Goal Setting for the New Year
Hi All!
The end of the year is a natural closing point for many things and it usually calls people to evaluate goals and look to the future. Neither one of us is big into making New Year’s resolutions. Rather we like making concrete plans and setting goals for ourselves for the coming year.
That starts with taking stock of the last year and running through a few mental exercises. Look at the goals you set for yourself last year and get a status check. Keep in mind that not everything needs to have a December 31 deadline. Not fully reaching a goal is not a failure, you just may need more time.
As a professional this is particularly important. If you are anything like us, you have big goals and dreams. Not achieving those goals in a year is not a failure and it does not call on you to give up. But the end of the year is an opportunity to evaluate whether that goal is still a priority to you. Give yourself a chance to adjust your goals depending on the circumstances of the last year you just finished. Extend yourself the kindness to be honest about what went well.
The next part of this is to consider what you can learn from the challenges you faced in the past year. Maybe you wanted to hit a certain revenue goal in your law firm, and you didn’t. Did you learn what type of files are the best revenue sources for you? Did you find that you are getting more clients from one type of referral source vs another? Sit down with your goal, even if you didn’t fully achieve it, and see what information you can glean. It’s still a win.
Now that you have done this, you are ready to move to the future and start planning for the next year. What do you want to accomplish in 2022? Do you have personal goals? Professional goals? Business goals? We definitely recommend that you have a variety of goals and they can be in your professional and personal life - sometimes they may intersect. Sit down with a pen and paper or open the notes app on your phone and make a list of what you hope to accomplish this year.
The best goals have two qualities - they are “measurable” and they are “meaningful.” For example, a common goal is to “make more money.” However, this is neither measurable nor meaningful. However, if you evaluate the why behind the goal and how you can measure success you may change the goal to be - increase income by $50,000 in order to hire an associate to whom I can delegate work in order to alleviate some stress. This goal is now both measurable and meaningful.
Keep your measurable meaningful goals somewhere you can see them and reference them easily. How can you take steps each day to work toward these goals? Keeping with the money example, look at your business model and develop a plan for how you are going to bring in that extra income. Keep yourself accountable with setting short term goals that will lead to the larger goal of being able to hire an associate. These short term goals will build on each other in order to help you accomplish your larger goal.
Bigger goals often take more time - but it can be difficult to keep the motivation to work toward a goal that is going to take a year or more to achieve measurable results. This is why you should celebrate the milestones along the way. Also make sure to give yourself the credit that you deserve. You may have to make adjustments along the way. Celebrating those small milestones is so important because it will help make those adjustments feel like just that - adjustments and not failures.
Here are the five steps that we use to set goals for ourselves:
Evaluate your previous goal setting - what went right and what went wrong.
Set measurable meaningful goals.
Write down your goals and keep them accessible.
Break your goals down into smaller steps.
Celebrate the small wins.
We know that these five steps will help you set yourself up for great things this year. Let us know how you do!
Have a great day!
Haley & Amy
P.S. - As the holidays approach we have the best gift for the law student in your life - whether it is you or someone else! Give the gift of success with the ebook “The Law Student’s Guide to Networking.” This ebook gives you the strategic plan you need to build your professional network efficiently and effectively. Click here to purchase today!
Photo by Alexa Williams on Unsplash
Please keep in mind that your jurisdiction will have rules of professional conduct that you must follow. This discussion does not focus on the any such rules, including the rules from the jurisdiction where we practice. Rather this is a discussion of tips we have found helpful in managing client expectations in our own experiences. This should not be taken as legal advice.
We make absolutely no guarantee, expressed or implied, that by following the advice you will make any money or improve current profit, as there are several factors and variables that come into play regarding any given business or career. Primarily, results will depend on the business model, the conditions of the marketplace, the experience of the individual, and situations and elements that are beyond your control. As with any business endeavor, you assume all risk related to investment and money based on your own discretion and at your own potential expense.
Nothing contained within this podcast is intended or should be construed to be legal advice and does not create any attorney client relationship. No material on this site, social media, or in the podcast is intended to be a substitute for professional medical and/or mental health advise, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advise your physician or other qualified provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
