When you’re feeling isolated and alone the thought of setting, let alone achieving goals, can seem like a daunting task. It can be difficult to self-motivate and if you’re the type of person that thrives on social interaction. Even very important goals can feel trivial without the support and encouragement of others or employee engagement. If you feel like your productivity levels are plunging, try some of these tips to get back to crushing your goals.
If you’ve had a bunch of thoughts swirling around in your head and the overwhelm is keeping you from making any progress. This is where you need to all the things that trapped in your head out onto paper. Take some time and write down all the goals that come to mind. Don’t overthink it, don’t make it complicated. Simply write down every goal that enters your mind. This is a great way to clear your mind and let everything that has been building up in your head escape.
Once you’ve jotted down your goals it’s time to organize your thoughts so that you can put a plan together. Arrange your goals into lists based on urgency. What needs to be dealt with immediately, what would you like to accomplish in the next few months and what are your long term intentions? You can take it a step further and organize your sub-lists by size/time needed to complete each goal. Having everything laid out and put into sections can help make even the big goals seem less overwhelming.
If you’re feeling alone and are looking to stoke the fire so you can move the needle forward - then it’s important that you don’t bite off more than you can chew. These should be tasks that can be knocked out in a couple of hours, nothing that requires a large time commitment or thought. Our purpose here is to start building momentum so that you feel energized to tackle the rest of the things on your goal list. It’s truly amazing how much better you feel once you’ve already completed a few tasks.
Trying to accomplish things on your own can feel much more difficult when you’re feeling isolated. To keep yourself moving forward it can be extremely helpful to have some accountability so you know you have someone checking in on you regularly. Even if your goals require no oversight, feeling like you are responsible to others — even for something as simple as a progress check-in — can create a massive shift in how you move towards achieving those goals. We tend to work harder when we know others have expectations of us.
Nothing says you can’t adjust your goals once you’ve started working on them. Situations change and priorities shift. This is why it’s so important to check-in on your goals regularly so that you don’t wind up leaving something important off to the side because of an unexpected change. Assess your actual goals and the techniques you’re using to complete them regularly. Just because you started something off one way, doesn’t mean you need to complete it the same way. Not if there is a better method for accomplishing what you’re after.
Take time every month to personally review your goals. Also, look at the steps you took towards achieving them, and what you could do to improve going forward. Checking in with yourself allows time for reflection. You can see what worked and what might need some more attention going forward. This is also a good time to check deadlines for future projects/goals and make any necessary adjustments so you can stay on track.
It can feel defeating trying to set goals when you’re feeling alone. Rather than letting overwhelm take over, it’s time to take a step back, organize your thoughts, and then work towards those goals. Starting with a couple of small easy ones. Having someone to check-in with can provide some accountability and encouragement to keep things moving forward. As well, making adjustments and tracking your success will ensure you hit those goals in an efficient manner. Don’t let being alone put a kink in your goals. Follow these tips and get back to goal slaying! Good luck!
Michele Bailey is president and CEO of Blazing Agency and My Big Idea®. These two lines of business work congruently to support her clients’ success.
