Setting goals is essential for planning your future and launching your career. Every goal you set, whether it is short term or long term, personal or professional, should bring you one step closer to what you want to achieve in life. Setting goals has helped me have a clear sense of what I want to accomplish and create a plan of action to help me achieve it.

Here are five tips on how to set goals that will help you succeed now and throughout your career:

Set both short term and long term goals

Your short term goals should be set up to help you achieve your long term goals in the future. Try setting goals for 30 days, 90 days, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years. Although that may seem like a lot, setting multiple goals will motivate you to be ambitious and accomplish more!

Make sure your goals are realistic

Set goals that are conceivable.  Setting goals that you are unlikely to achieve in a given time period can cause you to get down on yourself and give up. If you are unsure about whether or not a goal is feasible, try setting smaller goals first and building up to your bigger goals later.

Set a deadline

Set a specific date that you want to achieve your goal by. Plan out how much time you think it will take to finish your goal and set a deadline. This will help establish a sense of urgency and push you to work harder.

Be specific

Know exactly what you want to accomplish. Instead of saying “I want to get an internship” say “I want to get an internship in the accounting department at this company.” That will help narrow your objectives and make it easier to measure your success.

Hold yourself accountable

Don’t just set goals and then forget about them. Check on yourself and monitor your progress along the way. Ask yourself , "How am I doing?" "What else do I need to do to make sure I accomplish this goal?"

Stay determined and focused. Each time you accomplish a goal, it's time to repeat the process!