The Top 5 Benefits of The Quarterly Goal-Setting System
Table of Contents
Introduction
Today we’ll be discussing four benefits of using a Quarterly Goal-Setting System.
We often discuss the concept of effective goal-setting at The Chroma Network. Recently we discussed how to set effective goals (link), But now we want to introduce you to an entirely different system: Quarterly Goal-Setting. Many of us are accustomed to setting annual goals. We start reflecting on January 1st about what we want our entire year to look like and focus on the big picture. As motivating as this can be in the beginning half of the year, many of us slowly lose steam as time goes on and lose sight of the mission and vision we had at the beginning of the year. If this sounds like you, it may be time to make the natural transition to the quarterly system.
What is the Quarterly Goal-Setting system?
The Quarterly Goal-Setting System is the act of setting goals for one quarter of the year. This system will require you to look at the next three months or 90 days. Though this may seem like a random amount of time, it is just long enough to make you feel like you’re working on something important and but short enough so that you aren’t overwhelmed. I have been using this system in my life, making a world of difference. Let’s discuss why!
Benefit #1: The Quarterly Goal-Setting System allows you to Manage your Energy
Knowing where to direct my attention has been one of the significant benefits of the quarterly goal-setting system. When I would set annual goals, I would spend so much time looking for things to fill my time so that aI would feel like I was being productive. At the same time, I would neglect the deadlines that were much closer and more impactful in the short term. I wasted a lot of energy projecting myself far into the future without focusing on what was right in front of me. Now I am short-sighted in the most positive way. I focus on what is right in front of me to serve the bigger picture.
related: Your vision Board for 2022: Here’s What to Know
Benefit #2: The Quarterly Goal-Setting System Provides the Benefit of Actionability
Quarterly goals are also much more actionable than annual goals. Using the quarterly goal-setting system makes it easy to turn big goals into bite-sized action steps. When we focus on 12 months at a time, everything we plan for ourselves seems so lofty and far away. When we use the quarterly system, we can take those huge visions and turn them into steps or micro-goals. We can then allocate those micro-goals to different segments of the year.
Using this system, you will have clarity on the duration of time it takes you to reach your goals since you are giving yourself clear start and end dates to reach your goals. For example, one goal I had this year was to grow my newsletter subscriber list by 20%. However, while this was a great goal, I didn’t have any systems or strategies to achieve it.
Breaking this broader goal down allowed me to focus on the action steps, such as:
- creating resources for my subscribers and blog readers
- changing my email send frequency
- focusing on how my current design affects my conversion rates.
Though this is personal to me, it demonstrates how using the quarterly goal-setting system allows you to take away the vagueness of our bigger, annual goals. These changes will enable us to think about goals in order to take action.
related: How to set goals that you can ACTUALLY achieve
Benefit #3: The Quarterly Goal-Setting System Provides the opportunity to adjust and pivot
As I mentioned earlier, when we set annual goals, we usually do so at a time when the motivation is high. While this is true, the need for execution is also low (ahem – the holiday season). We create a long list of the things we see ourselves getting done but don’t focus as much on the actual steps needed to get us to the finish line. Because annual goal-setting causes us to look 12 months out, we can forget those important, in-between moments. As a result, we fail to make time to reflect and check in with ourselves.
When you use a specific system like our Quarterly Goal-Setting Planner, you will have multiple checkpoints creating frequent reminders of your goals. For example, using the Quarterly Goal-Setting system will naturally cause you to make time to check in with yourself and your progress every three months. But if you want to ramp up your process, you’ll likely check in every month or even every week.
Following this system gives you the critical ability to always know where you are oriented to achieve your goals. You know exactly where you are headed and what you are doing to get you there.
related: How to Set Effective Goals: Taking it Past the Vision Board
Benefit #4: The Quarterly Goal-Setting System Provides the Benefit of Measurability
Another great thing about quarterly goal-setting is that it gives you a concrete way to track your progress. We use a habit tracker within our Quarterly Goal-Setting Planner. For example, I am working on forming one habit is moving my body for at least 15 minutes a day. Because I stick to the tracker, I can compare my performance from last week to this week and see if I am making steps towards consistency.
As nerdy as it sounds, the Quarterly System allows you to aggregate data. So you can compare your performance quarter over quarter and think deeply about what you did to get you to where you are.
Were there certain behaviors you prioritized that allowed you to get things done? Were there things that distracted you and slowed down your progress?
When you use this system, you can compare the work you’ve done every 90 days and better understand yourself and how you work.
Benefit #5: The Quarterly Goal-Setting System Creates a Sense of Urgency
The final benefit, which is the throughline of all of this, is the sense of urgency that the Quarterly Goal-Setting System creates. One reason why it’s so easy to fall behind when setting annual goals is that it makes a “set it and forget it” mentality. So we write down our vision for 2022 and leave them there to find us at the end of the year.
By switching over to the Quarterly Goal-Setting System, you give yourself 90 days to get the ball rolling and get things done. In addition, having the March 31st deadline in your head will increase your desire to take action versus setting your sights on something 12 months away. An added benefit of the Quarterly System is that you can select your start and end dates so long as the period you are tracking is 90 days!
Conclusion
If you are wondering how to set quarterly goals, it will help you to read our post on how to set effective goals. First, this post explains the SMART framework (which stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Then, you’ll learn how to apply each of these steps to goal-setting in your personal life.
If you’re looking for a tool to take this process to the next level and get you on the path to consistency, try our Quarterly Goal-Setting Planner. It includes reflection prompts for the beginning of the quarter and each month, week, and day. These prompts help you understand any limiting habits or beliefs you may have. It will also help you turn your big-picture dreams and visions into concrete steps. Finally, you’ll have an actionable process that helps set priorities and allocate your focus in a brand new way!
