How to Reset Your Goals for the Second Half of the Year. Tip #3: Use the Power of Habit
Now is the time be specific about the steps you’ll need to take, habits you need to build, and performance levels you seek, says Janet Tyler, founder of executive coaching firm True Depth in Detroit. “Staying with a goal for 12 months or longer requires a ton of discipline and effort–and much of the effort happens in the second half of the year. The effort has to nearly double to reach that goal in the last six months of the year,” she says.
What, specifically, will you have to do to reach your goal and by when? What will the outcome need to be? Understanding these answers will help you scale your goal accordingly and recognize what you need to scale back.
The S.M.A.R.T. goals approach—making your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time sensitive—is useful for helping you make progress within the time window you have, she says. This approach helps you understand what you need to do on a weekly basis to make your goals happen. For example, Tyler says if you set a revenue goal—increase revenue a certain percentage or bring in a certain number of new customers—you need to establish the habits that will bring you closer to that goal, even if the original outcome isn’t attainable in a few months. How many prospects will you need to call each week? What activities will help you get closer to achievement? Focus on developing the actions that will ultimately get you to where you want to be.
