If You Want To Succeed, You Have To Use Mondays For Goal-Setting
Because Mondays set the tone for the whole week.
Growing up, I hated Mondays.
Simply because it’s the start of the week and it only meant my weekend is over.
Plus, I haven’t met anyone who has “I heart Monday” energy.
Mondays to me were dreadful and overwhelming. Safe to say it was my least favorite day. It just sucked big time!
Now, I take back all that hate.
I love Mondays now more than ever.
It sets the vibe for the next 4 weekdays, is my chance to hit the reset button, reminds me that I’m alive to see another week, and is perfect for goal setting.
As a full-time freelancer, setting my goals is equally important as accomplishing them. I own my time and I choose what to do with it. Which only means that I’m fully responsible for setting myself up for success.
I’ve said it before but I take full control of my schedule. Therefore, I have the power to choose what I do with my Mondays.
Fast forward to this very minute that I’m typing this: I dedicate my Mondays for setting my goals for the week. It ends with me feeling fulfilled and successful by Friday night.
There’s no one-best-way to success because success is relative, it looks different for everyone. But at the same time, I want to help you get to whatever success looks like for you.
Reflect on last week’s wins and losses.
What this means: Looking at your performance from last week and noting down what you did great versus what you could improve on.
Your performance from last week is feedback for this week. After all, no one can evaluate ‘you’ more than you.
Don’t be afraid to give yourself some criticism and point out what you disliked about how you did things last week.
- What did I accomplish last week that made me feel proud?
- Was I able to do more in less time last week?
- How did I deal with the setbacks I faced?
- Do I feel like I overworked myself?
The questions above are the baseline. Craft questions for yourself that will help you dive deeper into evaluating your own performance.
For example, here are the questions I have for myself:
- How many people did I help last week so they could start freelancing?
- Did I check my freelance profiles on Fiverr & Upwork to see what else I can optimize?
- Was I consistent in posting valuable content on LinkedIn everyday?
- Did I actually post insightful comments on other people’s tweets?
By answering questions about yourself, you can identify areas of improvement.
Now the next step is to set realistic goals around that.
Set achievable and realistic goals.
Without action, your reflection and evaluation of yourself is pointless.
Setting achievable and realistic goals that you will crush for the week is taking action. But also, make sure you actually put an effort into crushing them!
Be kind to yourself by setting goals that you can actually achieve. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for failure by aiming for the moon when you can’t literally get there. (Not unless, you know, NASA decides to send you there.)
So how do you set achievable and realistic goals?
Simple and complicated answer: SMART
SMART is short for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
I’m starting with an example here so that no one leaves this page confused. I wouldn’t want that.
Let’s say your big goal is to earn $10,000 through freelancing.
That’s a good goal but you can make it even better.
Make it Specific. How are you going to make $10,000?
“I want to earn $10,000 by providing social media management services to 10 small business clients.”
Make it Measurable. What does the big goal look like in a month?
“I want to earn $10,000 by the end of the year, which means I need to earn an average of $833 per month.”
Make it Attainable. What are the methods you’ll use to reach the big goal?
“I will earn $10,000 by offering my services to existing clients and seeking out new ones through referrals, social media, and job boards.”
Make it Relevant. What’s the point?
“Earning $10,000 will help me achieve my financial goals and establish myself as a successful freelancer.”
Make it Time-bound. When is your target date?
“I will earn $10,000 by December 31, 2023.”
So by turning your big goal into a SMART goal, you’re actually finding ways to succeed and avoid getting sidetracked.
Get ready to see your productivity skyrocket by using Mondays for goal-setting. By having bite-sized goals and consistency, you’ll eventually feel successful and be successful.
But also remember that success looks different for everyone.
My version of success is not overwhelming. I don’t think of success as a finish line. Instead, success for me is when my freelancing career becomes and stays rewarding.
If you enjoyed this, I think you’ll love How I Transformed My Goals From Crazy To Realistic. I wrote this story with the ambitious ones in mind. Nothing wrong with that, but I want you to ‘get there’ of course. Lastly, please don’t hesitate to connect with me on Twitter and LinkedIn. I’d be happy to spend some 1:1 time with you to help you build a profitable and rewarding freelance career.
