5 Easy Steps to Prioritizing Your Goals

Hi, I’m so glad you’re here!  My name is Marissa, and I’m a 20-something public health and holistic health coaching student who’s been running a health and lifestyle blog for almost a year.  If you want to laugh, learn, and love yourself more, come visit me! ((:

Do you ever feel like you don’t have enough time to do the things you want to do?  Are you ever overwhelmed by all the goals you’ve set for yourself because you don’t think you’ll be able to reach them with the limited time you have?

Trust me, we’ve all been there… especially me.  I know how debilitating this can feel; you’re confused, stressed, and hopeless all at once.

But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be this way forever?  Of course, there will be times when you encounter setbacks and feel discouraged, but you don’t have to feel like you don’t have enough time ever again!

Now, let me get one thing straight… I’m not here to preach the infamous phrase I’m sure we’ve all heard, “We all have the same 24 hours in the day!”  Because, sure, technically, we are all living through 24-hour days.  But we don’t all have access to, or control over, the same resources and privileges.

What we do have control over, however, is how we use our time.  Even then, we all have different levels of control over our time.  For example, a parent has much less control over how they use their time compared to someone without kids. 

But we all have some control over our time, and if you don’t, then there’s a problem.

The way we “manipulate” our time and how we use it is EVERYTHING when it comes to reaching your goals, being productive, enjoying your life, and so much more.  Because the truth is, we all have enough time to reach our goals; we’re just getting in our own way.

Let me give you a little disclaimer before I tell you how to reframe your time in order to reach your goals: it’s not all going to go to plan. 

Just because I am telling you right now that you have enough time to reach your goals does not mean that you’re going to reach them all at the same time.  It also doesn’t mean that you’re going to reach them as soon as you start prioritizing things to align with your dreams.

Goals take time; they don’t happen overnight.  A dream, goal, plan – whatever you want to call it – is not going to be accomplished with the flip of a switch or the rearrangement of your schedule.

You, as I’m sure you already know, have to put in work to reach your goals.  They take time, energy, sometimes luck, and a whole lot of patience.  

Learning how to prioritize your time in ways that align with your goals will help immensely in the process of reaching your goals, increasing productivity, and making life more fulfilling in general.

So how does it work?  How do I know what to prioritize, how do I set boundaries in order to be able to prioritize those things, and where do I even begin?!

Don’t worry, I’m about to walk you through all of this, using similar steps to the goal-setting practice taught in the health coaching program I am currently taking.  By the end, you’ll be better equipped to manage your time in ways that will allow you to prioritize the things that will help you reach your goals.

Step 1: Write down three big goals

The first step is to write down three of your biggest goals, particularly the ones that you want to accomplish the soonest.

These could be anything… Do you want to start your own blog?  Become a health coach?  Graduate with a 4.0?  Run a marathon?  Whatever your goals are, write them down, and don’t second guess it!

Step 2: How will you reach these goals?

Next, you’re going to brainstorm what daily habits you need to get working on in order to reach those goals.  

If one of your goals was to become a health coach, some daily habits you could take in order to grow your business would be studying your class material and sharing what you’re learning on social media.

It’s important that these habits you’re brainstorming are ones you can complete DAILY because that’s the easiest way to make something habitual, and working toward your goal every day will motivate you more than working on it every once in a while.

However, it’s also important to not overwhelm yourself, so keep things simple.  Pick one or two habits per goal that you could reasonably fit into your schedule AND that would help you reach your goals.

Step 3: Recognize your non-negotiables

We all have non-negotiables, or things we can’t ignore, such as school and/or work.  Even though we might not necessarily want to be in class or in the office every day, it doesn’t mean that you can just not go.

However, sometimes we think tasks that aren’t non-negotiables are, such as grocery shopping or walking the dog.  Although these things are important and necessary, we don’t have to be the one doing them.  

Instead of shopping around the store for an hour, place a grocery pick-up order.  Hire a dog-walker instead of taking your furry friend out on your own.  Ask your partner to do the dishes or make dinner a few nights out of the week.  Asking others to take charge of tasks that we normally do can be scary and stressful at first, but it can also be so freeing.

You don’t have to do everything alone, so don’t!

Step 4: Schedule in your new habits

Just because you know what new habits you need to start in order to reach your goals doesn’t mean you’re going to do them.  You need to schedule them into each day and give yourself adequate time to do them (you can’t rush your dreams!).

Not everyday is going to be perfect, so don’t stress yourself out about getting everything done as efficiently as you thought you would, or at the exact time you scheduled it into your planner.  Allow yourself grace, patience, flexibility, and kindness always.

Step 5: Say “No” to anything that doesn’t align with your goals and values

This one might seem a little harsh, but I promise it’s not that bad.  I don’t mean you have to say “no” to every party invite you get, every time someone invites you out for coffee, or basically when anything fun comes up.

Having fun and taking care of yourself are absolutely non-negotiables, so if those weren’t on your list in Step 3, add them now!

What I am saying is that you don’t have to say “yes” whenever someone asks you for a favor that really sounds like a bore or a waste of time.  You don’t have to take care of everyone around you before taking care of yourself and going after your own dreams.

This step is honestly the most important one because it’s really just me trying to tell you that you are no longer allowed to put everyone else before yourself; and if you can’t get past this step, you won’t accomplish your goals.  Set boundaries; be selfish; go after your dreams and goals, even if other people aren’t fans of you because of it.

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I’m so glad I was able to share these five steps to prioritizing in order to reach your goals with you!  Remember: you are allowed to go after what you want, so dream big and get to work.
If you want to visit me over on my blog or Instagram, I would love to meet ya! ((:

If you loved Marissa’s post then I highly suggest checking out her blog! She posts all things health and wellness 🙂

And if you are looking for some more goal setting motivation you can read how to create a weekly plan focused around your goals (and grab yourself a FREE weekly planner sheet to help you do it!)

Let’s chat!

How do you prioritize your goals?