-to-day work. That means instead of setting and forgetting your goals, make a plan to regularly check in and update your progress—for example, at the end of each day or week. And with the short-term goals you’ve set, it will be easier to gauge your progress and determine if you’re on track for your long-term goals.

Regardless of the type of goal you set, sure you have a way to track progress towards your goals. When you can visualize how your short-term goals are contributing to your long-term objectives, you’re more motivated and more likely to stay on track.