Here’s my secret to keep track of my business goals!
I am a person who wears multiple hats every day. Sometimes I am an entrepreneur,
sometimes a coach, and most times I’m a mother, wife, daughter…..and this means having to make sure things go on track with my life purposes and aspirations. It can be overwhelming at times, especially when everything happens all at once. So how do I keep track of my goals?
I am the type of person who sets and tracks goals. It keeps my limited energy focused on important things. Some people prefer to track their goals using tracker apps for convenient templates or some do journaling where they can customize their notebooks. 5 years ago, I made a DIY tracker to check my business progress in an easy and customizable way. I call it my “Trackability Tool.” All you need are a spreadsheet file and 5 minutes each week!
Here are what should be in the first row to label different columns:
Year - This is a long-term tracker, so it would be easier to see which year you are looking at. Below this, you can write your entry number. Another way is to create a different sheet for each year so that you can skip this column.
Week - Write the dates that are included in your reflection. You can do it weekly or bi-weekly.
Highlights - What are the major high points in that week? I.e. sent out a proposal, sensing a positive signal from a potential client, resolved an issue, or simply had a constructive meeting with your team. You can write about something that was remarkable to you and that stood out to you the most.
Lowlights - What was the most challenging part of your week? For instance, unexpected situations, delays, miscommunication, or even feeling demotivated. Talk about the hard parts on both business and personal levels; it’s important to acknowledge them too.
Learnings - After reflecting on your high and low points, think about what you learned that week. How did you overcome your lowlight? Don’t forget to be grateful for your highlights! The key is to transfer the tracking points into learning. Applying growth mindset and ask yourself "How can I do better next time?"
Next week - Time to look forward after reflecting on the past! Write down your plans for the coming week so your energy continues to be focused on your goals.
Comment - Have a “tracking buddy.” Share your reflections and plans with a trusted person, so you have an accountability buddy, i.e. business partner, coach or manager. They can share with you the observations, suggestions, or simply encouragement to help you keep motivated and aligned for the coming week.
Tracking my goals has been a great help for me. After doing this for quite some time, I’ve found some benefits of doing this that I’d like to share with you.
“I’m not alone” as an entrepreneur - Having a tracking buddy allows you to widen your perspectives and avoid blind spots. I understand that it can sometimes be scary to share your business progress with someone else. Do invest time to find a person whom you trust.
Not focusing on mistakes - This tracker does require you to look at your lowlights of the week but it is not meant to focus and zero in on it. It’s meant to turn your challenges into opportunities for learning. You get to reflect on what went wrong and how you were able to overcome it. You can also look back on it to guide your future self into not making the same mistakes again.
Identify growth areas - The tracker’s ultimate goal is to build your growth mindset. You can’t stay where you are today forever. This will help you see the areas of your life that you can work on to be a better person and it will also show you the values that you can carry throughout your business journey that can guide you.
Enhance team transparency - if you are leading a team, you can also introduce this tool, as a shared file accessible to everyone. It doesn’t only help you to keep track of everyone’s status, support required, but it also allows everyone to learn from each other, i.e. avoid making the same mistakes. Learning is part of your business assets!
I think this is a good way, not only to track your progress but to own it! It only takes you 5 to10 minutes a week to do this. You will find it rewarding when looking back on your years-long journey. I did the same! Be very grateful to know that after all the hardships and challenges, you were able to get through them and you have become a better person after all. Remember that small steps matter - heading toward your goals and dreams.
Let us know in the comments if you have tried our “Trackability” tool!
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