I'm a very goal-oriented person. Usually. Sometimes I forget to set goals. Or sometimes I have so many goals and to-dos that my head is like a blizzard of ideas. This year I seem to be the latter. So, so many goals.
This year, one of my goals was to organize my goals. See how complicated this is getting already?
So here are the steps I'm trying to follow. Also known as my advice on how to set your own goals.
1. Make a Master List
I used Day Zero Project and made a list: 52 Things in 52 Weeks. I still don't have a full 52 items on my list, but I added as many things as I could think of that I wanted to accomplish this year. Now, you don't have to go overboard like me and try to think of 52 goals. You can just make a reasonable list of a few goals, or hundreds of goals if that's your thing. Just remember, the more goals you have, the more overwhelming it can be.
2. Prioritize Your Goals
Figure out which are your biggest, most important goals. Figure out which ones you want to focus on first. I chose 'Write a book', 'Start and Grow Blog', 'Organize My Goals' and 'Have a Baby' <-- Hah, not kidding! Some people may choose to pay off a certain large debt or start a healthier lifestyle or change careers.
3. Set a Deadline For Each Goal
Now my deadline for all my goals is by the end of 2016. Your deadline can be anything that works for you. Make it realistic and attainable. Some people can write a novel in a month (see NaNoWriMo) but that's a huge goal. I know I can't manage that with a full-time job, a husband, a 4 year old and some cats. But by the end of the year? I think know I can do that!
4. Make Sub-Goals
Focus on each large goal, one at a time and make sub-goals. For 'Write a book' I decided I wanted to try to write 1000 words a week. I have a goal to keep my desk and room tidy so I can focus during writing time without getting distracted. I wrote 'tidy desk' in my planner on each Sunday evening slot for the next couple of weeks as a reminder. I want to start the week fresh and ready to go. For 'Start and Grow blog' I made a sub-goal to start jotting down post ideas as much as possible. I also have the goal of posting regularly - starting with once every Monday.
5. Find a Way to Organize
If you have a planner, write in your deadlines. Schedule in some time to work on your goals - like an evening to write, a morning to go to the gym. Or use a notebook to keep your goals written down with sub-goals and deadlines. For me, I use Day Zero to keep my goals all listed, a notebook to keep track of bigger goals and sub-goals, and I plan some goal time in my planner. I write down my deadlines in RED to stand out.
6. Motivate
Make sure to keep yourself motivated to complete you goals. There may be times where you feel like giving up. You can do this either by setting rewards when you reach certain milestones - such as a fancy, expensive pen you've been wanting after you write 5000 words in your book. Or your favorite piece of cake after you've managed two weeks of healthy eating. Or find a friend to hold you accountable for completing your goal. Someone who can act as your cheerleader. Maybe quotes or songs are more your style. This saying, found on my to-do list notepad/mouse pad from Chapters Indigo gives me a little boost of encouragement sometimes when I need it.
I will have more on motivation at a later date!
7. Complete & Celebrate
Make sure to celebrate and give yourself credit when completing your goals. Not everyone is so dedicated. Blog about it. Tweet about it. You did it!
What are you goals for this year or this month?
Items seem in this post:
My amazing pens shown in the post photo. I use these to color code my planner and color code lists. Sometimes I use them to simply doodle and color. I only have the 10 pack but now that I've tried them, I'm dying for the 20 pack for more variety.
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