January is often a time that many of us reflect on the past twelve months and set goals and intentions for the year to come.
A lot of us view this new calendar year as a clean slate, where we can hit the reset button on the past and step into a better version of ourselves.
Subsequently, many people wonder about the right way to set goals. Some swear by setting intentions instead, because goals might be overwhelming and feel more daunting to achieve. Sometimes when we look at the big picture of a goal, it can seem insurmountable rather than if we take it day-by-day in easily digestible, bite-size chunks. What works for one person won’t work for another, but I want to share the way I set goals in a realistic and intentional way.
First, I want to remind you that there’s NO incorrect way to set goals. Resolutions, goals, intentions…they’re all personal to YOU. What works best for one person won’t work best for another.
I approach goal setting from the perspective of 1-2 goals max in prominent categories of my life. This makes it not only simpler to attain them, but it also forces me to really pare down my goals into ones that are top priority to me.
Mine are as follows:
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For my Home
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For my Family
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For my Business
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For my Soul
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For the World
I set 1-2 very important goals in each of these categories, and I print them out on a paper to hang on a bulletin board in my office. At the beginning of each month when I’m setting my calendar and reviewing appointments we have, I make sure that I’m working towards these goals.
Getting personal for a moment, here are mine for 2020 in each category:
For the Home: Purge what we don’t need, room by room, and donate/sell items to find them new homes. Create a lot of inviting spaces to inspire learning and togetherness for our family.
For the Family: Dive deep into homeschooling Colin — my middle child — and figure out the best curriculums, routines, and set-ups for him to thrive.
For my Business: Host a successful workshop. Continue to attend workshops.
For My Soul: Continue to follow my specific diet to stay on top of my neurological condition. Find an exercise that I fall in love with enough to stick to most days of the week.
For the World: Two more Pay What You Can mini sessions to be donated directly to local charities. Adopt foster children at Christmas to shop for.
Implementing goals can be overwhelming. Like I mentioned, I print mine to hang in a visible location, and I make sure at the beginning of the month that I’m taking active steps towards reaching them. For example, I have a list of rooms in my house that I’ve broken down by month to purge. I purposely don’t have any rooms on my list from September to December, since that is my busy season with my photography business.
With Colin’s homeschooling, we have purchased several different curriculums, and I am also taking the lead based on his cues and what it is that he needs. I have plans to host a workshop in February, and I have a schedule with steps to take in order to promote that workshop. I also have three additional workshops on my schedule for 2020.
Following my eating plan is something that takes daily effort, but I make it easier by ensuring that I have all the right snacks and meals in the house, and we have a great family meal plan for each week. Choosing Pay What You Can mini session dates goes hand in hand with planning out each quarter for my business, and I try to tie them into what’s happening seasonally.
The funny thing is, if you would have asked me a year ago what my 2019 goals were, none of these would have shown up on my list.
Purging wasn’t on my mind, nor did I feel like I was in a place to not only attend multiple workshops for my business, but to also host one. I also never would have felt enough motivation to follow such a strict diet, or to be diving deep into homeschooling. It actually was not on my radar until recently, which just goes to show you that this parenting journey constantly has new things in store for us.
What are your goals for 2020?
What do you hope to achieve?
Photography: Jessica Rockowitz Photography + Film
