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With a new year comes new aspirations for business and life. It’s a time to re-envision your tactics, your habits and your vision. We’re all familiar with the goal-setting process, but how do you make your intentions become reality this year? Here are my top eight tips for setting powerful goals that will boost not only your business but also your overall quality of life.
1. Start with how you want to feel
Although it’s often advised to set measurable goals, I don’t actually suggest starting there. I am a big advocate for mindfulness. I like to begin by looking inward and examining how I want to feel, both from a professional and personal perspective. Ask yourself, one year from now, what energy do you want to exude? Do you want to feel proud? Relaxed? Inspired? Connected?
By starting with this exercise, you can ensure every goal for the new year will stem from your personal aspiration.
2. Balance personal goals and professional goals
After you’ve completed the above mental exercise, dig into how that emotion can become a reality. Don’t just look at your work — also consider your personal life: your family, relationships, creative endeavors, home, wellness, etc. I like to create goals for each pilar of my life to create a holistic vision of my year ahead.
3. Put these goals on paper
Take your ideas out of your head and get them on paper — or a digital equivalent. It may be in your yearly planner, a vision board you hang on your office wall or just a note on your phone.
Whatever format feels right to you, just make sure they are somewhere where you’ll see them often. Revisiting your goals every month or quarter reminds you of your intentions and helps you stay on track to meet them by year’s end.
4. Break down larger goals into micro-goals
Goals can feel daunting, which means they might even stress you out. No one works best when they are overly stressed, so break them down into approachable, bite-sized nuggets that feel doable. You can even add a timeline to it.
If you want to run a marathon in a year, you need to start a training schedule, right? Same with goals for your real estate business.
If you’ve set your sights on a large goal, such as achieving a certain number of sales or expanding into a higher price range or new neighborhing market, there’s some project management involved to set you on a monthly — or even weekly — path to get you where you want to go.
5. Remember, the numbers are important, but they aren’t everything
As real estate agents and self-starters, we can become overly fixated on the end dollar. Although the numbers are important (that’s your paycheck!), focusing on them isn’t always the most productive path to arriving at the desired destination.
6. Try something new
Here’s something I encourage every agent and staff member at The Agency to do: Think outside the box, and try something new. Although change can feel scary, it comes with extraordinary benefits and can really create fresh energy and momentum in your life.
Think about what may not be working in your current routine and get creative with what this next year could look like. If you want to exercise a few times a week, but aren’t a morning person, stop trying to hit the treadmill at 6 a.m., and shift your exercise time to the evening, or simply find time for some movement during breaks in the day.
If you’ve been focusing on emailing your clients and haven’t had the depth of communication you were hoping for, try calling them to check in and see how it is received. You’re not going to create new results if you’re doing the same old things.
7. Follow your intuition
If there’s a goal on your list that gives you an uneasy feeling, get curious about that. Poke around, and ask some questions to mentors or leaders within your organization: Does it align with how you want to feel a year from now? Is it authentic? Is it feasible? Do you know how to make it happen? If any of these answers is “no,” then you may have some more work to do on that goal.
8. Have an accountability partner
Going it alone can be a slower (and less fun) path to success. Team up with someone who also wants to focus on goals this next year, and support each other in your endeavors.
Have a goal-planning session before the new year starts, and then set up recurring touch-base meetings to see how you’re doing in your journey. This will help you stay motivated and focused and feel supported along the way. Plus, seeing another person’s progress will inspire you in your own aspirations.
A successful year begins with setting smart goals and moving forward with an intentional mindset. Keep your eye on the prize, map out your aspirations, and great things will come your way.
Mauricio Umansky is the founder and CEO of The Agency in Los Angeles. Connect with him on Instagram.
