Benefits of setting objectives

SKILL: 4. Working both collaboratively and autonomously

EQF LEVEL (INTERNAL REFERENCE):   3

Keywords: 

1 SMART

2 Objectives

3 Planning

4 Goals

5 Progress

Introduction: 

By the end of this LU, you will be able to understand the benefits of setting objectives.

Content:

Setting objectives helps us progress and plan for the future. It can help us improve our capability, skills and performance. 

Here are some benefits of setting objectives:

1. Provide direction: Objectives give you purpose, motivate you to take action and provide a clear roadmap to follow everyday, enabling you to move closer towards that achievement. It means that you understand what is most important to you and provides a clear timeline. They help you make better decisions and manage your time effectively.
2. Give you focus: Objectives give you a clear focus for your time and energy. They set out your intentions and desires of what you want your life to look like. They also give you a clear daily focus which helps you achieve better and faster results. 
3. Greater productivity: They provide specific measurements and achievements to work on each day, thus increasing productivity. Monthly, quarterly and annual goals give you a measuring indication to track your progress daily, weekly and monthly. 
4. Give you clarity: Goals give you clarity on what’s most important to you in life.  Having goals clarifies the future you want to create for yourself with measurements and deadlines. Without goals, you waste time on activities that stop you from moving forward in life. 
5. Provide accountability: Goals give you greater accountability.  Having a goal ensures you are crystal clear on what you want to achieve and the importance of achieving that goal.  They help you visualise yourself in the future and inspire you to take action every day.
6. Better decision making: Setting objectives helps you create better boundaries around your time and focus, which improves decision-making. When something comes up, having clear objectives allows you to make decisions about whether to take action or not. 
7. Give you control over your future: Without objectives, you lack direction and give others the power to choose how you would spend your time and what you should focus on. Objectives give you direction and motivation to take actions to achieve your goals. 
8. Provide motivation: Objectives and goals increase excitement and inspiration. When your objectives are exciting you are motivated to take action, even when you don't feel like it. 
9. Give you inspiration to take action everyday: Measurable objectives allow you to track the progress you are making everyday towards your goals. When you see how far you have come, you are even more motivated to carry on. 

The benefits of setting goals include greater direction, greater focus, increased productivity, and higher levels of motivation.  Setting goals that are specific and measurable can transform your habits, your mindset, your confidence, and your daily actions.

Resources:

• https://lucemiconsulting.co.uk/benefits-of-goal-setting/#:~:text=The%20benefits%20of%20setting%20goals,confidence%2C%20and%20your%20daily%20actions. 

Language Point 

Using the gerund as the subject of a sentence. 

A gerund is a verb ending in -ing that is used as a noun in a sentence. The Gerund can be used for different reasons but here we will focus on the gerund as the subject of a sentence. 

For example:

Setting objectives helps us progress and plan for the future.

It is easy to form a gerund. Simply choose an infinitive form of a verb, add an -ing at the end of this, and use it as a noun in your sentence. In a subject position, the gerund will be the main focus or what the sentence is about. The gerund here is performing the action in the sentence.