6 keys to measuring goals and unlocking career success

We all get ambitious and set lofty goals and targets for ourselves, but setting goals is easy; hitting the mark and achieving set goals is where the work lies. Don’t get it twisted; it’s still important that you set goals, but what is more important is that you have the plan to measure your goals and ensure accountability.

To put this into perspective, research points out that people who set goals are ten times more likely to be successful. However, 90% do not achieve their goals. But those who set actionable tasks, in other words, measure their goals, are 40% faster in recording success. 

Measuring goals is essential to success in any project or endeavor. Quantifying progress and determining whether you're on track to meet your targets is important. Whether working on a personal project, a team project, or a company-wide initiative, setting goals and measuring progress are crucial to achieving success.

So let’s talk about why you must start setting personal development goals as a professional or freelancer and how to measure goals for better success.

Why you need to set personal development goals as a freelancer

Although simply setting goals may not be enough to guarantee success, it awakens the awareness and consciousness of the specific things you need to achieve. This in itself already puts you on the path to success. Here are important reasons why you should set personal goals as a freelancer.

• To stay competitive

Recent data indicates that there are over 1.5 billion freelancers in the world; chances are that your niche is already fiercely competitive. New freelancers are always joining the market, and clients have a vast pool of talent. To stay competitive, you’ll need to constantly improve your skills and stay up-to-date with your field's latest trends and technologies. By setting personal development goals, freelancers can ensure that they are continuously improving themselves and their work, making them more competitive in the market.

• To increase job satisfaction

Freelancing can be lonely, and it's easy to fall into the trap of feeling stuck in a rut. By setting personal development goals, freelancers can break out of that rut and inject excitement and challenge into their work. Achieving personal development goals can give you a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, making your work more fulfilling.

• To expand your services

By setting personal development goals, freelancers can expand their skill set and offer more services to their clients. For example, a freelance writer who sets a personal development goal to learn about SEO can offer SEO writing services to clients, increasing their earning potential and value to clients.

• To improve work-life balance

Freelancers often struggle with work-life balance, as the lines between work and personal life can become blurred. By setting personal development goals, freelancers can create a structure and purpose for their personal and professional lives, helping them achieve a better work-life balance.

• To up your confidence game

Freelancing can be a daunting experience, and it's easy to feel like an imposter or that you're not good enough. Setting personal development goals and achieving them can boost freelancers' confidence and self-esteem, making them more comfortable in their work and more confident in pitching themselves to clients.

How to measure your goals and personal growth as a professional

We have established that it is enough just to set goals; you must also be intentional about measuring them to ensure better outcomes and success. So how do you go about goal measurement? Let’s find out with this step-by-step guide.

1. Pinpoint your goals 

Defining your goals is essential to measuring them because it helps you clarify what you're trying to achieve. It's like setting the destination on a map before starting a journey - you need to know where you're going before figuring out how to get there.

When you define your goals, you create a roadmap for yourself. You're outlining what you want to achieve, and you're also setting specific parameters for what success looks like. These goals could be personal or professional. Identifying your goals and writing them down clearly and concisely is essential. For example, your goals could be to increase your revenue, improve your communication skills, or learn a new skill.

Tips to help you define your goals

• Identify what you need to achieve 

• Write down these goals clearly and concisely; according to an expert study, writing down your objectives increases your chances of achieving them by 20% compared to not writing.

2. Determine your success criteria

When we set goals, it's important to understand what we're trying to achieve clearly. That's where success criteria come in - they help us define success for each goal.

Success criteria are a set of measurable benchmarks or standards that we can use to determine whether we've achieved our goal. For example, if your goal is to increase your earnings, your success criteria might include metrics like client acquisition rate, retention rates, service charges, etc. You can track your progress and see how well you're doing by setting specific success criteria.

3. Break goals into smaller actionable bits and set milestones

So, when you set a big goal for yourself, knowing where to start can often feel overwhelming and difficult. That's where the goal is broken down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Doing this lets you focus on one step at a time and progress toward the overall goal without feeling too daunted by the larger picture.

Once you've broken down the goal into smaller pieces, setting milestones can help you measure your progress. Milestones are smaller goals or markers along the way to the larger goal.

According to a study on goal setting, people who establish actionable targets for their objectives and start weekly progress reports often accomplish 40% more than those who did not

In essence, by breaking down your goals into smaller actionable bits and setting milestones, you'll make it easier to track your progress and feel more motivated and encouraged along the way. Each small accomplishment will give you a sense of achievement and keep you moving toward your ultimate goal.

4. Keep a record of your progress

Tracking progress is a crucial component of goal measurement. You shouldn’t wait to hit the mark; you must regularly track your progress to determine if you're moving in the right direction. It helps you stay on track and make the necessary adjustments to reach your goal successfully.

Progress tracking also helps you stay motivated and accountable. When you see the progress you've made so far, it can give you a sense of accomplishment and inspire you to keep going. On the other hand, if you're not making progress, it can be a wake-up call to reevaluate your strategy and make changes as needed.

5. Utilize the SMART technique

Essentially, when we talk about measuring a goal, we're talking about assessing its progress and determining whether or not it has been achieved. Measuring goals can be tricky, especially if the goal is vague or too broad. This is why your goals should be SMART.

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. By setting goals that meet these criteria, you'll have a better chance of measuring your progress and determining whether or not you've achieved your goal.

Let's break down each of these components of a SMART goal:

• Specific: Your goal should be clear and specific. This means that you should be able to describe exactly what you want to achieve in a way that is easy to understand.

• Measurable: Your goal should be something that you can measure. This means that you should be able to track your progress over time and determine whether you're progressing toward your goal.

• Achievable: Your goal should be realistic and achievable. This means that you should set a goal that is challenging but possible.

• Relevant: Your goal should be relevant to your overall objectives. This means that your goal should be something that will help you achieve your bigger-picture goals.

• Time-bound: Your goal should have a deadline. This means that you should set a specific date by which you want to achieve your goal.

When you set a goal meeting all these criteria, you can measure your progress more concretely. 

6. Work smart, not hard

As an online professional aiming to achieve their goals, you must learn to work smarter and more effectively to enhance your delivery. For instance, there are incredible tools that can ease up your job demands, enabling you to focus on your job and your goals. One such tool is the Workee software.

Workee is a business management solution built for freelancers and professionals who work by appointment. Workee is a suite of various functions, and that’s what makes it a must-have. Here are features of Workee you should know;

Booking and scheduling: this enables clients to schedule meetings with you and book you at your desired time and from anywhere. You also receive reminders of meetings and sessions with just a click.

Financial management hub: This program offers an automated financial management service to help businesses run more efficiently. Billing and invoicing are managed and automated. Workee also integrates with popular payment processors like PayPal, Stripe, etc., to enable you to receive your payments.

Free website builder: The Workee program enables a website with a unique URL. Promoting your freelance business and reaching out to more people with a personal website becomes easy. The interesting part is that you get your website ready for use in less than ONE minute without the need for any technicalities.

Communication tool: Workee allows you to send messages and make video calls to promote communications and good business relationships with your clients.

Get started on Workee by signing up for free now!