5 Ways to Set Realistic Goals in 2020

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As we close 2019 and look at the year ahead, many of us will be thinking about how we can achieve more, reach our goals and ultimately feel good about it. Goal setting has always been a tricky one. People often over-aim and then underachieve. This process gives rise to a feeling of disappointment and ultimately doesn’t help at all. After all, if you’ve set a goal that you didn’t achieve, then you’ve failed and, well, that feeling is pretty rubbish. Which is why, when setting goals, it is so important to be realistic with them.

At PushFar, we’re all about mentoring, career progression and being realistic with goal setting! So, we’ve collated 5 top ways in which you can set yourself more realistic goals in 2020, and hopefully stick to them too. Whether personal or professional goals, these tips will help you to achieve more (and be realistic with what you can achieve).

1. Just be honest with yourself
Yes, this is one of the simplest tips on our list, but it is at the very heart of setting realistic goals. We all like to believe that we are more efficient than we really are. There are times when we think we can accomplish a whole manner of tasks in an hour or power through a 12 hour straight working day. The reality is that we sometimes need to remind ourselves to be more honest with number 1. By being more honest with yourself, you will be able to be far more realistic with expectations.

2. Learn from past goals you’ve set
If you’ve previously set yourself tasks and goals to accomplish, you can learn a great deal from these. Reflect on how long it took you to achieve activities and try to use these as a comparison for the goals you are now looking to set yourself. If there are similar goals on your upcoming list, look at how long it has taken you previously and apply the learnings. Perhaps there were some things that took you longer than you had originally thought? Or maybe in some instances you were able to achieve things faster? Either way, use these timeframes to help you going forward.

3. Discuss and share your goals with others
Sharing your goals and having discussions with colleagues, friends or your mentor is a perfect way to help you to ensure you are setting more realistic goals. Ask those close to you if they think you can realistically achieve them in the timeframes you have given yourself and let them know that you want their honest opinion. Friends and colleagues may well have different ideas and be able to provide you with a more accurate goal or timeframe, based on their experience working with you.

4. Understand what you really need to achieve within a goal
It is one thing to set a broader goal but ensuring you understand what you need to achieve within that goal is vitally important. There may be sub-goals or tasks (see point 5) that can help you here but understanding what it really involves can help you to be more realistic. Running a marathon, for example, requires a number of different key elements to it – such as fitness, eating habits and dieting, the correct footwear worn in properly, training for distance, learning running technique, etc. There is a lot that can go into a larger goal such as ‘running a marathon’ and understanding what sits within the goals you set can help you to be more realistic with them.

5. Break it down into sub-goals and tasks
Some goals may be overarching goals and may require a lot of smaller things to happen in order to achieve the goal. If this is the case, then it is definitely necessary to break it down into sub-goals. Not only will it help you to feel that the goal is more manageable, but it will also help you to be more realistic about the timeframes to achieving the goal, and by seeing progress broken down you will instantly feel happier and more satisfied in your progress.

So, there you have it. Five top ways to set more realistic goals. Remember, if you are looking for a mentor to work with you in achieving your goals or would like somewhere you can log and track your goals, PushFar’s career progression platform is the perfect place. It’s entirely free and you can create an account right now. Click here to sign up.