Everyone has seen long-term objectives at work. Certainly they do make sensse, but do not forget the benefits of short-term goals, through which we can finally meet the long term ones.
Short-term plan is set to less than one year. Very often targets are set for the next 3 to six months. They are generally simpler than objectives we set for the next ten years, for example: "In ten years I want to become head of sales at a branch of a multinational corporation in the Czech Republic." Short-term goal may be, for example, increasing commissions by 25% within six months. Given the short time span, your plan will provide the necessary motivation to actually follow it.
When setting a goal within a certain time limit, you increase the chance for yourself to actually reach it. In addition, short-term plan is a partial step to achieve what you want in the longer time horizon. However, sometimes short-term goal maybe entirely different - maybe you now need to save up money for a car within a certain time.
If you do not know how to set goals, first write down, what your long term ambitions are. Be honest and do not hesitate to include your dreams even if they seem too fantastic. There is no reason not to write that you would like to buy a red Ferrari - why not? Once you have a list, put it aside for a few days. Then read it again and possibly add something. Eventually you will have the basis on which you can plan short-term goals. It is possible that some of your wishes can be fulfilled in as early as 6 months - then it may be short-term plan. Longer-term ambitions need to be divided into milestones. But beware - do not try to meet 10 targets at once, you will just waste your energy. Select 2 to 3, which have the highest priority, and stick to those.
Finally, prepare an action plan to achieve short-term goals. In terms of increasing sales, specific steps could look like this:
- Every morning, send 15 emails to potential customers.
- Visit the 3 social events per month from the field, etc.
To save money, think about ways to do it. In addition to increasing the commission and thereby increasing your salary, you could also find that you can save a decent amount by skipping your daily breakfast at a cafe, or by switching your prepaid movie channels to a cheaper TV package when you have no time to watch TV anyway. The written form of your plan will help you stick to it and make it work.
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