Goals…..sometimes figuring out how to achieve them is like a cat chasing its tail, he can go round and round and round and the tail is still right ahead of him.

We’ve been talking about goals and how you need to make them and write them down and take baby steps every day to make them a reality.   But what if you just can’t figure out how to accomplish your goal?  You know the end result you want but haven’t a clue how to get there.  You know it needs to be broken down but you still are lost at figuring out what you need to do.    Then you have to get creative and think big picture.

Think in Reverse

Here is where we have to start thinking about what is the end result.  And then work backwards.

Perhaps I want to sign 5 new clients this month.  That is my goal.

So before they sign is have to have 5 contracts prepared, 5 proposals for presentation prepared, hold 5 meetings,  5 meeting set up, do the research on these 5 companies, probably make 25 phone calls to set up these meetings (since not all that you call will agree to meet.). Send an introductory email prior to calling. Gather phone numbers and contact info.  Before that you would need to make a list of possible people to call or contact.   Schedule time to call leads.

That is just one small reverse engineered timeline.   But you can do the same with all of your projects.

Use for Big and Little Projects

Sometimes I make a list from 1 to 10 and maybe I will know the first thing I need to do and the last thing I need to do but don’t know the steps in between.  I use the list and try to reverse engineer so that I capture what I need to do to get to the end result.

You can do this with just about anything.  I seem to get a clearer picture of the actions I need to do when I reverse engineer my goals.  Once I have a clear picture of the tasks at hand, success comes much easier.

Other Posts

You might also find these posts about setting goals helpful.

Reflect on Your Year and Plan for 2018

Set Your Goals for 2018 Now

Make 2018 Your Best Year Ever!

Do You Have Written Goals?

Still Struggling With Your Goals