Did you write your 2018 goals down? Can you find them? Some of you are thinking what’s the big deal! Let’s look at a small case study to see why it is a BIG deal.

“Mark McCormack the author of “What they don’t teach you at Harvard Business School” conducted a study on Harvard Business School MBA program, 1979 batch. The students were asked a simple question -“Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” The question split the class into three categories: Out of 100 students, 84 students (GROUP 1) did not have any clear goals nor did they have any plans.

There were 13% students (GROUP 2) who had set goals, but did not have any written plans of accomplishing them.
Only 3% of the students (GROUP 3) had clear goals and had written plans on how they wished to achieve their goals.
Ten years later the members were interviewed again. The outcome was almost predictable, but the actual results were really astonishing.”
• The 13% students (GROUP 2) who just had goals and no written plans of achieving their goals, earned twice compared to students who did not have any goals (GROUP 1).
• The 3% (GROUP 3) who had set clear goals and had written plans on how to achieve earned almost 10 times the 97% of the people (GROUPS 1 & 2) put together.”

In the above example, setting clear, written goals, made a YUGEEE difference in earnings, 10 years later. Let’s look at a few reasons why setting these written goals made such a difference in actual earnings.

GOAL SETTING WITH WRITEN PLANS IS IMPORTANT!

1. FOCUS

I reviewed my written 2018 goals and saw the goals fell in four buckets: 1. Health; 2. Joy – Fun and Travel; 3. Growing My Net Worth. 4. Career/Income

I drafted these goals in early January 2018, to give me better FOCUS on what I need to accomplish in 2018. I review my goals, minimum monthly, and this reminds me of what I said was important at the beginning of 2018. I sometimes stop working on the numerous mini projects that I see are not aligned with my goals. We all have the abilities and talents to achieve our goals. But do we have the focus? Without focus, our abilities and talents are often not enough. One lesson learned- we do NOT need 32 annual goals! Keep your list short and value added. Short enough you actually can remember your own goals!

2. MEASURE PROGRESS

I write my goals in the Apple Notes App, for easy access. As I stated above, minimum monthly, I measure both progress and failures. For example, one of my health goals is to get my weight below a certain point. While I made progress the first quarter, I erased that progress the second quarter. I am failing! My net worth goal was to increase my net worth by a certain dollar amount. With six months to go, I am 95% on target. The recent surge in my Apple and Tesla stock holdings helped! Measuring my progress on all my goals helps me focus!

3. ACCOUNTABLE

During the span of my career, I was big on self-accountability. When you set a goal for yourself (work or personal) hold yourself accountable to finish the task. This is in complete contrast with all the daily emails and texts with small request that often draw our attention away from the big picture. Even when these tasks add little value to our overall objectives.
Goals should stick in your mind if your list is short and concise. We should get mental reminders to check on our progress, or reminders telling us we are way behind! These reminders in the back of our head help us to overcome procrastination and laziness.
Another lesson learned -Most of us are not good with deadliness 12 months away. I break my goals down into 90-day batches. This allows me to better focus on a task that will take most if not all of the year, by breaking it down into what I need to accomplish this quarter to be successful. This also allows me to celebrate early wins.

CONCLUSION

I started writing my personal and investment goals in my 20’s. Writing my goals and tracking progress gives me the focus to succeed. Each year, I achieved some not all. But even those I missed, I learned. Do NOT wait for 2019; write your goals for the remainder of 2018. Be sure to include some fun!

POTENTIAL INVESTMENT GOALS DISCUSSED IN PAST BLOGS

• DEVELOP YOUR BUDGET
• BUILD AN EMERGENCY FUND: Save up enough to cover three to six months of expenses, or at least $500.
• FULLY INVEST IN YOUR 401- PLAN If your employer offers a 401(k) and matches your contributions, take full advantage of that free money.
• ELIMINATE DEBT: Focus on paying down high-interest toxic debt first, like credit card debt. Then, pay down lower-rate debt like student loans or a mortgage.
• INVEST IN EQUITIES OUTSIDE YOUR 401-K PLAN: Open a low cost brokerage account. Fund Retirement or Non Retirement Investments.

DISCLAIMER
I am an investment and finance blogger, with my Rutgers, MBA and Harvard, Advanced Management. I am a successful investor in equities and real estate and happy to share my personal finance and investment lessons learned with you. I am NOT a licensed financial advisor. Please do not construe my suggestions on this blog, as recommendations for your personal situation. For individual finance advice please seek your own licensed CPA or financial advisors.