Steps to Achieving Your Goals - How to Make Your Goals a Reality

byroxydog1312

1.4K followers

4 years ago

We talk all the time about setting goals and then achieving them. But we rarely talk about how to actually get from the first point to the end point. I think this might be the biggest impediment to achieving many of our goals. We get the picture of this lofty goal in our head, but only a few short days later, we have given up on the goal, because it just doesn't seem doable. Well, I have a tried and true method for setting goals and then achieving them. Keep reading to see steps to achieving your goals.

The History of My Method

Back when I just got out of high school, I was enrolled in a work-study program at the local manufacturing facility where most of my family had worked at one time or another. It wasn't something I really wanted to do, but being young, and timid, and scared to jump out on a limb, I let my family talk me into doing the program. I didn't do very well in it, and I had a tendency to not finish projects or get by with Cs and Ds in the coursework.

But one day, just before Good Friday, the supervisor of the group laid out what needed to be done to complete the course and to graduate from it. Graduation was the third week of June. We had to finish all the assigned projects and get an overall grade of 3.0 or better. I had never failed a grade or done anything other than A+ work in high school. Also, although my dad didn't work there any longer, he was still friends with a lot of the people. I knew if I failed, it would be a bad reflection on my family. Failure was not an option.

I went home from that session, and cried my head off all night because I knew I was going to fail, and that there was no way I would ever finish all my projects and do the extra work to get my grades high enough. But the next day, after I was done crying, I sat down and started to plan. I had to pass this program and graduate. There was no other alternative.

Here is the plan I came up with:

1. Make a Bunch of Lists

I listed all the projects I needed to complete. Then I listed all the steps it would take to complete each project. An example would be a paper I was required to write (back in the day before I had a computer at my fingertips): I had to do research at the library. I had to make an outline. Next, I needed to write the content. Then I put together photos, illustrations, and graphs. Then I had to create a bibliography. Next, hire a typist. Finalize the manuscript. Then get it typed. Proof read it several times. Then turn the paper into the teacher, on time and in a proper essay folder.

I broke out each and every project and paper and homework assignment in that same fashion.

2. Mark Down All Tasks on a Calendar

Once I felt like I had every task figured out, I took each project and put the tasks for it on the calender. I started from the Monday after Easter, and went clear up to Graduation day on the 23rd of June. Bear in mind that I had to work my job for four hours and sit in class for four hours every week day, and I had church a couple times a week that my parents required me to attend. So it wasn't a matter of having ALL day to do certain tasks. Plus, I had to do a lot of the projects in the machine shop or in the lab, when it was available. So I couldn't just throw it all onto arbitrary days. Library research times needed to fit into when the library was open, which was more of a challenge than you would think. Working every task into a schedule took a lot of finessing, and it took a few drafts before I got a good working copy.

3. Do the Tasks on the Assigned Day, Without Fail

I had something major to do every single day, right up until graduation. I spent a lot of late nights working on my stuff. I snuck my text books into church and hid out in the lady's room to study for tests. We were lucky that our supervisors allowed us to skip work and spend time in the machine shop. Although that meant we didn't get paid, some of us really needed the time, we were that desperate.

I cut it really close. On Memorial Day Weekend, I had planned on assembling my electronics project. That meant I had to have the blue prints completed, the parts all purchased, the circuit board drawn up, plated and etched, and the case assembled and drilled out. And I had to borrow all the tools, like the soldering iron and all the special cutters and pliers from our school lab. So there was a lot of pre-work, all of which had to go on the calendar.

I got up early that Saturday, and worked until it was dark. I worked after church on Sunday and all day Monday until late in the evening. But by the time the weekend was over, I had my project assembled. This was just in time to get it to the lab and get it working. I had given myself three days to troubleshoot, hoping like crazy that it would be enough, and that I didn't have to make any catastrophic changes.

4. Use Laser Focus and Stay on Task

I really frustrated my sister. We hung out a lot together, going shopping on the weekends, and going to movies and eating out together several times during the week. When I had to hunker down and get myself ready for graduation, I quit doing all of those fun activities with her. On Sunday afternoon of Memorial Weekend, she came into the garage and said, "Are you going to do nothing but work all weekend?" I said, "Yup. I have no choice." She said, "Well you still have to eat, don't you?" So I agreed to take a break and go get something to eat with her. Other than that, I did not stray from the schedule, ever.

5. Build In Time For Contingencies

This is something I had failed to do. Well, not really. There was no time to allot to unexpected issues. When I scheduled those three days of testing my electronics project, it had to work in three days. There was no other alternative. I can't tell you how nervous I was that, at any point, something could throw a wrench in my works, and I would be done-for.

At one point, one of our teachers decided to throw an additional writing project into our batch of items to complete. My classmates and I were really thrown for a loop on that one. I wasn't the only one putting in late nights and skipping work to go to the lab. We were all strapped pretty tight, and when the teacher assigned that paper, we all lost it. I went home that day wondering what I was going to do, and was in near panic.

But I sat down with my calendar. I consolidated a few easy tasks, resolved to get up early and study for class on a couple days. I managed to find ONE evening that I could open up to do that paper. The paper would have to hand written, that was for sure. There wasn't time to have it typed. So, right after school on that allotted evening, I went straight to the library and stayed until closing time. Then I took myself and my checked-out books home, and did an all-nighter. I got that paper done and handed it in on time.

6. Ask For Help

I knew I would never make it without asking people for help. Our instructors were great and helped all of us. Our co-workers pitched in too, I left my circuit board in the plating department for the next run of circuit boards. A co-worker there made sure my board got into the run with the others. I came back the next day, and the plating was done. That was a huge help. I asked my family for help, too. My dad made the base for one of my machine shop projects, and helped put the finishing touches on my electronics case. My sister, once she saw the predicament I was in, kept me supplied with Diet Cokes and stuff to eat. She proof read all of my papers, and helped me make changes.

I could not have done any of this without the help of my family and friends.

7. Celebrate Successes and Help Others

On graduation week, things started to get resolved. I had all my machine projects done. We were done with all of our homework, tests, and writing projects. I just had to get that electronics project to work. It took a day and a half to get it going, but it still had little glitches where it would shut off or go out of control. But I had the instructor judge it, just the same, the whole time with my fingers crossed that it would be OK. The instructors were actually really helpful, and VERY lenient when it came to accepting or rejecting our work. So I was hoping too, that what I had completed would be good enough.

I was surprised as anyone when my electronics instructor passed my project. It was the very last thing that had to be completed. Once he passed me, I swear, I got up from my chair and danced around the room. I was done with a day and a half to spare. After a couple of months of blood, sweat, and LOTS of tears, and doing late nights and early mornings, without a minute or a dollar to spare, I had done what I thought was impossible. I had made it.

On the funny side, earlier I said that I had skipped working the job (for which we got paid) on several occasions to get lab time and machine shop time for my projects. So I was not only strapped for time, but cash as well. One of the things that really nagged me was that I had nothing to wear to the graduation banquet. I had no idea how I was going to resolve this issue. I had already borrowed money from my family to get my bills paid. I couldn't ask for more money. But three days before graduation, my very first JCPenney credit card came in the mail. I spent my extra half day shopping. I had enough credit to get a dress and some shoes. Another close call averted.

So, I was done and done early. But as I started to calm down from the excitement, I noticed several of my classmates struggling to get their stuff done. Without even talking about it, those of us who were done, just kind of stepped in to help our other classmates to get finished. I helped one guy buff out his machine shop projects, and helped get his display items ready. I did some soldering and some drafting corrections for one of the other guys. We had all grown together in such a way, that we didn't need to say anything. We just stepped in and finished the job. All 15 of us graduated with the completed requirements, and all on time.

In Conclusion

Ever since those early days my career, I have used this method any time I had a big, multi-faceted task to complete. I used it to plan my wedding 25 years ago, and have used the plan for every Christmas celebration and family reunion. I invoked this method to get my company ISO certified back in 2005, which was a 2-year, $110K project. Every goal, big or small, gets a set of lists and a calendar.

So, here are the steps you can take on your next project to set a goal and see it through to completion:

1. List all the tasks needed to complete the goal.

2. Schedule every task, big or small, on your calendar

3. Complete each daily task

4. Stay focused on getting each task completed.

5. Build in time (and money) for emergencies.

6. Ask for help.

7. Celebrate, be thankful, and help others.

You will find, when you use this method, reaching your goal is much less stressful, and a lot easier to envision and complete. I hope this has helped some of you. Thanks for reading, and please place your comments and questions below.