Goal Setting for The New Year (How to Do It Properly)

We are nearing the end of 2024, and you may have achieved a lot already but the year is not over. Goal setting for the new year is the first step you need to take to achieve them and sets the tone for the rest of your year. Whether you have a personal goal or a big, audacious professional goal, goal setting is important – it can help us think big and stay focused.

Proper goal setting is more than New Year resolutions which vaguely point toward change – they are actionable, motivating, and well-thought-out.

Whether you are an ambitious woman in business, want to start your own business, or want to find more work-life balance – here is your guide to setting goals (and achieving them). Plus, we have included the best goal-setting templates

Key Takeaways: Goal setting for the new year

Think hard about your 2024/2025 goals

Before you begin to plan the end of 2024 or 2025, think about your previous goals, your values, and what goals you will find meaningful. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do that.

1. Ask Yourself These 7 Questions About Your Previous Goals:

• Did I achieve them?
• Were they too broad or unattainable?  
• Were there things out of my control?
• Did I create milestones?
• Did they mean enough to me? 
• Do I still want them? 
• Did I properly research my goals?

Reflect on your answers and use them to guide you when goal setting for 2024/2025.

2. Write a personal mission statement

A personal mission statement defines who you are, your values, and how you define success. By crafting a unique personal mission statement, you can find meaning in your work and your goals, which can keep you motivated and focused. Your goals should be aligned with your core values to make you feel happier and create meaning in your life. 

Examples of inspiring personal mission statements:

“To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.” – Oprah Winfrey

Recommended Reading: How to Make a Career Vision Board That Will Motivate You Daily

3. Define Where in Your Life You Want to Improve

Do you have financial, career, health, relationships, or business goals? Here are some examples of the different types of goals you may have. Your goal setting for the new year might include some of the examples below:

Personal goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Develop a journaling practice
• Pick Up a New Hobby 
• Reduce Screen Time

Recommended Reading: How to Do a Digital Declutter to Find Focus (According to Cal Newport)

Financial goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Save more money 
• Pay off a debt 
• Build an emergency fund

Health Goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Drink more water
• Eat Better 
• Run a marathon

Relationship Goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Call grandparents more often
• Make new friends
• Make more time for your loved ones

Career Goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Get a raise or promotion
• Find a remote job 
• Improve leadership skills

Recommended Reading: 15 Dare to Lead Quotes That Will Change How You Lead

Business Goals for 2024/2025 could be: 

• Learn a new skill
• Develop a new product 
• Expand your team 

Read more: How to Start a Business as a Woman in 2024

Pinpoint where you want to improve and how it could help you in your life whether you want more financial freedom, to make a bigger impact as a leader or just to feel healthier and happier. 

Be SMART About Your Goals 

When goal setting in 2024/2025, we want to take a different approach. 

Often our goals are far too ambiguous or vague. 

SMART goals are far more measurable, specific, and realistic. Here is how to use SMART Goals.

• Specific: Hone in a specific area, skill, or feature you want to improve.
• Measurable: Quantify your goals so that they are easy to track and measure. 
• Achievable: Map out how you can do it (and consider your time and resource restraints).
• Relevant: Make your goals feed into a vision, 3-year goal, or mission statement.
• Time-bound:  Specify your target date or time frame to achieve your goal.

Your SMART goal setting can feed into your big 3-year plan, and they are a great starting point. SMART Goals allow you to think big and stay focused. 

Did you know that people who set difficult goals are 34% more likely to love their jobs? And that Setting a goal that requires learning new skills is nearly 10 times more powerful at inspiring employees. 

Smart Goals keep us focused and accountable but don’t forget about your big, scary goals. HARD Goals are important too, and you can always use a combination of SMART goals (broken into a yearly or quarterly plan) that will lead you to a vision or 3-year goal. 

Find out how you can achieve growth with a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) 

Bold BusinessWomen Loes Daniels says, “Think big and stay focused. Set ambitious goals for your business. Project where you want to be in 3 years and create a roadmap to get there. Break down your goals into yearly and then quarterly milestones to ensure you’re on track.”

Ambitious goal setting and a growth mindset can help you think big and lead to exponential growth.

Find Out How You Can Develop a Growth Mindset as a Woman in Business?

Professional Smart Goal Examples 

1. Let’s say your goal is to enhance your communication and leadership skills.

SMART goal: Complete three communication workshops and receive a 90 percent positive feedback rating on communication effectiveness from team member surveys within six months.

2. Let’s say you want to increase your website traffic. 

SMART goal: Increase your website traffic by 30% by planning out a blog strategy for the next 3 months with weekly targets and monthly performance tracking so you can optimize your content accordingly. 

3. Let’s say you want to improve your time management. 

SMART goal: Use a time management app, create daily task lists, and prioritize tasks to increase productivity by completing tasks 20 percent faster within the next three months.

4. Let’s say you want to learn a new skill before the end of the year. 

SMART goal: Enrol in a training course, dedicate 5 hours a week to it, and then apply that skill to a project you do at the beginning of next year. 

5. Let’s say you want to expand your professional network to look for new jobs or business opportunities.

SMART goal: Research and register for three industry events and connect with at least ten new professionals within the next six months.

Recommended Reading: Inspiring Women in Business And Their Net Worth

Personal Smart Goal Examples 

1. Let’s say you want to improve your work-life balance.

SMART goal: Achieve a better work-life balance by tracking work hours, starting one new hobby, and setting time blocks for work and personal life with an evaluation process after 3 months.  

2. Let’s say you want to increase your savings.

SMART goal: For the next year, at the beginning of each month, I will automatically deposit 15% of every paycheck into a high-yield savings account to accumulate $3000 which I will invest. 

3. Let’s say you want to eat healthier.

SMART goal: For the next 3 months, I will plan weekly shops to incorporate 30 different types of plants a week in my diet (these include seeds, nuts, and spices) and use a monthly planner or habit tracker to stay on track.

 4. Let’s say you want to improve your personal style and dress for success at work.

SMART goal: For the next 3 months, I will do a wardrobe audit, declutter, and buy a few more classic pieces of business casual clothing that work with my existing outfit, plan my weekly outfits for the week, and afterward evaluate my feelings and confidence. 

Recommended Reading: 10 Business Casual Clothing Ideas That Are Trendy ( Not Boring)

5. Let’s say you want to make new friends. 

SMART goal: For the next 6 months, I will join a new running group and actively chat with one person per week, make a plan, and follow up with them to build new friendships. 

Tip: Those who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. 

Try The Best Goal Setting Worksheets 

Here are 3 examples of popular and effective goal-setting templates and worksheets that can make goal-setting for 2024 and 2025 much easier and more efficient. They include easy-to-follow guidelines, SMART goals, and milestones.

1. Here is a Great Soal-setting Template. 

It includes SMART goals, steps, and obstacles with completion dates and helpful resources. 

2. James’s Clear Habit Tracking Template

This is also a great option especially if your goals are to track healthy eating, outfit ideas, or hobbies. 

3. Download The Ultimate Goal Setting Template Now

This goal setting template include monthly goals and a micro-goal tracker.

Some work planners also include goal-setting templates and can help you stay focused.

Here Are The 10 Best Planners for Working Moms in 2025 (Plus Their Top Features).

Recommended Reading: The 17 Best Business Books For Women in Business

Stay Focused on Your Goals

You now have the knowledge and tools to do some serious goal setting for 2024/2025. Once you have spent a considerable amount of time identifying your goals and writing them down, next comes the hard part – sticking to them.

Here Are 5 Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals

1. Make Your Goals Visible 

You need to remind yourself of your goals, so place them next to your mirror when you get ready for work, and save them as your desktop screensaver, or your phone’s screen saver. 

2. Remember to celebrate your milestones and achievements, no matter how small.

Celebrating success is a confidence-building exercise and motivates us to keep going so make sure you celebrate every milestone and moment. 

Here are some ways that you can celebrate success: 

• Use social media to highlight your good moments and keep you motivated 
• Schedule a coffee break at your favorite cafe to treat yourself
• Present your findings to someone
• Create a gratitude wall
• Invest in a tool that will help you 

Recommended Reading: Celebrating Success: 25 Ideas for Female Entrepreneurs 

3. Schedule monthly or quarterly check-ins 

Put these check-ins in your calendar and involve your team members, support system, and more to keep you motivated and accountable. 

4. Be Flexible 

Be determined to reach your goals but understand that as the year progresses, your needs and priorities might change. Give yourself the grace to change your goals, our journey is never linear. 

5. Ask for Help 

When you feel overwhelmed or stressed, don’t forget to ask for help. When we talk to people it can help us understand our motives and goals more clearly, hold us accountable, and release some weight that we may carry around. Getting support is one of the most compassionate and helpful things we can do for ourselves. 

Start Goal Setting for The New Year

Goal setting for 2024/2025 doesn’t have to be hard. You need to realize your goals and use a SMART framework to work towards them. While you map out your SMART goals, don’t forget to think about your big, scary goals. Anything is possible if you are bold, daring, and work hard. 

If you want to develop a better mindset, try these 25 Affirmations for Female Entrepreneurs

What to read next? 9 Motivational Books for Women by Iconic Women