5 Techniques On How To Focus On Your Goal

Learn how to focus on your goal by writing down your goals, using a mission statement, manage your time, make a plan and achieve milestones.

Focusing on your goals is a challenge. At first, we’re certainly motivated, but this motivation tends to wane over time. We get distracted, overworked, frustrated, stuck, and we veer off the track. Undoubtedly, it’s difficult to remain focused while we have so much going on in our lives.

Considering all the factors that can get in your way, how can you remain focused on specific goals so that you can obtain the things that you wish to achieve, instead of being stuck in the same loop for weeks, months, or even years?

There are a few powerful techniques that you can employ to help you focus on your dreams. You can make use of one or all of them. However, you need to come up with a plan and be consistent with it. Not losing focus on your specific goals will be easier if you follow these techniques.

1. Write Down Your Goals

Writing down your goals is the most significant part when it comes to active goal setting. If you don’t write your goals, they will remain in the abstract realm and not in the physical realm. That is the mistake most people make. There is a study that says writing down your goals increases your chances of success significantly (though there is some debate about the accuracy of the study).

Writing your goals is essential, and you have to be very specific about them. Detail them out and actively set them. You can give it as much detail as possible, but make sure there are no conditions that are in conflict with each other. Keep the writing in a place that you often access, so that you remember your goals, especially during times when you get distracted.

2. Write a Mission Statement

A mission statement is necessary to remind yourself of your commitment to your goals. Companies come up with mission statements all the time, and as an individual, you can do it too. The mission statement helps you to direct your energy and time to the things that are important to you and assist you in retaining the focus you need.

What are your beliefs? Where do you place your value? Come up with a detailed mission statement, for a few short sentences or a paragraph, and then hang it somewhere that you can see daily. If you lose your focus or get distracted, re-read your particular mission statement, then re-envision the reason you want to achieve your goals.

Having a written mission statement is similar to writing down your goals, but a mission statement, or your WHY, is a higher level view of your goals. Keep them both in an obvious place so that you often look at them and they stay in the front of your mind.

You can also use subliminal messages to refresh your focus on your mission statement and goals. Listen to the messages at the beginning of the day or as you fall asleep. It’s a way to maintain focus on your goals without conscious effort as it relies on your subconscious mind.

3. Manage Your Time Properly

Poor time management makes it almost impossible for you to remain focused on your goals. If you want to make progress instead of falling behind, effectively manage your time. Choose a time management system that suits you based on the urgent and important activities you have.

If you genuinely want to remain focused on your goals, stay away from time-wasting activities, such as over-socializing with friends, binge-watching television, excessive use of social media, and similar not important, not urgent activities. Make sure that you spend most of your time doing the important activities, even though they may not be urgent, including your long-term goals.

The four quadrants time management system by Stephen Covey, based on the Eisenhower principle, is a choice you might consider. It categorizes activities based on urgency and importance so that you know which are helpful for your goals and which are not helpful.

4. Formulate and Execute a Plan

A good plan assists us in moving from being stuck in the loop to accomplishing our goals over time. If you lack a plan, you’ll most likely end up failing. Formulating a plan is the next step after writing your goals. It’s a detailed step-by-step break down of how you think you can achieve your goals.

Come up with an executable plan that can assist you in accomplishing your goals. However, know that plans can and will change along the way. Your goals are what shouldn’t change, but in case your plan isn’t working, you can slightly modify it to make corrections.

5. Create Milestones Towards Your Goals

Setting a set of milestones helps you remain focused while moving towards your goals. For instance, you can set a daily milestone or a monthly milestone. If you want to create your milestones, break down your objectives into equal parts. Each step of the plan you made before can become a milestone.

It’s much easier to remain on track and focused on our milestones since they seem more practical compared to our long-term goals. The benefit is that both moves us in the same direction. Write a set of milestones that can be a measure of progress as you get closer to your goals.

It takes consistent effort, as well as hard work to accomplish major goals. However, the harsh reality is that a lot of people will fail to reach their goals. Their failures will reflect on their struggle to remain focused. You can avoid failing and maintain your motivation for accomplishing your dreams with these focus-maintaining techniques.