The Importance Of Writing Down Your Goals

Are you someone who is always thinking of new goals, only for them to constantly pass you by. The main reason they pass you by, is because you fail to get them out of your head. When you don’t write them down, they are just dreams. In order to make them a reality, you need to take the first step and put them on paper.

There are also some negative aspects to not writing your goals down:

• You subconsciously think you’re a failure because you think about so many goals, however you don’t take action on any of them. This will give you the false impression that you’re not capable of achieving anything.
• Our minds have many things to think about other than goals. When you store your goals strictly in your head, you tend to be forgetful, letting good opportunities pass you by.
• Not getting your thoughts on to paper could also increase stress, because your goals are constantly running through your head, making it difficult to concentrate on other tasks.

In the rest of this article, we will go over why writing down your goals is important, along with other tips.

Why Writing Down Goals Matters

Writing down your goals matters for many different reasons. Writing down your goals is like setting the coordinates on your life’s GPS. Just as a GPS needs specific coordinates to guide you to your destination, writing down your goals provides a clear and specific direction for your life’s journey. Let’s dive into the many benefits of doing so.

Clarity

It gives you clarity. When your goals are stored strictly in your brain, you don’t have a clear and concise plan of action for reaching them. When you write down your goals, you can break them down in smaller and more manageable tasks.

Increased Discipline

When you’re in the phase of thinking about your goals, you’ll often sit there and just brainstorm. When you constantly brainstorm, your attention span starts to dwindle.

However, when you put your goals on to paper and start doing them, you’ll notice a difference in your ability to do more. Over time, this will improve more and more, increasing your discipline.

Once I wrote down all my own goals, I’ve noticed this change in myself. I feel much less distracted and more focused on the goal at hand.

Allows You To Track Progress

You can’t track progress if your’e not writing things down. You may claim your’e able to store everything in your brain, but it’s almost impossible. Writing down your goals allows you to reflect and measure your progress, helping you stay on track.

Increases Your Memory In Other Areas Of Your Life

Writing down your goals eases the burden on your brain when it comes to all aspects of life. When you store things in your brain, it can often lead to forgetfulness and a decrease in overall memory. You’ll see an increase in your relationships, job performance and other aspects in your life once you start writing down your goals.

Increased Success

All of these things result in a higher chance of success. When you write down your goals you’ll find that you’re frequently writing down new ideas and always expanding at a faster rate.

The Stats Behind Writing Down Your Goals

Lets dive a little bit deeper into the stats behind writing down your goals so you can have a clearer picture of why it’s so important.

Only 3% of the population set goals, and only 1% actually write them down

When you think about all the benefits of writing down your goals, and then take into consideration that only 3% of the population actually sets goals, and only 1% actually writes them down, you’ll see the huge advantage you’ll have if you do write them down.

You are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if they are written down

According to Gail Matthews, a Psychology Professor at the Dominican University in California, she conducted a study and found that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if they are written down. This is very significant percentage for something that is so simple and liberating.

How to Get Started With Writing Your Goals

There are many aspects of writing your goals down. You could talk about daily goals, yearly goals, career goals, long-term goals. For this article we’re going to take a look at how to write down your long-term goals.

Here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Start With the End in Mind

Starting with the end is the most important factor, because the key is to reverse engineer.

2. Break Down Your Goals into Smaller Tasks

These smaller tasks are the tasks you do on a monthly, weekly, daily, hourly basis.

3. Create an Action Plan

An action plan should include the tasks you need to do in order to complete your goal. You just need to take your smaller tasks and define how often you want them to be done.

4. Set Deadlines

A goal is nothing without a deadline. There needs to be a time frame. This ensures that you move efficiently towards your goal. It’s important to be persistent but there may be a time where you have to hang it up and go after something different.

5. Track Your Progress

Tracking your progress is the best way to see if you are on track or not. This helps to keep you focused and motivated.

The Power of Tracking Progress in Written Goals

As your knowledge evolves in the area you set your goals in, chances are your goals as a whole will change. When you write down your goals it’s important to change up your tasks based on your new findings so you could have as efficient of a plan as possible.

Let’s say your initial goal was to “Become proficient in French within a year.” You’ve written this down and started working towards it by using a language learning app for 30 minutes each day.

However, as you delve deeper into your language learning journey, you realize that while the app is helpful for vocabulary, it’s not as effective for improving your conversational skills. You also find out about a local French conversation group that meets weekly.

In this case, your overall goal to become proficient in French remains the same, but your knowledge about the most effective way to reach that goal has evolved.

How Writing Down Goals Can Improve Your Mental Health

Writing down goals isn’t only great when it comes to improving your success rate, but it also could help your mental health in many ways. Let’s dive into how.

Relieves Stress and Anxiety

Uncertainty is one of the biggest causes of stress and anxiety. When you write down your goals, it improves your ability to be more certain about your future.

Could Reduce Depression

Since writing down your goals increases your sense of purpose it’s only right that it could help reduce depression being that many researchers believe that loss of purpose is one of the leading causes of depression.

Writing Down Your Goals Can Keep You In The Moment

Mindfulness is the practice of keeping yourself present and in the moment. Writing down your goals could do just that because of the fact that you sit and think about what you need to do that very day. It keeps you in the present moment and forces you to think about what needs to be done right away.

Boosts Your Self Esteem

When you keep your goals in your brain, chances are you’re not going to do what you’re thinking about. This will affect your self esteem in a negative way due to the fact that you’re not keeping promises to yourself in a sense. Every small win that you accomplish when writing down your goals will boost your self esteem.

Why Writing Down Your Goals Is Better Than Typing Them

You may be wondering if you should write down your goals on the computer, or in a journal. I personally vouch for the journal. Here are the reasons.

Handwriting helps with retention of knowledge and information

When you write things down by hand, it greatly increases your chances of remembering the information. This is because it requires more mental engagement.

Limits Distractions and Improves Focus

How many times have you been doing something on your phone or laptop only to get distracted by a notification. Once that notification hits, you’re scatter brained and it can be hard to get back on track. When you write down your goals in a journal, there are no notifications or other distractions.

Conclusion

Now you that you know how important writing your goals down is, you can start to create a plan for yourself that will lead you to success. All you have to do is order a journal, a pen and get started.