Getting Goals Right: How to Process Your Progress

How do you know when you're on track to achieve your professional and personal goals? Here are six steps to evaluate your progress:

Choose the Right Time. Evaluate your progress as soon as possible. For an event, evaluate immediately after your finish. For a long-term project, evaluate progress intermittently.
Choose the Right Attitude. Use your evaluation process as a learning tool, not as a blame or punishment exercise. Focus on how you can move forward to achieve better results.
Identify Outcomes. What were all the end results of your actions (not just the ones you were expecting)? Looking broadly at all outcomes makes it easier to identify successes.
Compare Outcomes with Your Objectives. Did you meet your goals? Do this step after identifying outcomes, or you might miss unexpected successes unrelated to your original goal.
Identify Key Lessons. What did you learn from your experience? Be sure to include both new information you learned as well as beliefs that you confirmed or disproved.
Adjust Your Course. Make plans to move forward based on what you've learned. Set new measures of success. Be flexible if your plans have changed.