Whether you are new to goal setting or are a veteran, chances are you are looking for different ways to set goals.  Everyone and their dog (or cat, where are my cat peeps at??) have heard of SMART goals. Maybe you’ve heard about them so much that you actively don’t want to make goals that way anymore lol – that was me!!! Years of schooling and being forced to create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely goals will do that to a person!

Now, I’m no expert but I have set a few goals here and there! I will be the first to admit though that I’ve struggled over the years with sticking to my goals (actually around 80% of people give up on their new year new me goals)! I tend to get bored… probably not the best excuse but maybe you can relate. So I went on my own journey to find what works for me when it comes to setting and actually following through with my goals!

Planners – do you need them?

Can we just start off by talking about the main thing everyone thinks they need in order to set their goals and be the best, most productive person ever? A planner.

I have owned probably 100 planners. Have I ever finished one? No. Have I changed planner part way through the year? Yes. Did all my planner turn into paper weights? Sure did! 

I am not going to tell you not to get a planner because in all reality they do work and everyone has their own way of doing things. I have a new planner I’m trying out this year and so far (the first few days lol) it’s going well! So I’ll leave the link to the planner if you’re interested – it’s created by Angie Bellemare, a YouTube I watch and love! 

That being said, you really only need a pen and some paper. So if you are more minimal or know you will half use the planners, just grab a notebook! 

Let’s get into the nitty gritty (aka the goal setting activities)

How to figure out your goals 

Maybe you have all your goals in mind already or maybe you don’t know where to start! If you are struggling to figure out your goals and feel overwhelmed, start here!

Activity #1: Braindump

Just start writing out alllll the stuff in your brain when it comes to your goals, dreams, intentions, etc. Like literally anything!! Think of this as your rough draft. Write words, sentences, phrases, whatever you need! Even draw pictures if you want! Just get it all out on the page.

Activity #2: One year from now 

This activity can be so freaking exciting but also a little scary. To start, ask yourself what you want your life to look like one year from today. Similarly to the braindump, let the thoughts and ideas flow. Here are a few areas of life to think about when you are doing this activity:

Career – what job will you be doing? What will your work day look like? How will your job make you feel?

Finances – how much money will you have saved? How much money will you be making? What are you saving for? What big purchases are you making?

Relationships – what will your romantic life look like? Are you happy? What do your friendships look like? What does your family life look like? 

Leisure – how much free time do you have? What hobbies do you spend time on? Where do you spend your time? What lights you up?

Health – how is your physical health? Do you have a good relationship with your body? Are you mentally healthy? What does your self care look like?

These are just a few areas you can dig into but it is your life and your goals so do whatever categories make the most sense for you!

At the end of this activity it should be pretty clear what your priorities are! You can then take those big dreams and important things and make them your goals!

Creating a plan to achieve your goals

Activity #3: GROW

Now that you have your goals you need to make a plan of action! I always like this part because you can see how these goals are going to unfold and what you can do to make them happen. I like using the GROW model to actually create my plan – it’s really simple and so logical. I’m sure you would go about making your plans this way without knowing what the GROW model is haha. 

GROW stands for:

G – goal: what is the goal?

R – reality: where are you right now in relation to the goal?

O – options: what could you do to reach this goal? Do you have anyone that could help, resources, ideas, etc. 

W – will: what will you do to achieve this? What changes or commitments are you going to make?

I like this model because it’s realistic and easy to follow. It’s very point A to point B which I like.

How to follow through with your goals

The HARDEST part about goals is actually following through with them! Why is this always so damn hard!! You would think if the goal was something we really wanted it would be simple to just do it… but nope! In 2021 I had the goal of losing some weight. I thought about it daily, complained about it, wished I looked a different way… and then guess who did basically nothing to change it? Me. I made great progress on some of my goals but none on the others so this is a reminder to also be kind to yourself!

Goal tracking apps: this is a pretty easy to follow along option! Download an app, input your goals, and then tick off each day you follow through. This would be good for goals like eating healthy, working out, reading, etc.

Journal check ins: if you like to write in a journal or enjoy things like bullet journaling this would be for you! You can set a time (maybe once a week or once a month) to sit down and review your goals and progress! This would be good for goals with less clear milestones (like setting up a blog – there are lots of things that need to get don’t but a simple ‘did it’ or ‘didn’t do it’ wouldn’t be helpful).

Accountability partner: Tell a friend what your goals are, what the timeline is, or what some of your to do’s are and ask them to check in with you! There is nothing worse than telling your friend that you didn’t follow through! Even better if your accountability partner has a similar or same goal!

Set those goals my friends

We all have hopes and dreams but so few of us actually do anything about them which is sad!! Let this year be YOUR year. Go after your dreams. Set those goals. Don’t like your annoying family member hold you back. Go show your haters that you are the best! Seriously, do the dang thing because you can and you deserve it!

I’m excited for you and I can’t wait to see what you achieve ❤️

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Let’s chat!

What are some of your goals for this year?