Can you believe it’s already the end of October? I think this season is the perfect time to check in on where we’re at with our goals, but also to start thinking about what we want for ourselves in the new year.
If we reflect and start planning now, when the new year begins, we’ll be better equipped to hit the ground running.
I have some tips and prompts that I use when I work on my goals that have served me well and wanted to offer them to you in case you’re looking for different ways to establish your goals.
I break my annual review and yearly goal-setting plan into three sections; reflect, refocus and execute. If you decide to use this approach, take from it what speaks to you, I know I can go a little deep sometimes but this is what works best for me.
Reflect – Assess how are things going and what you can be proud of
Before establishing new goals, I take time to reflect on how things are going in my life. If I were to skip this step, I feel like I’d start the year with less intention and would probably end up with goals that I’m not super excited about.
I also believe this reflection forces us to think about our achievements which I know we’re not always very good at. So often, we move on to the next thing without taking the time to recognize our hard work and how far we’ve come.
I start by asking myself these questions and take time to journal about each of them.
How do you feel you’ve done so far this year in achieving your goals?
What major accomplishments are you most proud of?
What biggest mistakes or struggles have you learned from?
What projects or commitments do you want to let go of?
What made you feel most happy this year?
What is your favourite way to refuel?
What do you wish you would have done more of this year?
I wouldn’t skip this step because I believe these questions can have an impact on the new goals we choose. I feel like it helps ensure we take ourselves and our needs into consideration.
Refocus – Planning your goals
After answering the reflection questions, I hope you’ve gained some clarity about what you want and don’t want for yourself in the year to come.
Now for the fun part, planning a fresh new year.
When I work on my goals for the new year, I don’t just write down my goals and that’s it. I take into consideration everything I learned from the reflection I just did and then I ask myself a few more questions to help me get really clear on what matters most to me. These questions help me set my goals with intention and I hope they can serve you as well.
It’s also important to make sure that your goals are aligned with your values. If you’ve not done the values exercise, there’s a free short version in my freebie on my website. If you need help in identifying your values, I do offer a more extensive values exercise paired with one-on-one coaching. You can contact me to learn more.
Before moving on to the questions and planning, think about how you’ll feel when you accomplish your goals and also, how you want to feel as you are working on your goals. We want to feel good and energized as we work on our goals and not only at the finish line.
So let’s get started…
What are your top 5 goals for the year?
Why are these goals important to you?
What do you need to be able to make these goals happen?
What are your intentions for the year?
What do you want more of this year?
What do you want less of this year?
What will you do for your own personal fulfillment and development?
What is something you want to learn this year?
Once your goals are clear and established, next it’s time to plan and do the work.
Execute – Set yourself up for success
Once, I have identified what my goals and intentions are for the new year, I think about the structures and systems that I need to put in place to ensure I set myself up for success.
In other words, how can you organize your life around your top goals?
And yes, life will get in the way and pivots will likely be required but that’s also why these structures and systems are important because they can help get us back on track when it’s time.
These tips might seem like a lot but I promise that once you get in the habit of practicing them (if you don’t do this already), you’ll see the results which will help drive your momentum.
Write down your goals and keep them close by. When our goals are on paper and laid out in front of us, our subconscious mind will then know what to look for to help us achieve our goals. Some studies prove a higher chance of achievement if you write down your goals, an even higher chance of achievement if you share your goals with someone (friend, coach, family member) and the rate of success increases even further if you report weekly progress to that person.
Chunk your goals down by quarter, then by month taking into consideration any big events that you have going on during the year that could get in the way. This will help you when it comes time to plan each week throughout the year.
Review your goals every single day. It only takes a couple of minutes and reminds us what we are driving towards.
Plan your goals in your calendar each week. If something is not scheduled, it likely won’t get done.
When you start the day, complete your most important goals first otherwise you run the risk of being victim to everyone else’s agendas.
Set boundaries for yourself and be clear on what you say yes to and what you say no to so you can maintain focus and achieve the things that are important to you.
Track and celebrate small wins to help keep you motivated along the way. Daily is best and at the end of each week.
Schedule a weekly meeting with yourself to evaluate your progress. I like to do this on Fridays but you can pick any day of the week that works best for you. I assess how the week went and then I plan for the week ahead so when Monday rolls around, I know exactly what I need to do. It also helps free my mind for the weekend. You can ask yourself things like; What your most important progress has been? What have you learned? Where are you off track that you need to make up for in the week ahead? What can you be proud of?
And that’s pretty much it. A simple structure with prompts so I’m not just staring at a blank page trying to come up with my goals and a plan on how to tackle and accomplish them.
I hope find this helpful as you start to think about what you want for yourself in the new year.
If you found value in this post, please share it with someone you know who is looking for a bit of structure to help them plan and achieve their goals.
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photo by Content pixie
