When I decided to move to London, I established several long-term goals associated with moving that I wanted to learn from and accomplish. As there is not much you can do to prepare yourself mentally for moving abroad, I found myself struggling to be forgiving of myself for not making action everyday to accomplish these goals. In reality, I needed to cope with the fact that not everyday was a routine of checking off boxes - and it shouldn't be!
Setting long term goals is important for personal and professional growth, and to continue learning everyday. However, it is challenging to stay motivated and on track over months or years to achieve those goals, and they frequently get lost in the sea of past and present distractions. Here are some helpful tips I've learned since moving for making sure you meet your long term goals, while also respecting your personal struggles and boundaries:
1.Break It Down Into Small Steps
Instead of focusing on the end product -- which can seem daunting -- break it down into smaller, manageable steps. This makes steady progress feel achievable and motivating; something you can work at in your own time. Set interim goals or milestones along the way to keep yourself accountable. One of my long-term goals is to maintain a healthy lifestyle with consistent exercise, good eating, and regular mental repreieve. These three things are an entire job in and of themselves. Instead of expecting perfection everday from my newly forming habits, I break them down into achieveable goals that work within my boundaries. Going for an hour walk in a new park can just as easily provide me the accomplished feeling of meeting my long-term goal when I do not have the capacity for a three hour gym session.
2.Create a Detailed Plan
Having a clear plan of action will help you stay organized and on the right path. Include specific tasks or to-dos, deadlines, and resources needed. Refer back to your plan when you need motivation or direction. Adjust it as needed if goals or timelines change. For example: one of my long-term goals is to gain fluency in the German language. This is a goal I have worked towards for almost a year now, and balancing it with work, travel, social events, and maintaining a health lifestyle is difficult. Therefore, I open myself up to a variety of ways of learning that keep me motivated and on-task. Here are just a few activities to keep learning a language interesting: Listen to podcasts and music, journaling in another language, watching movies and TV shows, finding Quizlets, using apps like Duolingo and Clozemaster, and reading translated versions of your favorite books!
3.Track Your Progress
Use a calendar, planner, journal, spreadsheet, or app to log your progress. Note when you complete each step or meet interim goals. Seeing tangible evidence of accomplishments will encourage you to keep going. Tracking also helps identify areas where you may need to adjust your plan. I love to use my planner for monthly goal setting that I can work at little by little. An example of this is setting monthly goals for the number of jobs I apply to.
4.Celebrate Wins
It's important to acknowledge and reward yourself for milestones along the way! Celebrating small wins keeps long term goals feeling exciting and worthwhile. Treating yourself boosts motivation to keep working towards the next achievement. It is also important to celebrate your everyday wins, even if you do not "check-off" every task on your list, acknowledge your successes and appreciate the time and effort you are making to better yourself. I like to reward myself for saving my money on not dining out by finding fun, new recipes just by looking up the ingredients I already have in my fridge. This helps me learn by trying new things while also appraising my strength in adapting to my goals.
5.Get Accountability Partners
Having others invested in your goals keeps you accountable. Share your plan with friends, family or colleagues and check in regularly on progress. Their encouragement and questions will spur you on when motivation lags. You can also support each other to stay on track! This is helpful for every variety of long-term goals, as there will be many times when the motivation of your friends and family will overcome the desire to skip a day.
6.Keep the End in Mind
When the goal seems too unachieveable, revisit why this learning opportunity is important to you and how achieving it will benefit your life. Visualize the feeling of accomplishment when you reach the finish line. Keeping your desired outcome in mind provides incentive to power through challenges along the way.
I hope these tips help give you a framework and strategies for staying dedicated to achieving your important long-term personal or professional goals!
Best,
Hailey
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