Most singers that step inside my studio have an aspiration to become a better singer but they have no plan of what that really looks like or how they will achieve their goals.
And the biggest reason you’ll want to start setting goals now and not leave it entirely in the hands of fate is that it puts you in the driving seat of your development as a singer.
So, what do you want to achieve by this time next year?
Because it doesn’t matter how big or small your dreams are, if you’re not clear on what and how you’ll get there progress will be slow and you’ll likely lose motivation, confidence and a general direction.
In this blog post, I’m sharing how you can start setting achievable long-term and short-term goals and how to manage them so that you can start seeing changes in your singing voice in as little as a year!
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Hi, I'm Rebecca! And I truly love everything about the art, science, and teaching of singing. If you're looking to build an effective and healthier singing technique so that you can sing with more ease and confidence, then you're in the right place! Here's a few other blog posts you might also like to read:
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HOW TO SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS: #1 LONG-TERM GOALS
You’ll want to kickstart the process of with setting long term goals.
What do you want to have achieved in the next 10-years? What’s the big goal?
Do you want to have the confidence to join a local amateur group? Become a professional singer? Record an album?
Because it doesn’t matter how big or small your dreams are, you’ll need to be clear and specific about what you want to achieve in the long term.
Take a couple of hours (or even days) to brain dump or journal out your thoughts and get to what you really want to achieve with your singing.
To avoid overwhelm, I would suggest having no more than 3 long term goals. And set deadlines so you have a time limit to work towards.
Once you know where you want to be in 10 years, you’ll now need to work backwards.
What action will you need to take in order to achieve your 10 year goals? What do you need to achieve in 5-years, for example?
The key to setting achievable goals is to take action.
Put your 10 year and 5 year goals up somewhere where you’ll see them every day and be reminded of what you’re working towards.
HOW TO SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS: #2 SHORT-TERM GOALS
Once you're clear on your long term goals it’s time to set your short term goals.
What do you want to achieve in the next year?
Do you need to improve your singing technique? Do you need to expand your repertoire? Or do you need to start networking to build industry connections?
Your short term goals should always serve to move you closer to your long term goals.
So, what actions do you need to do right now to get you started?
Again, so that your short term goals remain achievable, set no more than 3 short term goals.
Once you’re clear on your overall goals for the next year, break them down even further using smaller goals or milestones.
Setting quarterly and monthly milestones can help to keep you on track and moving towards those long term goals.
Put your 1 year goals and milestones up somewhere where you’ll see them every day and be reminded of what you’re working towards.
HOW TO SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS: #3 MANAGING YOUR GOALS
Keeping to your goals can easily get messy and sometimes life gets in the way.
But the key to achieving your goals is to take action. Even small action.
Here’s what you’ll need to do to manage your goals and keep up the momentum.
1. You’ll want your 10 year, 5-year and 1-year goals and milestones written/typed out and put them somewhere where you’ll see them every day.
Printable PowerSheets from Cultivate What Matters are great for setting out your long term and short term goals.
2. Make it part of your morning routine to read them every day.
They’ll serve as a powerful reminder of what you’re working towards. This alone will help inspire you to keep on track and motivated.
3. Free your mind from clutter and overwhelm by tracking your progress using free digital project management tools, like Trello and Asana.
Both the desktop and phone apps are great for organising your tasks, creating reminders, and scheduling deadlines.
Traditional paper diaries or planners also work just as well, if you prefer paper.
4. Celebrate achieving the even the smallest of goals or milestones.
This will help you keep motivated in the long term and inspire you to keep going.
I hope you see that by taking a little time now to set achievable long term and short goals you’ll take control of your development and see faster results with your singing in just one year.
If you found this helpful, let me know in the comments below what your next action step is.
