Most people look at a new year as fresh start; a time to create new good habits, break old bad ones, and set new goals in their personal and professional lives. Unfortunately without a plan in place, these resolutions tend to get broken....well, right about now. This is why the gyms are packed for the first couple of weeks of January and revert back to normal by the beginning of February! We are not experts, and are definitely learning as we go, but wanted to share with you some tips we use for setting goals, and sticking to them.
1. Decide what you want to accomplish
First things first, you need to really think about what you want and how and when you want to get there. The rule of thumb is that goals should be SMART - specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. If you want to lose weight for example, you should determine a realistic amount of weight that you want lose within a certain time frame. In saying that, make sure that your goals are not too easy to achieve, challenge yourself and think big! You might also want to set goals for different areas of your life, such as personal (read x number of books this year), health & wellness (work out 4 times/week), career (make x amount of money), relationships (go on a date night with your partner once a week). I think it's also a good idea to have long and short term goals - 10 year, 5 year, 1 year & quarterly. Once you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve and within what time frame, then you need to....
2. Write them down!
This step is really important. A lot of people walk around with ideas in their head of what they would like to accomplish, but without writing them down and having them somewhere as a constant reminder (see #3) then you are way less likely to follow through on them. Just the physical act of writing them down makes you that much more committed to carrying through on them. Apparently you are 50% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down, but that could be fake news :).
3. Visualize
This step is two-fold. The first part is that you need to be able to visualize yourself achieving your goals, which is a tool that professional athletes have been using for decades. Being able to actually visualize yourself achieving your goal can be very powerful. The second part is having your goals prominently displayed someplace where you can visually see them everyday, as a constant reminder of what you are aiming for. We know it's totally hokey, but we like to make a vision board for this. A vision board is just a compilation of images, quotes, lists or really whatever you want, which is a visual display of your goals and ultimately it should conjure up the feeling of what you want to achieve as well.
4. Plan of Action
Here is where you put a plan in place to make those goals a reality. Write down what you can do today, tomorrow, this week and this month to move you closer to your goals. Every morning set aside some time to review your goals (and admire your fancy vision board!) and make a list of small actionable steps that you can take on a daily basis that will get you closer to the big goal. This is also a good time to review your progress; where you are doing well, where you are doing not so well and course-correct as needed. Don't beat yourself up though, this is a journey and we are all learning as we go!
5. Accountability
This step is key, and if you are not good at being accountable to yourself, bring in support; whether it's through your partner, a friend, a business mastermind group or a coach; make sure that you have someone who is willing to kick your butt if you're not doing what you said you would do! (Lots of people are using social media to hold themselves accountable.)
6. Review
Constantly review your big and small goals to make sure that you are still going in the right direction, that your timelines are reasonable, and that your goals still fit your current needs and wants. There is nothing wrong with changing your goals if they no longer suit you.
7. Celebrate Success
This is the fun part! Tie your goals to rewards so that you have that additional feeling of accomplishment and something physical to mark your achievement and hard work.
Off to clean my office, one of my first goals of the new year. If you are thinking about any home improvements or renovations this year, reach out to us! We are happy to provide you with a complimentary Home Improvement Consult to help you allocate those dollars to see the best return on investment. Wishing you much joy & prosperity in 2020!