Whenever a new year comes around, the internet will be bombarded with people listing resolutions, goals, and new declarations of how their new year is going to be different.

I love the high vibe and really appreciate everyone’s effort and desire to start fresh. Yet, I scroll through social media and wonder how many of these people actually achieved their resolutions by the end of the year. Turns out it’s a whooping 9.2 percent.

That’s a staggering low amount of people, and yet I’m not at all surprised. If being able to achieve your goals and accomplishing your dreams is this easy, everyone would be successful by now.

There are many reasons why people do not achieve their goals — and not having a proper goal setting system in place is definitely one of them.

How do you actually set a yearly plan for a goal and achieve results?

Step 1: Choose, reflect, & clarify your goal

Before you even start planning, understanding the reasons and motivation behind your goal is SO important. Very often people miss this step and jump straight into the planning process without realizing that the goal itself is actually not something they wanted to pursue in the first place.

Remember, clarity is key.

> Related Post: 4 Reasons Why You’re Not Achieving Your Goals

Sign up for the goal setting with intention worksheet to get clarity on your goal:

Step 2: Make your goal a SMART-R goal

Make sure your goal is:

• Specific: Is it detailed enough so that you know what you have to work on?
• Measurable: Are there numbers for you to track your progress?
• Attainable: Is it realistic to achieve within one year?
• Relevant: Is it related to you and your life in a meaningful way?
• Time-Bound: Is there a time frame and deadline for your goal?
• Reward: Don’t forget to plan a reward for yourself so that you’ll have something to look forward to!

Some examples of a SMART-R goal:

• I will lose 50 lbs by the end of December. My reward is to feel proud of myself (sometimes this feeling is all you need to push forward!)
• I will quit my job and work full time on my own business and earn $6000/month by December 31. My reward is to go on a 5-day vacation to Mexico the coming January.

Step 3: Set 4 quarterly goals to achieve that one big goal

One big goal may seem overwhelming if it takes one year to accomplish. You will feel very pressured and stressed out looking at the final goal all the time since it is a big leap.The trick is to break down your big goal into 4 smaller goals every 3 months.

Using the previous example, if you want to lose 50 lbs by the end of December, you would need to work on losing 13 pounds every 3 months. Now that number seems a lot more friendly and more approachable.

For the second example of working full time and earning $6000/month, your quarterly goal might look different each quarter.

Step 4: For each quarterly goal, list out 2-3 projects/ assignments you need to accomplish to achieve that goal.

For each quarterly goal, figure out which projects/ assignments you need to do in order to achieve that goal.

For example, in order to lose 13 pounds for the first quarter, your assignments might be:

• Assignment 1: Develop a habit to workout weekly

• Assignment 2: Cook at home using fresh greens and whole foods

• Assignment 3: Meal prep weekly

Step 5: For each project/ assignment, list out all of the to-dos.

This is the most tedious step, but very important. For each assignment, you have to break it even further into actionable tasks/ to-dos that you need to do.

For example:

• Assignment 1: Develop a habit to workout weekly

  • Research on local gyms

  • Try out different gyms in the first month

  • Decide on a gym in the second month and purchase membership for it

  • Decide how many days you want to work out

  • Join a fitness program or download a fitness app

  • Decide on the fitness routine you will do every week

  • Find a workout buddy

  • Hit the gym every Tuesday at 5pm and Saturday at 8am

The key is to list out every single task, even the small and tedious ones, so that you don’t even have to think about what you need to do to accomplish that project/ assignment.

Step 6: Put all those to-dos on your calendar

If you are serious about taking action, you need to set deadlines for yourself and put those items onto your calendar! I like to use Asana for this, but you can put it on Google Calendar, or even on a traditional calendar/ planner book.

Bonus tip: If you are serious about achieving your goal, you should have a calendar dedicated to that goal only!

These six steps to goal setting will help you plan and follow through with your biggest goal of the year.

As you can see, you need to have a specific system in place (and dedication) to truly accomplish a big goal.

If you really want to achieve something that means a lot to you, you must be willing to make the extra effort and commit to do the things that most people are not willing to do. This includes spending time, making sacrifices, saying no to people and opportunities, and spending money to invest in yourself.

It will be a lot of work. But it will be worth it.

During the process of working toward that goal, there will also be other side benefits: feeling more in control of your life, feeling excited for your new change, and feeling like you have a purpose. To me, those are the best experiences you can have.

So why not take that leap and declare today that you’re going to plan and achieve the single most important goal for yourself this year?

Rooting for you,

Do you struggle with staying consistent with your goal? What’s the biggest goal you want to achieve this year?

Shirley Huang is a Certified Life Coach, Podcast Host, and online educator. She provides weekly resources to help people become leaders in their life, while loving themselves and having fun a long the way. Check out her Life Coaching Programs here.