Are you like me and you set goals every year at the beginning of the year with high hopes and a whole lot of motivation? You start strong, have the best of intentions, and even sit down to write down all of your goals for the upcoming year only to fast forward 12 months and all you have to show for the motivation and excitement is the original list you made. Only now you have an uneasy disappointment about the lack of progress you made over the last 12 months.
I don't know about you but I tend to make some progress...depending on the goal... which is better than other but I still do not achieve what I know I am capable of accomplishing.
Let's try something different this year! I sat down to analyze my goals setting technique and found a few things that are holding me back and keeping me from accomplishing my goals. Maybe you can relate and we can move forward together!
Pitfalls:
1) I write the goals but then never have an additional list of task to accomplish the goals.
2) I rarely have external accountability associated with any of the goals.
3) I think I am too busy and time gets away from me.
4) I don't try different ways to achieve goals if the first approach does not pan out.
What can we do about this? Here is the action plan:
1) Break down each goal into actionable steps. For example, if my goal is to blog more, my action plan would look something like this.
- Goal: Blog once a week
* Create a list of blog ideas
* Sun/Mon get pics to support blog post
* Draft Blog and upload pics on Tues.
* Schedule blog post to release on Wed
or - Goal Blog Every Day
* Create list of blog ideas
* Write Blog after dinner from 7-8 pm or bulk blog on Sat morning from 7-11.
2) Enlist a friend to be your accountability partner. Meet once a week or once a month and check in with each other on the progress you are making toward the goal action plans.
3) Time or lack of time is a perception. Have you ever notices that if you really want to do something you will get it done whether you think you have time or not? You find a way, right. Get up 30 min earlier or work on your project during a lunch hour or stay 30 minutes later at work after everyone else has left to work on that report you want to present.
4) Find what works for you to get it done...If one way doesn't seem to be working try something different. For example, I struggle getting to the gym. I found if I have to travel too far out of my way, I will not go so I had to find a gym in closer proximity to remove that obstacle.
I hope this helps and my hope is that we will get farther down those to do list this year and start making dreams our new reality!
XOXO,
Krista