Do You Really Need Business Goals?

Absolutely, positively 100%, yes!! You need goals and you need them written down or mapped out, and here's why...

You've probably heard the story about the rocks and the sand. It's been told and retold and featured in many publications, so here's just a quick version:

If you picture your life as a jar, and fill it with rocks, it looks full. But you can pour sand in around those rocks and it will filter down into the rocks and all fit.

If you take that same jar and first pour in the sand, you won't be able to fit in all the bigger rocks.

The big rocks are the important things in life, the big things. The sand represents all the little things. If you let those little things come first and fill up your life jar then you don't have room (time) for the bigger, more important things.

Without goals, the sand will fill up your time and you won't have room left! Put the big rocks in first and then everything else will fit around them.

How does this apply to your business and goal-setting? If you don't have goals set, you don't know what your big rocks are! If you don't know what they are, how can you put them first and make sure they fit?

It's easy to let time tick away while we surf the internet, twitter, or email. That's the "sand." Ever notice how sometimes an hour can go by and you realize you didn't actually accomplish anything? How could you have better used your time on a "big rock" instead?

When you've got goals and a vision for your business and your life, you can keep refocusing your time around those goals. For me, one "big rock" is spending time with my children. One of the main reasons I work from home is so that I can be there for them and if I get too busy and let the "sand" of email, networking, housework, and other small tasks take over, I would miss time that I could have spent with them. The other things will get done, but I need to focus on that "big rock" first.

"Big rocks" in my business include paid client work, my newsletter, and my marketing efforts. Because I know that sending out a weekly newsletter is one of my goals, I've made it a "big rock" to put in my time jar. Each goal I set helps me to identify other "big rocks" and focus on them.

It's okay to take down time. In fact, one of your "big rocks" might even be taking time for yourself, or self-care (for example: exercise, diet, and health related goals), and that's great! Don't confuse it with the "sand."

Are you beginning to get the idea? You've got to have a way to know what's sand and what's rocks if you want it all to fit in your jar. We all know how limited our time is, and how hard it can be to fit in everything we need to accomplish. That's what makes it so crucial for us to know what's most important.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

And now, let me give you access to some great free resources for small businesses including 101 Free/Cheap Ways to Market Your Business, 119 Things You Can Outsource, and more at www.michelleshaeffer.com

Michelle Shaeffer has been a work at home mom for more than 10 years and loves to share the tips and strategies she's learned to help other home based business owners balance, manage, and market their businesses.

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