How To Set and Reach Your Daily Targets

Are you struggling with reaching your professional and personal daily targets? 

In this article, we’ll share practical tips on how to reach your daily targets, the benefits of setting daily goals, and what to have in mind when deciding upon your goals.

• To reach your daily goals, you should align them with larger goals.
• A time tracker like Clockify helps you track your daily goals and monitor their progress.
• Setting goals is beneficial because it makes you accountable, prevents you from procrastinating, and helps you keep track of your overall progress.
• When deciding on the number of daily goals, don’t set more than 5 or 6 per day.   
• Leave some hours of the day unscheduled, because unexpected tasks can happen. 

Practical strategies for reaching your daily targets

If you’re not sure where to start and how to make a list of your daily targets, here are some strategies that can help you.

Strategy #1: Align your daily targets with larger goals

Christine Songco is a certified health and wellness coach. She advises starting with the end in mind — breaking a larger goal into monthly, weekly, and daily goals:

“Block out specific chunks of time in your planner for each goal and don’t forget to include breaks in between. This keeps the work schedule simple and organized so you can crush your daily goals with greater success.”

Strategy #2: Track your daily goals

If you don’t know how much time you’ll need for each daily goal, you should track your targets with a goal-tracking app like Clockify by CAKE.com. 

You can add your long-term goals as projects in Clockify and then add your daily goals as tasks within the project. Then, whenever you begin working on your goal, start the timer and stop it when you’re done.

With Clockify, you’ll be able to track your progress — the app shows you exactly how much time you’ve already spent on your goal and how much you have left to do.

Another handy option for a goal tracker is to set estimates for particular activities. Just add the estimates for your project and start tracking time. Next, when you complete that goal, be sure to compare the estimated with tracked time. For example, you can compare your results every week. 

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Strategy #3: Find a schedule that’s suitable for you

According to Mandy Kloppers, a cognitive behavioral therapist, when setting your daily goals, you need to be flexible. Mandy highlights that you need to find a daily routine that fits your needs:

“You have 2 options: Begin with the goal you most prefer, to encourage momentum for the rest of the day or begin with your least favorite tasks and get them out of the way.”

The latter is an idea behind the “Eat that frog” time management technique, which many people consider useful.

Strategy #4: Focus on the process, not the outcome

To prevent yourself from making unrealistic plans, Mandy Kloppers suggests noting down the amount of time you will spend on a particular activity instead of how much you will do:

“If you tell yourself you must work through 10 files and you don’t do it, you’ll feel you’ve failed and not give yourself any credit for what you’ve done. On the other hand, if you set yourself an hour to go through files, then how much you do won’t be relevant.”

She points out that you need to reward the effort, not the outcome.

Strategy #5: Craft your daily goals around the Pareto Principle

To tie your goals to the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, think about the tasks that are most significant, the ones that contribute to your success. According to the Pareto Principle, 80% of outputs come from 20% of your input (your work). 

Once you decide on your goals, make a daily target to complete these assignments first. Dedicate more time to these goals and spend the rest of the day doing other tasks.

For example, if testers get to fix 20% of the most common bugs, they’ll eliminate 80% of errors and crashes. In a way, 20% of the work brings the most value, which means that you need to pay closer attention to that part of the job. 

Strategy #6: Don’t quit when you get distracted

Angila Liam, a psychologist, highlights that, when it comes to reaching your daily targets, you’re allowed to slip, but not to quit. One of the most common ways to slip is to get distracted, which Angila believes is normal:

“All you need to do is to get back on track and start where you left. The other approach, to quit things, can be really dangerous. Always find a way to start again instead of leaving it all because it’s never too late.”

What to have in mind when setting daily targets

Here are some general guidelines for setting your daily goals. 

Try not to set too many goals per day

Avoid setting more than 5 or 6 daily targets. The number should be fewer if you need more time for each goal. 

Angila Liam points out that your goals have to be realistic and achievable. That way, you won’t end up feeling overwhelmed and unproductive if you fail to attain them:

“If you feel unable to deal with a number of goals and feel disheartened, you can even start at 1 and build up your pace. This way you’ll get a sense of winning even when you’re starting low.“

Track your goals with Clockify

Don’t schedule every hour of the day

When crafting a list of your daily targets, be sure to leave some buffer time for unexpected tasks or situations.

You never know what your day will look like, so it’s important to leave some time unscheduled. 

Always write down your daily goals

It’s vital that you jot down all your targets for the day. You can do it either the night before or first thing in the morning. 

You can create this list in a spreadsheet, use an app, or try our free goal-setting templates — available in Docs, PDF, and Sheets. 

The benefits of setting daily targets

Let’s see why you should set these daily goals in the first place.

Benefit #1: It makes you accountable

Setting your daily goals and writing them down will make you responsible for achieving them.

The generation effect explains that people will memorize more information when writing them on their own, compared to reading. 

When you jot down your goals for a day, you have a visual reminder of what you need to complete by the end of the day. Thus, you’ll feel accountable for accomplishing all the goals for the day.

Set daily targets with Clockify

Benefit #2: It helps you keep track of your overall progress

Having daily goals will help you monitor your progress on long-term targets. 

If you’re satisfied with your current results, you’ll be motivated to carry on.

If you’re not happy with your progress, you should modify your daily targets. 

Let’s say that your goal is to lose 20 pounds in 2 months. To achieve that goal, you’ll need to follow your weight loss routine every day. You should monitor your progress every week or every 2 weeks. 

Benefit #3: It prevents you from procrastinating

Setting daily goals will help you avoid procrastination.

If you think of your daily targets as part of your long-term goal, then every day counts. Reaching the goals you set for one day will bring you closer to the finish line (larger goal). So you’ll be motivated to keep up the work you’ve done so far, and you’ll focus on completing your daily goals.

Track daily goals with Clockify by CAKE.com

If you prefer digital over paper, opt for a goal-tracking app like Clockify to set and track daily goals. 

With Clockify Calendar, you have an overview of your tasks and goals during the week. No matter whether you track your time with a Timer, Timesheets, Auto tracker, or Kiosk, time tracking data will be visible in the Calendar. 

In the upper row of Clockify Calendar, you’ll see your Planned tasks, which is a neat way to ensure you add your daily targets. If you want your goals to appear like this, head to Scheduling and add them as assignments. 

Seeing your goals in the Calendar will ensure that you stick to your plan. It will also motivate you to carry on.

Another way to track your daily goals is to use an online Pomodoro timer. Just choose the length of your work interval — which is usually 25 minutes followed by a 5-minute break — and start working. You can even activate the Focus mode, which shows you only worked vs. remaining time.

If you’re also looking for a way to collaborate with your colleagues when working on your daily targets, then check out CAKE.com Bundle. This Productivity Suite includes Clockify time tracker, Pumble for team communication, and Plaky for task and project management.

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