Timely
The last principle of effective goal setting is making the goal timely. The length of your wellness challenge is a major
consideration and it can endanger your challenge’s success if it is extended out too far. In order to encourage participants
to continue in the challenge with maximum effort, you must make the end of the challenge in the near future: one or two
months. Even though the overall wellness program goals will be focused over the long-term, break the period up into
bite-sized chunks. This provides two major motivators for your participants:
- Shorter periods are easier for participants to maintain their focus and less chance for interruptions (sickness,
family emergency, etc.)
- The next challenge will be available for participants to compete in if he or she falls behind or fails in the
current challenge.
The “Timely” concept can also apply to the feedback participants receive from the program administrator. Timely feedback on
participant standings in the challenge is a major motivator. This will be discussed in depth in the “Running the Challenge”
chapter.