Effective Goal Setting Facilitated by Robert Bircher Lawyers Assistance Program

Setting Goals Gets Results Setting goals has many advantages but many people just have a mental vision or dream their goals and never really follow through with achieving them The reason for this is simple-dreaming or having a mental vision is easy and does not require much effort, requires no follow through, and is complete just by thinking about it. Also, you can’t measure a dream and it is easy to let yourself off the hook if you don’t complete it This workshop is about converting dreams into realities

Goals Must be Written There is an old saying in law that if it’s not written down it’s not worth the paper it’s not written on!!-It is the same in goal setting Putting it in writing requires you to focus and clarify your goals and allows you to make them precise We will look at a number of ways to help identify and clarify your goals and enhance completion rates

Life Balance Goals Since setting a goal in one dimension of your life affects all other areas so it is a good idea to start your goals by completing the wheel of life After completing this your can see which area of your life needs the most work Although it is possible to make progress in all areas it works best to focus on either one at a time or a maximum of three in a year We will now refine our goals using the TARGET filtering system-this is to frame them in a way they are more likely to be achieved

What To Work On The gap in your wheel between where you are now and where you want to be tells you the best area to work on The way you get to where you want is to brainstorm ways you could go from A to B You may have more possibilities for goals(steps you could take) than you could realistically do- you will then pick what you want to do

Brainstorming Steps For example if I want more Fun in my life I could-Join a hiking club, or take an art class or take an acting class, go swimming etc. I don't need to achieve all of these-just enough to reach my goal-even if I only do 40% I will likely have a lot more fun These steps are the way I achieve my goals-put one potential step in each category now

TARGET- System After you have roughed out your goals lets put them through the target filter T-Is the goal time bound? A vision or dream has no time reference a goal does. A purpose (to be a good lawyer) is a general direction not a goal A goal is established for the sake of a particular result, and ends when the objective is met

TARGET A- stands for active verbs-use action verbs to state your goals-see the list in the materials p-146 R- stands for realistic-this means in the real context of your life-consider your physical ability, your knowledge and experience, your other activities, your self image, your material resources, the time you have allotted G-stands for gradable-is the goal tangible and measurable?" I will lose 5 pounds by Feb 15 th at the rate of 1 pound per week”

TARGET E-stands for exact-be specific and precise-a total stranger could read your goals and know exactly what you mean-”I will jog two miles, four days a week” T- stands for tradable-you will have to pay a price in time, money or energy-What trade offs are there and are they explicit?-To complete a law degree by April 1 st at a cost of 3 years and $50,00.00

Apply TARGET Using the pages provided refine your goals using the target formula How do I make sure my goals are completed?-one step has already been accomplished-you have written them down! Your chances of success are directly proportional to the amount of external support you have-i.e.. tell your friends or partner your goal and ask for support-report to them regularly Don’t be a lone ranger!!

Traps to Avoid Setting too many goals-everything takes time, money and energy- prioritize and put you energy into that which is most important to you Not chopping a big goal into small easily do-able parts-visualize a staircase not a wall You climb mount Everest one small step at a time Being overly grandiose-the culture encourages us to aim high- out of reach

Traps to Avoid This is great in theory-in practice what works is success building on success-achieving one small goal after another Lower your ambition to increase your completion rate You can’t set a goal that involves another persons behavior-”to get my children to do__” although you could have a goal to speak to them about it.