A Unique Process to Setting Goals You Will Keep

Five years ago I was not a goal-setter. Nope! I was a multiple post-it notes, reminder lists on my phone, and ideas buried deep in my mind kind of girl.

Do you know the feeling?

There was always something to get done and no system or strategy to know if I was accomplishing important tasks, working efficiently, or showing progress. I was feeling buried under a never-ending to-do list, with no definition of success and a constant feeling of failure.

Have you ever come to the end of the day and feel like you accomplished nothing? It’s probably because you didn’t have a clear understanding of your most important tasks, the amount of time you actually had to get said tasks complete, and a way to document your progress on the work you did.

Traditional goal-setting doesn’t last. There is no fuel for your goals or purpose behind your work. There is no clear strategy or expectation on who, what, when, why, or how your goals will be accomplished. That is a dead-end road to nothing. And that is a horrible feeling.

There is a better way to feel accomplished at the end of the day!

Meaningful goalsetting is life-giving. Meaningful goals are achievable because they have a solid foundation in what is most important to you.  Similar to knowing your why, these goals will align with your values and give you purpose.  They are a filter through which your decisions are made.

If you want to set really good goals that are rooted in what matters most to you then you will have no problem devoting your time to important tasks that will slowly over time add up to really really great things.

Want clear vision to accomplish tasks that get you excited?

Here is my process for working through my ideas for the upcoming year and you can form meaningful goals you will keep with realistic action steps in order to achieve your goals.

1. Dream

Gather all your hopes, thoughts, and ideas for the year. Remember that in order to not spread yourself thin some of these ideas might have to be pushed to another season or year where you might be better equipped to work towards them. But here is where you get to dream so write them down then decide later if now is the time.

2. Life Audit

Take a life audit and evaluate how you’re doing in certain areas of life. Give yourself a rating from 1-10 on how you are doing on your finances, work-life, relationships, or spirituality. Note areas in your life you want to improve on and celebrate areas that you are doing really well with.

3. Identity

Check-in with your identity. Let’s make sure we know ourselves really well. What fires us up and gets us excited for the day and to get work done? What fears do we have and what might happen if we stepped into those fears and pushed them aside? Maybe they aren’t so scary after all. Who do you want to be and what do you want to do? And what will and won’t matter when you’re 80?

4. Evaluate Last Year

Evaluate the prior year and note what worked and what didn’t. Did you increase your revenue or book 5 more clients? Did you successfully keep your schedule with time blocking? Maybe that event you attended wasn’t helpful or you traveled too much last year. Get it all down.

5. Say No or Say Yes

What will you say no to this year? No is a word we need to practice using more often as it helps us to not overcommit ourselves and dive into a state of overwhelm. It also helps us define our boundaries. Do we need to stop pushing the snooze button or give up one social event a month? Now that you have all this freedom what can you say yes to? More walks outside, making fresh meals.

6. Envision Your Year

Use threads from this discovery journey and envision your year ahead? Highlight areas that feel connected or that pop out to you and see where there is overlap. These are the things that will keep you going all year long.

7. Big Picture Vision

We need some big picture ideas to visualize our goals. What are some of your nonnegotiables for this year you want to make happen? What do you want to accomplish but also how can you be intentional with your days? These are big picture ideas that can lead us to good goals.

8. Write Out Your Goals

Take those big picture ideas and write down some goals. It’s ok to not make them perfect yet. You can tweak them to make them more specific and measurable once you have more clarity on what it is you want to accomplish.

9. Create Mini Action Steps

As you develop your list of goals you will then want to note mini-goals or action steps you can take to make those goals happen. Passion and purpose behind your meaningful goals will take you far but you need a roadmap to get there. Get clear on the path you need to take by starting with the smallest step. Little by little these add up and when you track your progress you will soon have something to celebrate.

10. Celebrate

As you begin to mark down areas of progress know that you are making really great things happen! My favorite way to monitor my progress and to keep myself accountable is with my tending list in my Cultivate What Matters Powersheets. Having this list open each month helps me stay focused and motivated with each win! Now go celebrate!

You can read more about my favorite goal setting and tracking tool on my past blog post here.