Why is Writing Business Goals Down Important?
Writing business goals down is not only important because it’s easy to forget. There is a lot more to it and there are some very important reasons why you have to write them down. If you don’t already so so, I hope this post will inspire you to write down your own goals going forward. By the way, this works for any type of goal, not just the business ones.
Multiply Your Chances Of Achieving Your Goals By 10
The simple act of setting a goal, even if it is just in your mind, doubles your chances of success. That is a pretty big deal in itself, isn’t it? If you take it a step further, and actually write those goals down, you are 10 times as likely to succeed. Read that last line again please. That’s right…you can increase your chances of making it by 1,000%. That is mind-blowing.
There are a few different mental and psychological processes going on here that start to give us a glimpse into why it is so important and effective to write our goals down:
- It is a lot easier to remember something that we’ve written down.
You have probably experienced this first hand with your grocery list. When you make a mental list of 10 or 15 things, you are likely to forget about half of them when you get to the store. If you write out the list on the other hand, and then end up forgetting it on the counter, you will remember the vast majority of the items you needed. This is explained by the fact that information has to be moved from one area of the brain to another to turn it from thoughts into written words on a page. This process helps you to retain and store the written information better. It is the reason students are asked to take notes during lectures in college. - When you write down your goals, you have something you can review regularly. This adds another layer of cognitive processing and increases your chances of success even further.
Sadly, only a small percentage of people take the time to regularly review and evaluate their goals. The ones that do are some of the most successful and highest achieving people in the world. In my mind then, it is something we should do as well.
Summary
To recap, the following steps will increase your chances of reaching your goals by 1000%:
- Set S.M.A.R.T goals (If you are not sure how to do this, get the details and worksheet by CLICKING HERE);
- Write your goals down in as much detail as possible;
- Set aside some time to review them regularly.
This could be weekly, or even daily.
Give it a try for this coming quarter. Set yourself a goal. Be specific. This could be something like finally creating that first paid product or adding an extra R5,000 to your bottom line. Decide by when you will reach your goal and how you plan to get there. Write it all down and look at it every morning. This will help you stay on track and make time in your busy day to work on making progress towards your goal. Using a Daily Planner like the one HERE, or a 90 Day Business Planner like the one HERE will keep you focused and put your goals top of you mind each day.
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