Ever had that feeling of dread at 4 pm on a Friday when you realise there was something you had to do this week, but forgot?
It feels like sh*t.
And I used to do it all the time and go around in circles about why I couldn’t spin all the plates without letting one smash.
I was getting frustrated. Connor was getting frustrated. And our business was suffering for it. So, we started sitting down every week to set weekly goals that would consistently chip away at the important, long-term goals.
Note: if you’re thinking “what the hell, I don’t have any of those goals set”, then stop here and make sure you check out our posts on setting annual goals, quarterly goals, and monthly goals before reading this one.
The Benefits of Weekly Goal Setting That Make It So Important
When you’re setting annual or quarterly goals, you’re looking at the big picture, the ‘end point’, the ultimate big leap you want to make – but there are usually 100 little steps you need to take before you get there.
Your weekly goals are all those small steps. So it’s crucial to look at your goals on this granular level to make sure you’re taking the right steps.
Especially when you’re freelancing or running a business of any kind, you’re in control of your time, but that doesn’t mean you always use it wisely.
I know from experience. I track my time religiously and have had workweeks where my tracker is telling me I’ve done loads – but actually I’ve spent most of that time on admin, emails, and other little things that haven’t actually contributed to anything bigger, just made me feel productive.
If you’re spending too much time checking through your emails, check out our article on The Inbox Zero Method – You’ll never procrastinate in your inbox again
There’s a big difference between being productive and busy. And weekly goals are your action plan that help you use your time wisely and productively to move towards your big goals, rather than just keeping busy.
And for me, there’s nothing more satisfying than getting to the end of the week and having all the important stuff ticked off my to-do list. Our brains actually release dopamine when we finish that list, creating a feeling of reward that boosts motivation.
How to Set Weekly Goals – Our 7-Step Process
- Find the Time
- Reflect on Your Previous Week
- Review Your Long-Term Goals
- Define Your Weekly Goals
- Reward Yourself
- Schedule Your Time
1. Find the Time
Make it a weekly ritual.
But also don’t be afraid to change your ritual to fit your schedule. We used to sit down every Sunday evening so we woke up on Monday feeling prepped for the week with exactly what we both had to work on. Now that we’re traveling, we have a Monday morning coffee meeting where we hit a cafe and talk through everything going on in the business over brunch. After our meeting, we also spend some time on this individually as well, to make sure we’re not neglecting our personal goals.
Remember, setting goals is all about you. Make yourself and your business a priority, block out some time in your calendar, grab your planner (or whatever tools you use), and invest some time in yourself.
2. Reflect on the Previous Week
Before setting any new goals, you need to reflect on how well you performed against last week’s goals.
Take a look at your notes from the previous week and ask yourself these questions:
- How have the goals I achieved last week moved the needle on my long-term goals?
- Were there any goals that I couldn’t accomplish? If so, why?
- What specific actions and tasks had the biggest impact on achieving my goals?
- How am I feeling about my progress and how will I improve next week?
This is a great way to figure out what’s working well – or not so well – giving you the power to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
It also allows you to make sure you’re setting goals that are achievable and realistic. If you’re consistently not hitting a certain goal because you don’t have time or always find a reason not to just do the thing, then it’s time to sit down and reevaluate how high you’re setting the bar – or if it’s even a priority for you in the first place.
3. Review Your Long-Term Goals
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
So ask yourself: “What steps do I need to take this week to move towards my bigger monthly, quarterly and annual goals?”
And write them down.
If you’ve already defined your long-term goals in a SMART (S-pecific, M-easurable, A-ttainable, R-elevant, T-imebound) way, listing the weekly bite-sized tasks you need to do should only take a couple of minutes.
4. Define Your New Weekly Goals
Now it’s time to formulate your goals for the week based on your long-term goals and anything important coming up this week.
You’ve got a list of everything you’re committing to do this week that’ll move you closer to your big goals. But, other things do come up. So, stop and check now if there is anything else you need to prioritize.
Listen to your body here as well. For example, if you’re long-term goal is to run a marathon in 6 months’ time, but you’re feeling physically exhausted and have an extra work project to do this week – you can always adjust to fit in the work project, go on fewer runs, and take the rest you need.
That’s why weekly goal setting is so powerful, it not only keeps you aligned with your long terms goals at a granular level but helps you adjust when you need to and still keep yourself on track and prioritize the right things.
And finally, remember that just like your long-term goals, your weekly goals should also be SMART.
It’s no good having a goal to ‘work on my business social media this week’. This leaves too many questions to be asked:
- What social media platform?
- How many posts do you need to create and publish?
- When will you post them?
5. Reward Yourself
Made massive moves last week? Don’t forget to reward yourself for a job well done.
It’ll help incentivize you to continue hitting your goals and when you’re working hard, rest and reward are just as important as hustling. Plan this time into your schedule in step 6…
6. Schedule Your Time
Now you’ve set your goals for the week, you need to do two things:
- Make time for them: By planning the tasks into your schedule (whether that’s adding them to your Google calendar, Notion, paper planner or whatever you use)
- Actually get the work done
We’re a bit obsessed with time management, so when it comes to scheduling to hit your weekly goals, of course, we’ve got a whole host of tips for freelancers and digital nomads. So next, go check out:
