Do you want to get better at the flute? How about start your music career? If you want to get better at something, you need to know how to set the best goals.
For better or worse, every goal is a bit different. Luckily, you can follow the same process to make sure whatever goal you set will work for you. Here are some of the best goal-setting tips!
What Makes for the Best Goals?
Setting the best goals can be difficult, and there’s no one way to do it. You have to think about what you want this year. Then, you can follow the SMART method to set a good goal.
When you can set a specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based goal, you will have a better chance of meeting your goal.
How to Set the Best Goals
If you know how set the best goals, you can work toward your dreams. You can get better at your flute playing. Or you can even start your music career.
Think about what you want to do during the upcoming year. Then, follow these tips to set the best goals you can.
Know Your Ideal Lifestyle
First, you need to know what kind of life you want to live. Consider how much free time you want each week or day. Think about if or how much you want to be able to travel or visit family.
Knowing what you want out of life can help you set goals that make sense. For example, if you don’t want to spend all day in a practice room, a good goal would be to practice for an hour a day instead of five hours a day.
Maybe you want to be able to sleep in and so need to do stuff in the afternoons. Or perhaps you don’t want to travel a ton to gigs. All of these things can help you set the best goals.
Consider Your Income Goals
If you’re setting career goals, you may want to think about how much money you need to afford your dream lifestyle. Then, you can set goals that will help you earn enough money and have time for stuff outside of work and music.
Think about where you live and the average cost of living. Consider if you have roommates or a partner to split living costs with. You can also think about if you want to work hourly or on salary.
Then, you’ll be able to figure out how much you need to work. If you have a private studio, you might decide you want to teach from home or online to keep from having to commute.
Set Goals You Can Control
You can set a ton of different goals, but a lot of them are out of your control. A good goal is one that you have a bit of control over. Maybe you want to go viral and get a million views on a music video you post.
Instead of setting that as your goal, you may aim to promote the video once a week. The more you promote the video, the better the chance you have of getting views.
By having a bit of control over your goal, you can make sure you’ll reach the goal. Then, you won’t have to rely on outside factors to help.
Review the Last Year
You should also take a look back at the previous year and any goals you set. Did you meet any of those goals? If not, did you come close to your goal? Either way, think about what you did to help reach your goal.
If you met a goal, think about how you can push yourself a bit more. And if you didn’t meet a goal, consider what kept you from that. Maybe it was a busy schedule, or something unexpected came up.
For example, I wanted to release a few courses this year. I got sidetracked with client work and other projects. But I have a course in the works to release in early 2022.
Make It a Bit Scary
Another thing to help you set the best goals is to put yourself a bit out of your comfort zone. If you stick to goals that don’t scare you, sure, you’ll meet them. But you may not want to work as hard to reach your goals.
You don’t have to choose a goal that absolutely terrifies you. For example, if you’ve never had a symphony job, you may not want to set a goal to audition for the New York Philharmonic.
But if you’ve played in an orchestra, you might audition for a local symphony. Then, you can slowly work your way up to bigger and bigger orchestras.
Write It Down
No matter what goal you set, be sure to write it down somewhere. You can write your goals on a piece or paper, in a notebook, or in your phone’s notes app. Try to write your goals somewhere that you will see them often.
Writing down your goals can help make them seem real. It can also help you hold yourself accountable, especially if you see the goals every day. You can even write down things that will motivate you to work towards your goals.
If you have bigger goals, you may want to write down smaller steps. Then, you can check off smaller objectives.
Example Goals
Maybe you want to play in a new ensemble in the next year. You could set a goal to audition for said ensemble. But then, you break it down and make your goal something like practicing for an hour a day.
If you want to start your private music studio, one of the best goals for you would be to get your first student. You might then set a goal to promote your studio to five local band directors to help get that student.
How Will You Set the Best Goals for You?
Setting the best goals depends on your situation and what you want for yourself. But you can follow a few steps to make sure you set goals that are worth working for.
Do you have a goal to practice regularly? Download The Busy Musician’s Practice Bundle!