Day 1, New Year’s Day
January 1, 2010 by Stephanie
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Welcome! It’s the first of the year–now is a great time for some positive changes for the better. How would you like to have a completely organized and clutter-free home this time next year? How would you like to be on top of all the birthdays and anniversaries of special people in your life and remember to send the appropriate cheer on time? How would you like to erase the nagging feeling that you haven’t spent enough quality time with the children? How would you like to wake each morning and know exactly what you are going to have for dinner that night and know that all the ingredients are in the house? How would you like to go to bed each night knowing that you accomplished all of your daily goals? All of these things are absolutely obtainable. This is going to be a phenomenal year.
I promise.
Define Your Personal Goals
Your personal goals are *not* the same as anyone else’s. If a friend, relative, or celebrity on TV motivates you to start dressing differently, to try a new workout routine, or to toss out your US Weekly collection, that’s great. But that’s not a goal. Goals have a plan of action, and a start and stop date.
I like lists, and I like making goals. Sometimes I do okay, and sometimes I fail miserably. Failing on a goal is okay, it really is. Just acknowledge that you need to tweak your plan of attack, and move on. Life would be pretty darn boring if you achieved every single thing you set out to do in exactly the order/way you thought you would.
It’s fun to make grand master plans, then take a step back to watch how eventually little life decisions that at the time seem meaningless all somehow lead to an original grand plan.
It’s actually kind of freaky.
Today:
Define your personal goals. I tend to intermix my professional goals with my personal goals, although some prefer to keep the two completely separate—do what feels right to you.
On March 1, 2010, I would like to:
On June 1, 2010, I would like to:
On September 1, 2010, I would like to:
On December 31, 2010, I would like to:
Write your goals out, and put them in a place where you can refer to them often. There is no need to share your goals with anyone.
coming up tomorrow: Avoiding Burn Out
I like the idea of goals and revisiting. When I blogged my goals this morning I did them monthly, then stopped at June because I would like a chance to reflect at that point. Can’t wait to see what you have to say about burnout — I think that’s the number one cause of failure — too much too quickly!
I think setting goals at these intervals is an excellent idea. I have made a lot of changes during the past year and have many more changes to go. This will go a long way toward keeping me focused and also give me specific times to stop and reflect before moving forward.