Have you thought about career goals for 2025? There are many approaches to this. Perhaps the most familiar is “SMART” -- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. Whichever framework you use, I’d like to draw attention to the choice between outcome-driven vs. activity-driven goals. I’ve used both in my career, and in my experience I’ve not found either to be consistently better than the other. It’s more a matter of what works for you at any point in time, or under any set of circumstances.

Outcome-oriented goals target an explicitly described goal. For funding, this could mean “Have a proposal funded by the end of 2025” or “Receive at least $200k in funding in 2025.” I’ve found the strength of this approach comes from the possibilities it opens. Often, with outcome-oriented goals, we haven’t fully worked out the ‘how.’ But it is by setting the goal that the ‘how’ begins to reveal itself. This is because we begin to take notice of opportunities to work towards that goal once the goal itself is set.

If you’re shopping for a new car and exploring a particular brand and model, you’ll notice that specific car on the road, seemingly, everywhere. Outcome-oriented goals help us take advantage of this change in our perception habits. By setting a goal, anything related to that goal will come to our attention. Outcome goals also provide inspiration -- an important source of motivation.

In contrast, activity-oriented goals target the how. That is what you will do, regardless of its outcome. The activities chosen are ones that are predicted to lead to desired outcomes. For funding, this may be “I will send one funding-related inquiry each week” or “I will make one LinkedIn post each week.” The idea is that by sending emails and posting, your network will expand and more opportunities will follow.

Activity-oriented goals avoid the pressure of feeling that only certain outcomes are valuable and help you keep outcomes more open-ended. They can also feel more “bite-sized” since what you need to do is usually broken down into smaller steps. Perhaps the simplest example is drinking a glass of water before getting out of bed each morning. That action could support someone in all kinds of health- and-fitness-related aims.

As we start the new year, focus on whichever approach to goals appeals to you right now. Has it been a long time since you’ve imagined new possibilities? Are you feeling the need for inspiration? If so, focus on outcome-oriented goals. When you set these, really do dream. Imagine yourself hearing news that you have been funded. Engage all of your senses as you visualize your future success and allow yourself to feel the emotions of having achieved that goal. Then, move into the weeks and months ahead knowing that the opportunities (the how’s) needed to reach the goal will materialize. You just need to keep your eyes open and be ready to act on them.

On the other hand, if you do feel like you know where you’re headed but have been bogged down in overwhelm, then setting activity-oriented goals may be the better approach. Take a step back and consider what important activities keep getting bumped from your to-do list. Set goals related to those and decide when you will do them. Early in the day is usually best, and you might use an accountability tracker on your phone to keep track of streaks. That way, you can make progress even if you’re experiencing a period of chaos and overload.

Let me encourage you to set goals for 2025 before the end of January. You will be surprised how much progress you can make in just one hour doing this. Explore the planning frameworks out there, or just sit down with a pen and paper and make a simple list. A maximum of five goals is usually recommended. Keep in mind that many funding cycles are longer than one year when you add in the outreach and whitepaper periods, so adjust as needed. Have fun, and dream big! And, Happy New Year.

Using plain language in your proposals

Are you familiar with the term plain language? Check out my video on what this is and how you can considering leveraging it in your proposals.

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