Many studies have shown that writing down your goals drastically increases your chances to achieve them. Obviously, it's only the first step, you will need to take action to actually make things happen. However, writing down your goals is a fundamental step toward success because of the clarity it brings us. Often, a lack of clarity is the reason why we remain paralyzed and we procrastinate. How can we make plans if we don't even know where we're going? It is easier to stay on track when we have a clear destination.
The clarity you will get by formulating your goals will create a deep emotional and intellectual connection that will motivate you to take action. It will also allow you to stay away from shiny object disguised as opportunities. Because you know what you want, you'll stay on track, no matter what.
And the best part of knowing exactly what your goals are is that it allows you to measure your progress and gives you opportunities to celebrate when a goal is attained. 

In his book Your Best Year Ever, Michael Hyatt describes the 7 attributes of effective goals under the acronym S.M.A.R.T.E.R.

1. Specific.

"Focus is power".

The more specific a goal is, the more likely we are to engage our focus and energy to attain it. Therefore, you need to identify exactly what you want to accomplish. If you just set a vague goal such as "lose weight" or "exercise more", you will not feel inspired enough to take action.

2. Measurable.
You need to be able to know whether the goal is attained or not, which is why you need to determine clear criteria of success: a precise amount of money, a distance or a place, a number of time you execute an action, etc.

3. Actionable.
A simple trick to make your goal actionable is to use a strong verb instead of words like be, become, or have. Wanting to become a writer is not actionable, but WRITING a certain number of words per day is. And the difference is extremely powerful.

4. Risky.
Usually, the R stands for Realistic, but for Michael Hyatt, the problem with setting realistic goals is that we tend to set the bar too low because of our aversion for risk. A goal should be risky enough to stretch us and challenge us.

5. Time-keyed.
To be effective, a goal needs a deadline, a frequency or a time trigger.
If the goal is to achieve a specific outcome, then you need to decide a date when this outcome should be attained. Be careful however not to set distant deadlines that will make you procrastinate because you will feel like you still have a lot of time.
If the goal is tied to a habit or behavior that you want to adopt, then a you need to state a frequency and time triggers. For example: I will write 3 times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, for 3 hours between 10 a:m and 1 p:m

6. Exciting.
You are more likely to act upon a goal if it you enjoy it and if it motivates you internally. So ask yourself:
- Does this goal inspire me?
- Am I willing to do the work in order to make it happen?

7. Relevant
You need to set goals that are relevant to your current circumstances, and align with your values. Make sure that you won't have to sacrifice some parts of your personal and family life to reach this goal. For example, if you have young kids and it's important to you to spend time with them and see them grow, ask yourself if it's compatible with this big promotion or if it"s the right time to go all in on your business.

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