ADHD friendly goal setting
As we approach 2024, it's a great time to set some goals for the future. Setting goals in your business is like having a roadmap. It gives you a clear direction and purpose.
For someone like me, working with ADHD and executive function challenges, goals act as a guide for tasks and plans. They break down the overwhelming stuff into manageable steps, making it easier to stay on track. Plus, achieving those goals brings a sense of accomplishment and boosts motivation. It's a practical way to turn dreams into reality.
In this guide, I’ll be sharing straightforward tips on setting goals that work for neurodiverse minds. We’ll also run through SMART goals and how the framework helps neurodiverse business owners to set focused and structured objectives.
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true. ”
What is goal setting?
Goal setting is the process of identifying specific objectives or targets that you’d like to work towards. It helps provide direction and motivation and a sense of achievement once complete.
Why do we set goals?
The purpose of goal setting is to create a roadmap of what you should focus on. It helps you develop a plan for yourself and your business and gives you motivation to work towards something.
ADHD brings unique challenges, particularly in executive functions like planning, organising, and task initiation. For ADHD business owners, these challenges can lead to a sense of overwhelm and hinder productivity. Goal setting acts as a structured tool to tackle these difficulties, breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps and providing a clear path forward. For those unfamiliar with executive functions, I've got a blog breaking down what they are and why they matter.
How do we set goals?
Firstly, let’s reflect & review
I would encourage you to take time to reflect first before setting future goals. Reflecting on what you have achieved in the last year or so will give you a great foundation for setting goals for 2024 and beyond. You can view my blog on reflection here.
Looking forward
When setting goals, it tends to be around something you want in your future. I, therefore, like to work backwards, mapping out (step-by-step) how to get to the end goal. (that’s the event planner in me!)
You may already know what this/these are as we can have a 1001 ideas and so it could be a few of these:
Introducing a new product or service
Getting a new system in place
Taking on a VA or member of staff
But sometimes you may feel like you aren’t sure what to focus on OR that it may not be directly related to your business. For example:
Working less hours
Taking summer off
Not working in the evenings etc
Visualise your ideal day
If this is the case, then when I work with my clients I encourage them to do a visualisation (if you can do this), play along with me.
Close your eyes
Picture yourself in a years time or think about what your ideal day will look and feel like.
Where are you? How did you wake up? How are you feeling?
Who are you with and what have you been doing?
What are you wearing and where are you going?
Here’s my example:
I wake up and I am able to take my time in getting ready, I put on clothes that make me feel good and that I have been able to buy without feeling guilty or worrying about money. I head out to a great co-working space where I feel part of a community and I am surrounded by like-minded business owners. I host a couple of coaching calls with business owners who want to thrive with their ADHD. After lunch, I host a networking/community group for neurodivergent business owners OR a workshop. I am able to go and pick my kids up and switch off. I have a decent amount of money to buy good food that I like. That week I am off to a retreat and I can rest easy knowing my team are helping my business tick along.
This visualisation/vision indicates to me some of the following things that could lead to me creating goals:
Financial freedom
Flexibility and time freedom
A team or support in my business
Good processes and systems to help function
Purely focusing on coaching and having the right business model to support that.
This will hopefully give you a clearer picture of what you are working towards. Once you’ve done that, you can then think about what goals you need to set to get there.
SMART Goals
SMART is an acronym that represents a strategic framework that proves highly effective for setting goals. I believe it offers a great structure for ADHD business owners because thinking of goals and how you achieve them can be incredibly overwhelming. Using the SMART formula helps break the goal down so you know how to put it into action.
Top of Form
Here's a post I did that explains each of them:
SMART goals tend to be more significant, to reduce overwhelm I suggest setting 3-5 big goals for the year. You can then break these down into smaller goals which can be used in shorter terms. Take a look at the freebie I am offering which includes some different ways of breaking down goals.
You could base them on finances, growth, customers, people/training (i.e. employees/outsourcing etc) and marketing. Here’s some food for thought when setting your goals:
Financial: how much do you want to earn? Do you have a sales target? Do you want to reduce your expenses?
Growth: do you want to reach out to a new market and expand your service/product offering? Do you plan to scale your team?
Customer: how many clients do you want to work with per month? Do you have a new ideal client you want to attract?
People & Training: are you or your team keen to gain skills in a certain area, such as SEO or content writing? Do you need to start outsourcing and what does that look like?
Marketing: want to expand your social media reach? Join a new network? Produce marketing collateral or send email newsletters? Perhaps start a blog?
What do you do after you’ve set goals?
Take Action!
Sometimes setting goals can be the easy part, it’s following through and taking action that can be hard. Especially, when you have executive dysfunction issues! Here’s how you can make a start:
1. Find a system that works for you. Are you someone who uses a written planner, do you need to stick them up on a wall in front of you, or do you put them into a project management/tasks app. Whatever helps you keep them in the forefront of your mind, it’s essential to put the right system in place to support you.
2. Plan when you are going to dedicate time to doing the actions and moving forward with your goals. Do you need to book something in daily or weekly and set a reminder?
3. How can you make it fun? We thrive on dopamine so what’s going to excite you – is it a new pen to write them out, is it creating a fun vision board on canva, is it working with someone else as a body double?
4. What’s going to be the reward? Let’s face it, as a neurodivergent person, especially ADHD we need a reward to motivate us. So what milestones and rewards can you set? I completed the first task, get a reward – completed 50% of a goal, get a reward – smashed your first goal, get a reward! It’s so important to CELEBRATE!!!
If you’re feeling totally overwhelmed with the idea of goal setting, I’d love for you to join one of my ADHD Business Planning Workshops.
This event is all about bringing neurodivergent business owners together in a safe space where you can connect with others and also plan for your business! You can read more information here.
If you’d rather have something one-on-one or more in-depth to hold you accountable to achieve them, then please book in a discovery call, I’d love to hear more about your business.
This blog has been written with the help of Jenny from JP Content & Copy.
