If you're anything like me, at this time of year you'll be starting to think about setting some new goals for the new year. I would always create some sort of new year's resolution like 'drink more water' or 'read more books' and then forget about them within the first few weeks.
At the end of 2017, I set myself goals for 2018. This was the first year I successfully achieved these goals and I'd like to share with you how I planned them out effectively so I could achieve them. Hopefully these tips will be useful for you too!
1. Think about what you want
This is the most simple and most fun part! Simply think about the things that you want to achieve. What is missing from your life? What would you like to do more of? What would you like to have more of? In what areas would you like to improve? Think about where you would like to be in five or ten years time, and what steps you would need to take to get there.
You can be as creative as you like with this too. I just love a good list, but you could mind map, mood board, draw pictures etc for this part.
2. Choose your focus
Once you have thought about your goals, dreams, what you would like to achieve, it's time to narrow these down. Some of them may be quite similar and fit into the same category so put these together. Really think about which ones are most important to you and choose a manageable number. I think around 4 or 5 goals for different areas of your life is a good amount. Too many more, and it becomes unmanageble and we'll lose interest.
3. Break it down
Now you should have your 4 or 5 goals that you want to focus on. The next step I found worked for me was to make the goals measureable. For example, if the goal is to 'read more books', think about how many you would like to read. Break it down into how many books you will need to read each month to achieve the goal. Make sure it's challenging but realistic. If your goal is to 'save more money', think about an amount that you would like to have reached by the end of the year. Work out how much you will need to save each month in order to get there. Again, make sure it's an amount that challenges you but is realistic.
4. Set reminders
Once you have broken each goal down into manageable chunks, set reminders in your calendar for when you will check in with yourself around these goals. I did a monthly review at the end of each month in 2018 to reflect back on my highlights and what I had achieved in that month. I also did quarterly check ins at the end of every 3 months (so the end of March, June, September and December) where I could see if I'd reached where I wanted to be by that point. Allow yourself to be flexible with your goals too. If it becomes clear at the end of March that one of your goals was unrealistic, reasses that goal. Do you need to change it to make it more manageable? What changes can you make in the next quarter to help you catch up? It's better to change your goal to be more realistic than to give up on it altogether.
5. Share your goals
I understand that sometimes our goals can be very private and may not be something we want to share, however, I do think there is a lot of value in being held accountable. Sharing our goals means we are more likely to stick to them, as we know other people know about them. If we keep them to ourselves it's easy to let them slip and give up when they get challenging - and much easier if we know no one's checking up on us! Consider sharing your goals with a close friend or family member, or post on social media. Even if no one checks up on you, just the fact you have put it out there in the world makes you want to stick to it more.
I hope these tips were useful! Do you like to set goals or just go with the flow? I'd love to hear what your goals are for next year if you have any!
Wishing you all a very happy new year :)
At the end of 2017, I set myself goals for 2018. This was the first year I successfully achieved these goals and I'd like to share with you how I planned them out effectively so I could achieve them. Hopefully these tips will be useful for you too!
1. Think about what you want
This is the most simple and most fun part! Simply think about the things that you want to achieve. What is missing from your life? What would you like to do more of? What would you like to have more of? In what areas would you like to improve? Think about where you would like to be in five or ten years time, and what steps you would need to take to get there.
You can be as creative as you like with this too. I just love a good list, but you could mind map, mood board, draw pictures etc for this part.
2. Choose your focus
Once you have thought about your goals, dreams, what you would like to achieve, it's time to narrow these down. Some of them may be quite similar and fit into the same category so put these together. Really think about which ones are most important to you and choose a manageable number. I think around 4 or 5 goals for different areas of your life is a good amount. Too many more, and it becomes unmanageble and we'll lose interest.
3. Break it down
Now you should have your 4 or 5 goals that you want to focus on. The next step I found worked for me was to make the goals measureable. For example, if the goal is to 'read more books', think about how many you would like to read. Break it down into how many books you will need to read each month to achieve the goal. Make sure it's challenging but realistic. If your goal is to 'save more money', think about an amount that you would like to have reached by the end of the year. Work out how much you will need to save each month in order to get there. Again, make sure it's an amount that challenges you but is realistic.
4. Set reminders
Once you have broken each goal down into manageable chunks, set reminders in your calendar for when you will check in with yourself around these goals. I did a monthly review at the end of each month in 2018 to reflect back on my highlights and what I had achieved in that month. I also did quarterly check ins at the end of every 3 months (so the end of March, June, September and December) where I could see if I'd reached where I wanted to be by that point. Allow yourself to be flexible with your goals too. If it becomes clear at the end of March that one of your goals was unrealistic, reasses that goal. Do you need to change it to make it more manageable? What changes can you make in the next quarter to help you catch up? It's better to change your goal to be more realistic than to give up on it altogether.
5. Share your goals
I understand that sometimes our goals can be very private and may not be something we want to share, however, I do think there is a lot of value in being held accountable. Sharing our goals means we are more likely to stick to them, as we know other people know about them. If we keep them to ourselves it's easy to let them slip and give up when they get challenging - and much easier if we know no one's checking up on us! Consider sharing your goals with a close friend or family member, or post on social media. Even if no one checks up on you, just the fact you have put it out there in the world makes you want to stick to it more.
I hope these tips were useful! Do you like to set goals or just go with the flow? I'd love to hear what your goals are for next year if you have any!
Wishing you all a very happy new year :)
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