|  | Mental Health | Stress Management

Effectiveness of Setting Incremental Goals

Whether it was a New Year's resolutions or a lifetime aspiration, you have probably set and failed to meet a goal at some point in your life. Create more manageable and realistic goals for future success. Break long-term goals down into a series of incremental short-term goals for more effective goal completion. Take your time and work steadily towards your goal and you will achieve success.

  1. Long-Term and Incremental Short-Term Goals

    • Long- and incremental short-term goals are both important but for different reasons. Long-term goals give you the vision to see your final goal in the future. Support your long-term goals by breaking them down into incremental short-term goals that you can complete on a daily or weekly basis. For instance, if your long-term goal is to motivate yourself to practice a musical instrument five days a week, you would break it down into incremental short-term goals such as practicing two days a week for a month, and then increasing it to three days a week, and eventually working your way up to five. Incremental goal setting keeps your goals manageable and realistic (not too hard, but not too easy).

    General Goal-Setting Tips

    • Follow the S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting guidelines: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Specific goals are easily defined, for example "eat two servings of vegetables a day" instead of "eat more healthily." Measurable goals are concrete, such as "lose 10 pounds" instead of "lose weight." Make your goals attainable and realistic to avoid becoming discouraged, since setting an overambitious goal can set you up for failure. Timely goals have a specific time frame for completion.

      Always make your goals concrete and tangible by writing them on paper. Display your goals in a prominent place where you can see them. Check goals off as they are completed to improve morale.

    Warnings

    • Take extra care to set short-term incremental goals to protect your personal health when dealing with decisions regarding exercise or weight loss. Do not try to rapidly lose large amounts of weight by severely restricting calories, or you may harm your health by damaging muscle tissue and lowering energy levels. Severe, rapid goals also damage your chances of success, as fad diets are not sustainable. Set incremental, manageable weight loss goals through a combination of healthy eating and exercise to avoid health problems.

Stress Management - Related Articles