Break down your goals
A goal that seems enormous at first glance becomes much more manageable when you divide it into small, attainable steps. Here’s an example:

Elaine wants to eliminate her credit card debt, so she’s created the following goal: “Beginning this month, I will eliminate my $5000 credit card debt in six months."

Here’s where the "how" part of the equation comes in. Elaine’s not focusing on the large $5000 amount, but instead has broken it up into smaller, manageable chunks (about $833 plus interest). She then figures out how she can chip away at that $833 each month by creating action steps.

She’s decided to bring a lunch to work each day instead of dining out ($140 a month), referee three high school and middle school soccer games a week ($500 a month) and get a roommate ($300 a month). By doing these things, Elaine will actually exceed her initial goal—and can reward herself with a night on the town for all her work!

How you partition your goals is up to you—the most important part of creating action steps is to make them attainable so that you don’t get discouraged.

Implement your plan
Follow your action steps and track your progress. You might even find the act of crossing off these “to-do’s” addictive. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you get off-track. All you need to do is review your goals and adjust them appropriately. Remember, there are often many routes to the same result.