I’m doing something a little different with my goals this year and I wanted to share with you what it is and how it’s making a difference. So instead of yearly goals, I switch to doing a yearly vision. Now, this is really similar to goals but it’s not quite as concrete. 

You know for a good goal, it needs to be specific and actionable and time-bound. And my vision is more things that are just by the end of the year, they’re not quite as specific as a goal and it just kind of gives a big picture of what I want my life to look like by the end of the year. 

That is what I did instead of a yearly goal. But as you may know, I’m a big fan of setting goals. What I did instead this year is set quarterly goals. And I’m really liking this setup so far and I’m excited to see where it takes me this year. 

Benefits of Quarterly Goals

I’ve found several benefits to setting quarterly goals instead of yearly.

Quarterly goals are easier to break down

I find these quarterly goals much easier to break down. It also gives me a much better picture of the time it’s going to take to reach the goal. For example, one of my goals was to create a new resource for my business during this first quarter. 

Once I broke it down, I realized it wasn’t quite going to fit the timeline that I thought it would. The project would still fit in the quarter but some of the actions I realized we’re going to take a little longer than I expected. So thanks to having a quarterly goal, I had a much better idea of what I was going to be able to accomplish and how long it’s really going to take. 

Quarterly goals provide better focus

I am able to focus better on just having goals that span the next three months. As we’ve learned in the past year, sometimes that life can be turned upside down in an instant. We really have no idea what’s actually coming this year

Quarterly goals are easier to prioritize

I was able to look at my yearly vision and apply the first steps that I needed to take during the first quarter. As I looked at the big picture I was able to make notes for other quarters for projects and goals for the rest of the year. Now, those aren’t set in stone yet and they don’t have actual concrete goals attached to them. But having an idea of what I’d like to accomplish in other quarters has helped me keep my priorities in line. 

Quarterly goals provide more flexibility

This has added more flexibility because, if you have everything broken down for the entire year, it doesn’t allow too much room to move things around if something’s not working. With quarterly goals, if we are in a completely different place three months from now, I have the ability to completely adjust and basically restart my year every three months. 

How to Set Quarterly Goals

So first of all, in order to switch to a more quarterly goal framework, it takes some mindset work.  We are so used to and so programmed to make goals for the entire year. To help with this mindset, I recommend the book: The Twelve Week Year by Brian Moran. It is a great book to help you get on board with setting quarterly goals or thinking of each 12 to 13 weeks as a year in itself. 

So for my quarterly goals, those are what I use for the SMART framework of specific, measurable, actionable, relatable, and time-bound. From each of my quarter goals, I then break it down by month. And since it’s just a quarter we’re only looking at three months. So what I did at the beginning of the year is I had my quarter one goals and then I looked at them and decided where I wanted to be by the end of January. 

And from there, I broke it down by a week. I can say, “Okay, what steps can I take this week to reach this goal?” And finally, I look at my usual daily tasks and the tasks related to my goals and see what actions I can do today to get closer to my goals. 

So this is what I have done to set quarterly goals and why they are so beneficial. To recap, I switched from yearly goals to a yearly vision. Then I’m focusing on quarterly goals. It takes some mindset shifts, but it’s easier to break it down, easier to prioritize, provides focus, and offers a whole lot more flexibility.