Last updated 24 February 2023 ·
Small and frequent accomplishments are critical to significant and rare achievements.
Are setting weekly goals overkill? Many worry that such a short time will increase “goal anxiety” and distract from their overall vision. But with a few simple rules and tactics, weekly goals can create structure and routine that supercharge motivation and focus.
Breaking your long-term vision into mid-term objectives and then into smaller weeklong goals or key results helps you visualise the entire journey, beginning to end. It takes care of the planning so you can move on to the doing. If you don’t know where to start with weekly goals, or your short-term goals feel overwhelming or disruptive, there are a handful of tried-and-true strategies to optimise your progress.
Best practices for setting weekly goals that work
One of the best reasons to experiment with creating 7-day targets is flexibility. Did you set your sights on a goal that is too ambitious? Too ambiguous? No problem. You can adjust and try something new next week. And if you want to minimise the experimentation phase as much as possible, start with these tricks for weekly goal setting:
- Start with a single ‘goal of the week’
Focusing most of your energy and attention on one specific goal significantly increases your likelihood of achieving it. Moreover, an early win can provide the confidence and inspiration to double down the following week.
- Pick and block out time slots for working on goals
Spending Monday mornings scheduling time throughout the week to work on goals helps you forecast how much time you’ll need and claim it before someone else does. During these time blocks, remove all distractions and set up auto-response messages letting colleagues know when you’ll be available to respond.
- Use a weekly goals brainstorming template
It may feel challenging to keep developing varied and original weekly goals as time passes. And while a template for brainstorming new ones might sound like it would stifle fresh ideas, the opposite is true. Here are some example questions to include in your weekly goal creation template:
- “Which objective from my OKR plan needs the most attention this week?”
- “What tools, resources, or processes would make me more productive in the long term?”
- “What aspects of my work can I reevaluate to develop new goals?”
- “What projects will make the most significant impact towards achieving my OKRs?”
Sometimes the smartest goal is a continuation of what you worked on the previous week. But when you’re feeling in a rut, your brainstorming template should provide questions and prompts that spark innovative and unique approaches to problem-solving.
- Review goals every morning and update progress every afternoon
Adding a daily review of weekly goals to your morning productivity routine gives you a clear sense of purpose and priority for the day. It keeps your ‘North Star’ top of mind and empowers you to say no to meetings and emails that are lower priorities. Then, at the end of each day, document and reflect on your goal progress to have an accurate and up-to-date summary ready for the following day.
- Schedule friendly Friday goal updates
Discussing the highs and lows of your weekly goals with your manager or a friend at the end of each week gives you a reliable source of support and feedback. Pick an accountability partner slightly removed from your direct reporting lines if possible. They will likely have more impartial perspectives, insights, and input into your goals and progress.
Your goal for this week: Try out OKR software
Weekly goals are just one way to turbocharge your output and growth. You should also measure progress toward monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals that further your vision. In most cases, the best way to track this progress and delegate responsibilities effectively is with OKR tracking tools.
These tools summarise real-time individual and team progress towards organisational goals in a helpful dashboard optimised for desktop and mobile devices. If you want to expand your business and increase employee engagement, OKR software is one of your best investments. For a personalised overview of how Reclaro’s 1-3-5® OKR software would benefit your organisation, book a demo today or if you’d like to discuss your challenges around performance management, book a no-obligation 15-Minute discovery call.
