I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday and got to enjoy time with friends and family! We got back to the Cities in the evening on Tuesday, and I spent most of yesterday recuperating from a hectic few days! Last week, I took an Instagram poll on some New Year’s content. A TON of you wanted to see a post on goal setting tips and, given the New Year is only a few days away, I figured this would be the perfect time to work that in.
How many times have you set a goal for the New Year and forgotten about it two weeks later? Whether it’s something big like working out daily or something smaller like breaking a minor habit, we’re all guilty of setting goals and failing to achieve them. I’m no expert on goal setting, but working on the blog over the last year has certainly taught me a thing or two about turning dreams into realities. And, there are definitely things to do and pitfalls that you must avoid.
I. Keep Your Goals Attainable with the End in Mind
Too often, I find myself setting lofty, unattainable goals because I’m trying to rush to a particular end. However, all good things take time. When setting a particular goal, it’s important to know where you want to be at the end of the road. But, it’s also important to keep small, attainable goals along the way because to get to your “end goal” you’ll often have to achieve smaller mile-stones. Think of these mile-stones as “mini-goals” that should be celebrated when you achieve them that way you keep yourself motivated to push toward the end.
Let’s take working out as a common example. Often times, people start working out with a goal of looking great in their bikini by summer. However, you can’t expect to work out for 2-3 weeks and instantly have that “bikini” body. If you only have your bikini body in mind, your goal can often seem unattainable and too far out of reach. This can make you feel discouraged and even cause you to give up your goal in the first place. However, if you instead start with having a smaller goal of eating a healthier meal daily and increasing your workouts by 10 minutes a week, you have a much more attainable goal in the interim. Your end goal can still be that bikini body, but in the mean time, you can celebrate your weekly achievements. Celebrating these mini-achievements will help you feel like you’re progressing forward instead of staying stagnant.
II. Reward Your Achievements
On that same note, it’s very important to celebrate big and small achievements. I once had a girlfriend who had a goal of working out more consistently. If she worked out X times a week for two weeks, she was able to buy whatever nail polish color she wanted. This reward wasn’t something crazy expensive but was something she probably wouldn’t have purchased otherwise. It also wasn’t something unhealthy that would’ve jeopardized her hard work.
It’s important to reward your achievements weekly or semi-weekly with things that actually mean something to you. That way you have incentive to keep moving forward. Working toward a bikini body may be enough to keep you motivated; however, it’s nice to have something more immediate and tangible on those days when you need that extra push. I often keep my “prizes” below $10-20 and will go with something I couldn’t justify buying otherwise (like another purse or a new essential oil when I already have 10000).
III. Keep Yourself Accountable
Whether your goal is large or small, it’s important to memorialize your goal. You can do this by telling a loved one about it and having them keep you accountable. Or, you can write down your goal in a journal along with the steps you will take to get there. I personally like writing down my goals. Writing my goals allows me to reflect on where I am in relation to where I want to be. It also allows me to literally write down an appropriate time line for achieving my overall goal and for achieving the stepping stones I need to get there. I can then refer back to this timeline weeks and months down the road to see how I’m doing and where I can improve.
On a daily basis, this accountability comes through in scheduling. Let’s take my blog for example, which I have a number of goals for. I know I’ve said this before, but list-making is a trait I inherited from my mother. So every Sunday, I’ll create a blog and personal “to-do” list. Then I’ll go through and schedule out my entire week including ideas for Instagram posts and what Kev and I will do in the evenings. And I plan literally everything, including my breaks. I schedule it all in my iCal and create alerts when the next task comes up so I don’t have to worry about staying on track. My phone just beeps when it’s time to move on. I usually reserve some time at the end of the week to catch up on anything I wasn’t able to finish during the week.
Blocking time helps me stay motivated and productive. On the days where I happen to not have my schedule prepped, I am ALL over the place and don’t get a lot done. Find a time that allows you to work toward your goals and stick to it without any interruptions! Even 20 minutes a day can help you a lot in the long-run!
These are my three main tips when it comes to goal setting for the New Year. Are there any particular goals you’re looking to aheive in 2018? Any you may revisit from 2017?
The 2017 Year in Review post will be coming over the weekend, and we’ll be back to more fashion/beauty posts next week!
Have a great day everyone!
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