Goal Setting for a Modern Woman

Are you one of millions (or billions) around the world that make New Year’s resolutions? Looking back on your entire life, how many of your resolutions have you actually achieved? How many have you kept for a full week?

One common mistake we tend to make is failing to write down goals. There are a few famous studies regarding goal setting from Yale and Harvard that I always seem to reference when talking about goal setting.

The Harvard study on goal setting analyzed the MBA graduating class to determine how many had set goals and had a plan in place to help them achieve the goals. Crazy enough, the results of the Harvard study were the exact same as the 1953 Yale study.

In the Harvard Business School MBA study on goal setting, the graduating class was asked a single question about their goals in life. The question was this:

Have you set written goals and created a plan for their attainment?

Prior to graduation, it was determined that:

• 84% of the entire class had set no goals at all
• 13% of the class had set written goals but had no concrete plans
• 3% of the class had both written goals and concrete plan

The study followed up 10 years later and found the 13% who had written down goals were making as much combined as the 84% who hadn’t set goals or written them down.

And here is the kicker- the 3% that had written down goal and a plan were making TEN times as much as the the total of the 97%! (Now there is some motivation to write things down and plan huh?!)

There are lots of discussion whether this study is factual and true. While I do care about the integrity of research quite passionately, I basically don’t care if this is true or false. I keep this study in mind all the time and so far, writing down my goals and making a plan to achieve them has helped me accomplish my goals and continue to build on them.

Tips for Goal Setting:

1. Write down your goals and a plan to help you achieve them
2. Make them measurable- this allows you to form a plan that has checkpoints and keep yourself accountable.
3. Read them daily- don’t write them in a notebook somewhere. Hang them in your office, bathroom, car, or where ever you will see them on a daily basis.
4. Include all types of goals- don’t limit your goals to only professional. Who you are as a career woman is who you are outside of work as well!

I have my goals written down with a marker and taped on my office wall. While it may not be the fanciest way to write them, I see them every morning when I start work, throughout the day, and when I end my days.

Happy New Year & Happy Goal Setting!

xoxo,

Matia