The Art of Goals and Objectives

A year ago was the first time I tried making a concrete set of objectives. 100 of them to be precise, modelled on advice from Leonie Dawson with a year in mind.

I'll tell you how that went soon!

But it got me thinking as to whether goals and objectives are even a good thing. Or if they suit everyone.

[Photo by Armand Khoury on Unsplash]

Should you Make Objectives?

I'm pro and anti objectives. I like that they can give direction but sometimes we get obsessed with our goals, forgetting what exactly they are for.

Individual goals  or objectives can support a larger goal without you being a slave to them.

I did some online searches for goal and was surprised by the number of articles negative about goalsetting.

Goalsetting Might Be A Personal Thing

Finding the right way to set your goals might be just as important as making them.

Creatives might find that the joy of their work gets drained away thinking about abstract stats or worrying about whether numerical goals.

For the creative the Why is so important.

I found a few articles talking about how bad goals are for creatives, so found a few with more positive takes

• The Powerful Goal Setting Formula for Creative People
• Goal Setting for Creatives (it specifies Fiber/Textile Artists but applies to others too)
• Eight Common Goal-Setting Mistakes

I like to make shorter term goals and have statements to define my longer term direction.

My Own Objectives Tips

Being lazy and copying some advice from my first goals post, which has some other links for goal-setting

• Make the goals concrete.
• A mix of related short term and long term goals
• Make short term goals achievable and time-limited.
• Be ambitious with the longer term ones.
• Define the goals and write them down
• Review the goals regularly

Finishing Up

What's your relationship with goals?

Have you had bad experiences with goalsetting in the past?