5 Goal Setting (And Adjusting) Tips With COVID 19

We’re just entering into 2020’s second quarter, and under normal circumstances, we should all be
focusing on the goals that we set for ourselves back in January and assessing our progress towards
them.

However, now that the Coronavirus has turned all of our lives upside down, what does this mean for our business-related goals? How can we adjust to accommodate the changes?

1. Don’t be Afraid to Move The Goalposts

The most important thing to consider is the impact that the current pandemic is having on your
business. Some companies will have had to shut down completely, others may have seen a
significant reduction in their customer numbers. Either way, you’re going to have to make some
changes to your long-term and short-term goal-setting.

If your business is closed down for the foreseeable future or operating on a severely limited basis,
you’re certainly not going to see the profits that you’d projected for the end of the quarter, or even
for the end of the year. After all, nobody knows how long the lockdown is going to last.

I know that moving the goalposts that you’ve set for yourself and your business part way through
the year may seem to be an admission of failure but these are exceptional circumstances. Embrace
the change and don’t be afraid to make adjustments.

Once you have clear adjusted goals in mind you’ll be able to focus more clearly on them, even in today’s challenging climate, and will have something to work towards even in these difficult circumstances.

2. Think Outside The Box

Desperate times like these call for radical change, and the best businesses are those that can be flexible and adaptable to fluctuating situations. Review your goals and examine how you can adapt them to accommodate the current economic climate. Perhaps your original plan was to increase the number of customers in your physical store by 10% over the next quarter. You have to be realistic – that isn’t going to happen now. However, you could adjust the goal. By making slight changes, you can alter the goal to increase the number of customers in your online store by 10% instead.

3. Change Your Goals Completely

In some cases, your original goals are going to be completely unachievable now. You need to accept
that. However, that doesn’t mean you should rest on your laurels during this crisis or give up
completely. The most successful business owners are those who accept the need for change and
who are willing to make those changes. If you can’t adjust the goals that you have to accommodate
the new situation, completely change them. For example, if your goal was to increase the number of
diners in your restaurant by 15%, scrap it and replace it to establish an online food
service operation and attract back a realistic percentage of your regular customers.

4. Postpone And Re-Evaluate

In some cases, there will be no other solution for you than to put your business goals on hold. If
you’re a hairdresser, tattoo artist, or beautician, for example, there’s nothing you can do right now to
adapt your business to the current circumstances. This means you’ll have to postpone your goals
until such times as it’s business as usual again. That doesn’t mean you should despair, give up, or just
let things slide. Use the time wisely to re-evaluate your strategies. Look at areas where you may be
able to make improvements and check to ensure your goals were realistic in the first place. You’ll be
able to hit the ground running as soon as lockdown is over.

5. Plan For The Future

Not only should you be re-evaluating your goals for this year, but if there’s one thing that this crisis has
thrown up it’s the potential problems that businesses can face when problems arise. Look further
ahead for your future goal planning. Plan yourself goals that have been disaster-proofed as much as
possible. Look at ways to prevent yourself from losing out in a future crisis like this one.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a worrying time for all business owners, it’s important to look
for the positives in the situation and harness it to your advantage as much as possible. Whenever
you can, adjust your goals to accommodate the changing circumstances and be as flexible as
possible to adapt to the situation. The Coronavirus lockdown won’t be forever, and you need to
make sure that your business is ready when it comes to an end.