Research conducted by Gail Matthews, a professor of psychology at Dominican University in California can help increase your chances of goal success from 43% to 76%.
In working with 149 adults from different business and networking groups, Matthews found that
- Those who wrote their goals accomplished significantly more than those who did not write their goals. (+18 percentage points)
- Those who sent their commitments to a friend accomplished significantly more than those who wrote action commitments or did not write their goals. (+21 percentage points)
- Those who sent weekly progress reports to their friend accomplished significantly more than those who had unwritten goals, wrote their goals, formulated action commitments or sent those action commitments to a friend. (+33 percentage points)
Importantly, Matthews found that the improvement held up on goals ranging from completing a project, increasing income, increasing productivity, getting organized, enhancing performance/achievement, enhancing life balance, reducing work anxiety or learning a new skill.
Ready to stack the deck in your favor with a key goal for this year?
- Write it down.
- Email it to a friend.
- Set up a recurring meeting to send your friend a progress report.
Yes, you’ll be making yourself vulnerable and accountable—but you’ll also be setting yourself up for success. Here’s to a successful and goal achieving 2018!
Learn more about Matthews study here.
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