Increase Creativity A-Z - G Is For Goals - How To Set Goals To Help Focus & Boost Your Creativity

Let’s be honest, “goal setting” is not the most sexy phrase there is.

Just the words can conjure images of complex detailed goals that are going to take a great deal of work and not be a whole lot of fun.

But goals can actually be as fun and as easy to set as you want to make them.

Here’s a simple 3 step technique to set goals that will help you focus and increase your creative output:

Step 1. Brainstorm what you REALLY want long term in your creative life.

Often we get so caught up in the tiny details of each creative project, we forget to look at the bigger picture.

If you feel like creating is about as easy as hacking your way through a dense rainforest, maybe you need a different perspective. What if you were able to take a helicopter above that rainforest, and you saw that just a few metres west of where you’re slogging through the undergrowth with your machete, there’s actually a path already carved out?

Do the equivalent for your creative life overall. What’s the bigger view? What do you REALLY want to achieve?

Step 2. Ask “Is this really MY goal?”

This is a crucial point often overlooked when goal setting. We feel we’ve set great goals and start working towards them with great enthusiasm. But something doesn’t quite feel right. And soon we grind to a halt.

Often this is because although we have defined a good clear goal, it’s actually not ours. It might be one that’s fantastic for someone else. Or one that someone else has chosen because they thought it would be fantastic for us.

Ask some very honest questions of yourself to ensure your goals are really yours. How will you feel when you’ve achieved them? Have you chosen them because they’re right for you, or just to please someone else?

Step 3. Set dates for action and TAKE ACTION.

Setting the goals is only the first step. Unless you then take action towards them, they’re nothing but pretty – yet empty - decoration.

Once you have a goal that’s truly important to you, and you’re sure it’s really yours, start to plan the action steps that will get you there. Sometimes the easiest way to do this is start at the endpoint, break it down and work backwards.

For example if you want to write a novel in the next year, break it down into each component necessary and give it a time frame. To finish your novel in a year, what actually needs to happen? What do you need to have done each month, each week, each day?

Set your dates, write them down and start taking action today!

This simple 3 step goal setting technique can help you get focused on what’s really important to you in your creative life and start taking action towards it right away.

So, what are you waiting for?

Want to learn more about how to increase YOUR creativity? It’s easy: just sign up to "Create Create!" - Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin's free twice monthly ezine - today, and get your FREE copy of the “Explode Your Creativity!” Action Workbook. Head on over now to www.CoachCreative.com