Whether it’s paying off debt, saving money, or even losing weight—we all want to achieve our goals faster.
But despite your best efforts, if you don’t have the right strategy, your goals will remain a hope and not an accomplishment.
So I’m going to be sharing 7 ways to achieve your financial and life goals faster.
7 Steps To Reach Your Goals Faster
There’s nothing worse than setting goals at the beginning of the year, only to not accomplish them. Though some things will inevitably take longer than others, here’s how you can achieve your goals faster.
1. Make sure your goals are clearly defined
If you want to achieve your goals faster, or at all, they must be clearly defined. Ultimately, you have to know exactly what you want to accomplish.
Some people like to use the SMART acronym to help better define their goals. There are a few variations of what the SMART acronym stands for, the most widely accepted is:
- Specific – Define exactly what you want to accomplish
- Measurable – Quantify your goals so that you can measure if they’ve been achieved
- Achievable – Make sure your goal is something that can be realistically achieved
- Relevant – Create goals that align with your overall vision for your life or finances
- Time-bound – Set a target date for when you want to accomplish your goals
The intent of this goal-setting method is to make sure that you clearly define what you want to accomplish. So instead of saying that you want to save money, say how much you want to save by a certain date.
Not sure what goals to set for yourself? Check out our article on financial goals to achieve this year and our list of family goals to accomplish.
2. Write your goals down
Next, you want to write your goals down.
Statistics show that you’re 20-40% more likely to reach your goals when they’re written down and visible.
So if you want to achieve your goals, let alone achieve them faster, you’ll want to write them down. Even consider creating a visual of your goals like a vision board.
Once you’ve written your goals down, be sure to keep them in a place where you can see them. Seeing them will remind you to take the actions necessary to reach those goals. So keep them visible!
3. Focus on a few goals at a time
Divided focus can slow down your progress. So when you’re working to achieve your goals faster, only focus on a few at a time.
This doesn’t mean that you limit the number of things that you want to accomplish. Instead of creating a list of 10 goals that you want to reach, only focus on 2-3 at a time. Once you’ve accomplished one, then you can add another.
When your focus is divided, you can’t give the time and effort necessary to efficiently achieve your goals. So focus your time and energy on the few that are most important first.
4. Break your goals down into daily actions
Having big goals that you want to achieve can be overwhelming. I can remember having the goal of paying off $78K in debt and how impossible it seemed.
Instead of looking at the big goal that I was trying to accomplish, though, I decided to break it down into daily actions that I needed to take.
Breaking your goals down into daily, weekly, or even monthly milestones makes them more attainable. When your goals feel possible, you’re more likely to work toward them.
We’re human and we love rewards. So if you focus on accomplishing the daily actions that will move you toward your goals, you’ll have the momentum to keep going. And, before you know it, you will achieve your goals faster than you imagined!
5. Develop a time management system
Efficient time management is key to achieving your goals faster. You want to make sure that you set aside time to actually work on your goals each day. This means that you’ll want to create or leverage a time management system that works for you.
The goals it to prioritize your tasks, set deadlines, and allocate specific time blocks to work specifically on your goals. For example, you may set aside 1 hour each day to workout to reach your fitness goals. Or, you may set aside 30 minutes each week to review your family budget to make progress on your financial goals.
Utilize productivity tools like calendars, to-do lists, or time-tracking apps to help your manage your time and be more efficient.
6. Find an accountability partner
An accountability partner can play an essential role in achieving your goals faster. This is someone who will check in to make sure that you’re taking action toward your goals. Simply, they’ll hold you accountable for what you said you’d do.
There is something about answering to another person that makes you more likely to commit to our goals. When you know that you’ll have to provide an update to someone else, you’ll likely do the work.
But there’s more benefit to accountability partners than just holding you to your world. They also provide support, advice, encouragement, and motivation, and they’ll push you beyond your limits. This is all necessary if you want to reach your goals faster.
7. Celebrate when you reach your milestones
Finally, remember to celebrate your achievements along the way. Celebrating each time you reach a milestone boosts motivation, reinforces positive behaviors, and creates a positive mindset.
So don’t forget to take time to acknowledge what you’ve done. It’ll give you the boost that you need to keep going!
Ready to achieve your goals?
Not only can you achieve your goals, but you can absolutely reach them faster with the steps provided! Consider goals to be like a snowball rolling down a hill. As you take daily actions, you build momentum that allows you to accomplish your goals faster.
So the more action that you take, the faster you’ll accomplish your goals. And as you do, don’t forget to celebrate along the way!
As Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI), she has been teaching personal finances to women & youth for over a decade.
Fo is an established writer and expert contributor on the topics of personal finance, budgeting, debt payoff, money mindset, saving, entrepreneurship, investing, motherhood, personal development, and more.