If you are trying to achieve a goal, the more often that you monitor your progress, the greater the likelihood that you will succeed, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. Your chances of success are even more likely if you report your progress publicly or physically record it.
"Monitoring goal progress is a crucial process that comes into play between setting and attaining a goal, ensuring that the goals are translated into action," said lead author Benjamin Harkin, PhD, of the University of Sheffield. The study appears in the journal Psychological Bulletin. "This review suggests that prompting progress monitoring improves behavioral performance and the likelihood of attaining one's goals."
Harkin and his colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 138 studies comprising 19,951 participants that looked at the effectiveness of an intervention or treatment designed to prompt participants to monitor their goal progress. The studies focused primarily on personal health goals such as losing weight, quitting smoking, changing diet or lowering blood pressure. They found that prompting participants to monitor their progress toward a goal increased the likelihood that the participants would achieve that goal. Furthermore, the more frequent the monitoring, the greater the chance of success.
Additionally, the researchers found that prompting participants to monitor changes in behavior had a significant effect on those behaviors but not on the related outcomes (which may be the ultimate goal). In contrast, prompting participants to monitor progress toward actual outcome had a significant effect on the outcome but not the related behavior. For example, prompting people in a weight loss program to regularly watch what they eat may result in a change in diet, but not necessarily achieve the ultimate goal of weight loss, but prompting them to regularly weigh themselves may result in a change in weight, but not necessarily changes in associated behaviors, such as watching what they eat or exercising.
"The implication of this finding is if you want to change your diet, then monitor what you are eating, but if you want to lose weight, then focus on monitoring your weight," said Harkin.
Additional analysis revealed that monitoring progress had an even greater effect if the information was physically recorded or publicly reported. For example, people who belong to weight loss groups where they regularly weigh themselves in front of other members have a greater chance of achieving their weight loss goals, Harkin said.
"Our findings are of relevance to those interested in changing their behavior and achieving their goals, as well as to those who want to help them, like weight loss programs, money advice agencies or sport coaches," said Harkin. "Prompting people to monitor their progress can help them to achieve their goals, but some methods of monitoring are better than others. Specifically, we would recommend that people be encouraged to record, report or make public what they find out as they assess their progress."
FAQs
Summary: If you are trying to achieve a goal, the more often that you monitor your progress, the greater the likelihood that you will succeed, according to research. Your chances of success are even more likely if you report your progress publicly or physically record it.
How do you monitor the progress of those goals? ›
How can you monitor progress and adjust plans to achieve goals?
- Set SMART goals.
- Choose relevant indicators. Be the first to add your personal experience.
- Use effective tools. ...
- Review and communicate regularly. ...
- Celebrate achievements and learn from challenges. ...
- Here's what else to consider.
By measuring progress towards your goals, you can stay focused and motivated, identify areas where you need to improve, and make adjustments to your strategy to ensure that you achieve your objectives.
What are the benefits of tracking your goals? ›
It helps you measure progress. Tracking your goals allows you to see how far you've come and how close you are to reaching your goal. This can be a great motivator to keep going. Measuring your progress is important because it allows you to see how far you've come and how close you are to reaching your goal.
What does it mean to monitor your progress when you follow an action plan Why is it helpful? ›
Monitoring Progress and Making Adjustments. Once you have created a solid action plan, the next step is to monitor progress and make adjustments as needed. This process is crucial to ensure that you are on track to achieve your goals and that you are using your time and resources effectively.
Why is monitoring progress important? ›
Progress monitoring is an important tool for teachers. We all know that there is no perfect intervention program or instructional strategy, and so progress monitoring gives teachers a way to know which students their instruction is working for and which students are not benefiting from that instruction.
What are some examples of progress monitoring? ›
Examples include: – Exit tickets, – Quizzes, – Observing students as they work, – Asking students questions, and – Looking at student work. It can be informal (for example, scanning the room to see who is on task who is not) or formal (for example, examining assessment scores).
What is a key part of monitoring goals? ›
A key component in goal monitoring is accountability. If the individuals responsible for accomplishing the goal don't take ownership of it, then goal monitoring becomes a challenge.
What is monitoring and improving performance? ›
Monitoring is the process of collecting data about a system or process in order to identify trends or issues. This data can be used to help improve performance by making changes to the system or process. Monitoring can be done manually or automatically.
Why it is important to monitor and review your goal? ›
It's important to review your goals regularly to ensure you're making progress and staying on track. The frequency with which you should review your goals can depend on the nature of the goals themselves. However, a common recommendation is to review them regularly to ensure you're making progress and staying on track.
The Value Creating a Plan and Tracking Progress
Tracking progress is crucial because it's the ultimate check on how good your planning was. This data can then be used to make informed decisions about whether the goal is achievable or whether adjustments need to be made.
What does goal tracking mean? ›
Goal tracking is the process of establishing goals, determining the steps (objectives) needed to meet those goals, and then measuring progress toward those goals. In this quick guide, we'll show you: Why goal tracking matters.
What does track your progress mean? ›
Progress Tracking is an essential component of the modern business world. It is defined as the process of monitoring and measuring progress towards a set of predetermined outcomes or objectives. It is used to measure the progress of a project, program or initiative over a given period of time.
How do you monitor action plans for progress? ›
Completing a set of goals in your action plan and updating the rubric annually can help you track progress and show improvement. Further, reassessing the status of your policies, procedures, and practices can help you think beyond the measurement of individual action steps to the evaluation of your efforts as a whole.
How would you measure the progress and outcome of the goal set? ›
Break down your goals into smaller, manageable tasks. Create a timeline with deadlines for each task, allowing you to track your progress incrementally. Regularly review and adjust your plan based on the achieved milestones and any challenges encountered.
