Each year as it strikes midnight many of us begin thinking about what it is we want to change about our life in the new year. With that comes long lists of goals and changes for the first month of the year.
In order to attain those goals do you take the time to write that list down? It is one of the keys to becoming successful in achieving your goals. If you didn’t write them down then perhaps you aren’t serious about reaching them in the first place. Here are a few steps to take to make sure you reach your goals in 2017.
• Write down your goals. Yes, every single one of them. No matter how small or large they may be.
• Break them out into personal goals, family goals, financial goals, business or work goals.
• Write down the top three under each category. If you have more than that then make a decision as to which ones you truly want to accomplish and which ones are just someday I’d like to accomplish.
• Once you have the list of the top three under each category begin to break them down. Let’s use weight loss as an example. If under personal you want to lose weight in 2017, did you decide how much you’d like to lose? Do you have an idea or plan on how to make changes in your life to accomplish this goal? If not, then figure out a number for pounds to lose in the year. Then figure out what small changes you will need to make in January to begin the process.
• After you have selected a weight loss number, take that number and break it down for the year. Let’s say you want to lose 50 pounds in 2017. That number alone can be overwhelming and cause people to not accomplish the goal. If you break it down it becomes more manageable. For instance, that 50 pounds over twelve months ends up being 4.16 or 4 and a quarter pounds each month in the year. That doesn’t sound so overwhelming now. But take that one step further. 50 pounds over 52 weeks ends up being just under a pound a week (.96). Now that to me is doable because you only have to focus on losing a pound a week now in order to reach your yearly goal. Take the time to break down every goal you have in this manner. If you are writing a book and a book is usually around 80,000 to 100,000 words then you need to write between 1540 to 1925 words a week. That makes it feel more doable.
• Next, you need to figure out your plan to lose that one pound a week. Will you increase exercise? Will you make sure you drink 64 ounces of water a day? Will you cut out a particular food or drink? Will you add in strength training? Without knowing what you are going to do you won’t lose the one pound in that week. You need to know what steps you will begin so that you can accomplish your goal. If you are trying to write then pick a time of day to sit down and take the word count and divide it by how many days you have available to write, in this example we will use three. On those three days you will need to write 500 to 650 words to be able to maintain the small steps to achieve the goal by the end of the year.
• Evaluate every quarter what you have accomplished and what you need to adjust. If you find that you are losing more weight in the beginning weeks but slower in the later weeks then you might need to make another small change to maintain that one pound loss each week. You might have to add some salads or vegetables to another meal instead of one. You might need to limit bread, rice and pasta a bit more. It’s all about small changes to reach the end result. If you write down what is happening on your journey then you can better figure out what changes you need to make. If you only have 2 days to write then you need to adjust your work count to 770 and 963 on those days. Taking the time to evaluate how far you have come, what has worked and what hasn’t will help you adjust for the next quarter so that you stay on track.
Make this the year you obtain those goals and change your life with small actionable steps. It will make your life more fulfilled and joyful in the process.
Blessings!