It’s April, so there’s probably a pretty good chance you’ve given up on your new year’s resolutions. But, there’s no law that says January 1 is the only day to set life changing goals. Personally, I think spring is a great time to make new goals–it’s starting to get warm, and stay light later, and it makes for a more pleasant environment. (At least, it does for me.) So, I was thrilled when this week’s Freakonomics podcast, Big Returns from Thinking Small, focused on a seven-step plan for making and achieving goals.
Owain Service and Rory Gallagher, from the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team, developed these seven small steps. They can be used for everything (Service used them to cut back on his drinking, Gallagher used them to increase his gym attendance). I’m going to teach you how to use them to improve your career.
1. Set a goal
This may seem obvious, but many of us never get around to making that official step. Sure, we say, “I want to be successful,” but we never define what success looks like. If you don’t actually set the goal, you are very unlikely to get to a point your recognize as “successful.” Success for everyone looks different. For you, it’s starting your own company. For someone else, it’s getting promoted to a management position.
To keep reading, click here: The Seven-Step Path to Problem Solving