Goals - Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?
It's that time of the year when everyone is talking about or thinking about GOALS. It's a natural topic at a milestone like the start of a new year.

But it doesn't need to be only at the start or end of a year. Any time is good! And sometimes they need updated along the way. 



Focused or Loose Goals?
How detailed do you get?

• Do you create SMART goals? (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely)
• Do you call your goals Resolutions? (maybe less intimidating?)
• Do you prefer to keep your goals fairly general and let the winds of the world guide you? 

Quitter's Day
The 2nd Friday in January has become known as Quitter's Day! By this time, many have already fallen short of New Year's goals and just quit all resolutions. Perfectionism is a challenge for many and some decide "If I can't achieve all of them, then none of them are worth pursuing." 

No One Size Fits All
You can find a lot of "Goal Gurus" out there with a variety of suggestions for how to develop goals.

• Jon Acuff has a number of books on the subject. His philosophy is "...a goal is the fastest path between where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow. Best of all, finishing a goal feels amazing." Jon is also very data driven as a motivator for goals. He suggests  folks create spreadsheets or some sort of tracking mechanism to note progress or even number of times taking steps to achieve a goal. It IS exciting to check boxes on achievements and even count achievements!
• James Clear is more about process than goals. "Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress." A goal treats "a symptom without addressing the cause." 

What Kind of a Goal Setter Are You?

• Do you even bother with goals or learned long ago you do fine without them?
• You create and track your goals religiously along the way? 
• Somewhere in the middle with a few specifics but more go-with-the-flow?
• More process based and create systems rather than goals?

As we look to the new year, how are you setting yourself up for success? 

If you're looking for strategy or marketing assistance to create engagement for your business, Let's Chat! I provide a number of services for nonprofits, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and authors.

Seasonal Schedule Changes

You can just smell the sunscreen, can't you? Beaches, travel, swimming, reading time - dialing life back a bit. As a mom, even of college kids, our year revolves around a school schedule. I was thrilled to discover "academic calendars" available as planners and not just for teachers! I adore a good planner.

Goals and Seasons
"Season" can mean different things at different times in your life. There are the calendar seasons and the "season" of your life - before kids/career focus, with kids, empty nest, maybe career change, and retirement to name a few. No matter which "season" you're talking about, each creates a different flow in your schedule.

Summer Season
My summer now begins in May with college kids. Finals tend to be the last of April or very beginning of May. I feel like I have a whole extra month now, or I can "plan early" ahead of those parents finishing school the end of May in AZ or June in many states. It's the perfect time for me to review my year's goals and tweak them for a new flow of the schedule. It's longer days and a lighter schedule. It's an opportunity to try new things!

January Goal Check
So how are those goals going! Still on track? Fell hard off the wagon? Focusing on some - feeling guilty about others? No worries! Change of season is a great opportunity for a "do-over" or reset of intentions! 

• What's still resonating with you from January or your original goal setting time? 
• Time to keep those goals going through the year or need to rethink them a bit? A small tweak can make a big difference to stick with your intentions!
• Had more time to ponder new goals and ready to add a couple?
• Life taking you in unexpected directions with different goals in order?

What Method to Use?
Just as at the beginning of the year, there are a ton of ways to consider your goal setting. It can honestly be overwhelming. I keep many in mind but select the best parts of each for my own mix.

• Every good plan begins with a brain dump or brainstorming session!
  • Get all of those random thoughts out of your head and onto paper or some digital note/goal system. Trello (or Asana or something similar) works great for this as I can add lists and cards (tasks), color code, and move them around to my heart's content.
  • You need to see patterns for your goals and plans.
• Eisenhower Matrix - we reviewed this earlier and there are a few different takes on the basic idea, but identify Urgent/Important goals and tasks. Kendra Adachi of The Lazy Genius calls the quadrants Now, Soon (schedule), Later (delegate), and Never Mind (eliminate). I love the simplicity!
• Have to/Hope to - this is another idea from The Lazy Genius in a podcast episode. Identify what you HAVE to do vs what you HOPE to do. Dial it back where you can and take a deep breath.
• Categories of goals or tasks
  • Jon Acuff is a goal guru - goals are his thing! He identifies focal points for goals.
    • Career
    • Financial
    • Relationships
    • Health
    • FUN (don't forget the FUN!)
  • April Perry of LearnDoBecome focuses on teaching systems to maximize your time and energy. Her system is based on David Allen's Getting Things Done. April's project focus:
    • Me
    • Family
    • Beyond​

Status Check
So how are you doing! I was a bit cautious to start the year. I didn't want to overwhelm myself with too many things in process. I kept about half of my initial goals that were doing well. The other half - maybe half of those I'm renewing and the other half I'm changing.

Some lend themselves better to the summer schedule and pace of things: stop work at 8pm for family/hobby time, and maybe this will be the year to start water aerobics!

I'd be happy to share ideas if you're feeling stuck in your goals or struggling to find what resonates with you. Let's help you achieve those business and personal aspirations -  Let's Chat!

What Is the Eisenhower Matrix?
I was today-old when I learned this quadrant of ways to prioritize tasks is as old as  (and attributed to!) President Dwight D. Eisenhower! According to James Clear, this method of organizing tasks to maximize your productivity is what made Eisenhower so successful as a five-star general, President of the United States, and more. It's a great story. I simply knew it as "that four-quadrant system for important/urgent tasks." 



Does It Really Work? 
I've been playing with it recently and am impressed so far, but it's not easy - not gonna lie. When you consider we each make at least 35,000 decisions daily, no wonder we're tired at the end of the day! There are some matters that are purely routine in my day (wake up, shower, brush teeth, eat breakfast). The decision's been made in my book, so we move on. There have to be ways to drop that 35,000 down to something reasonable! 

How Are Those Goals Going?
No need to get hung up on the calendar and January 1 as an arbitrary date. Has the house settled down? Any "CEO Day" for yourself yet? How about (more realistically!) a "CEO Hour" for yourself! #reality!

Still Working on Goals?
Same! They've been percolating in my brain, with some ongoing that just work to keep me moving forward. Time to start writing them and get a bit more intentional. 

Moving Forward
I've noted a variety of goal setting ideas and philosophies the past month. Check these other blog posts here and here. I've been leaning into Jon Acuff's approach to goal setting after catching a video workshop at the start of the month and I've been binge listening to his audiobooks (he reads them - totally love when an author reads their own book!). I've finished Start and am listening to Finish now. I'm looking forward to listening to Soundtracks, but I think his latest All It Takes Is A Goal will be my next Audible monthly read. 

Simplicity Is Crucial
Life move fast and Time is short. For me to deal with goals, they have to be fairly limited in number and focused or they lose me. I'm moving forward with a scaled back version of what Jon suggests. I'll note his basic process below.

• List your goals - brain dump time, ALL the goals
• Categorize your goals - Jon suggests Career, Financial, Relationships, Health, Fun (basic and seems to cover everything)
• Time reference - Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event (Event is the one-off, doesn't-fit-other-categories idea)
• Get going! 

Tracking and Motivating
So, how do you keep these brilliant ideas in mind? I've seen a number of ways in a Facebook group of Jon's.

• Sticky notes - Jon's into BIG and visual. Post-It has pads of sticky notes with 5 different colors. Check out the number of categories. Crazy, right?! Place these where they suit you for color-coded reference. Jon uses a monster-sized white board to move sticky notes around. 
• Trello/Asana - I'm more of a digi/portable gal and use Trello. I can color code category lists and can move them around as desired with Time references. (I'm a BIG fan of the power of color coding!)
• Spreadsheets/Xcel - I've seen many examples of color-coded spreadsheets
• Pen & Paper - maybe you keep a journal close or come up with a Canva graphic to stick on your bathroom mirror to regularly remind you of your plan. 

Don't Get Too Uptight
I've heard the 2nd Friday in January is known as Quitter's Day! Two weeks into the random start date of January 1, folks give up and move on. (I generalize both start and quit days in my world) Two weeks. 

As I read Jon's books, Perfectionism is often to blame for quitting goals. I can definitely see that. Whenever you fall off the wagon, lose that commitment, lose that streak of days, folks are done - game over! - why bother. I get it. That's easy. But I'm a stubborn cuss. 

I like to think of each new day as a brand new slate - opportunity - adventure. Had a daily goal? Try again tomorrow! Missed a week? Get going and just START. 

Maybe Scale Back
I caught a few ideas in Jon's book FInish.

• Whatever goal you set, cut it in half. Aiming for daily blogging as a goal? Maybe consider 2-3x/week and work up from there as you get into the habit. 
• If you're not keen on cutting the goal in half, make the time longer to achieve it. Aiming for weekly blog posts? Maybe aim for at least every 2 weeks at a minimum. 
• Check yourself - share your goal with others, especially the more wild-for-you ones. Run them by others to see how they sound out loud and resonate. If folks start doubling over with laughter, maybe rethink the plan. If your goal is to run a marathon next weekend and you haven't gotten off the couch in months, maybe let's break this down a bit. Don't set yourself up for disappointment. 

Perfectionism Is Killer
As soon as we miss a day or a streak, we stop. Maybe give yourself the gift of Grace and Time. Don't aim for perfect. Aim for doing. Aim for simply moving forward. Tomorrow's a new day. We've got this.

I'd be honored to be part of helping you achieve your goals! If you're looking to start a project or business but don't feel you have all the skills, don't let that stop you - partner with others! Things are going well - maybe even too well - and you could use a hand? I'd be thrilled to help you succeed! Let's Chat!

How Is 2024 Looking?
How were your holidays? Any downtime to do that reflecting and business planning or goal setting? Me neither! LOL! 

Best of Intentions
Oh, I had every intention to get it done! But Life. Family at home. Not as quiet as I hoped or anticipated. Things needing done. Distractions. Diversions. Life. 

Any Time Is A Good Time!
Don't let the calendar stop you! I'm sure not! I discovered another amazing podcast resource to share - Jon Acuff's All It Takes Is A Goal. You don't want to miss it! The guy is positive energy and inspiring. I love his podcast format - just chatting with friends and down to earth real. He does a 30-second version of his podcast to start - seriously - just the key take away. Boom! Done! Orrrrrr - stick around for about 20 minutes for the full details. Such a simple formula!

Turns out as I was listening to earlier podcast episodes, he's been promoting New Year Resolutions since the beginning of December. The idea is to take the time to test out your goals, get into a rhythm with them. (when is a good time to work out in your schedule?) 

Ready for A Challenge?
Jon has a Fail-Proof Resolutions Challenge going on for a limited time. The live version was January 3-5 (yes, ended today), but you can still sign up to get all the goods to watch for free by Monday, January 8th! Not sure about that timing? He has a VIP package option for lifetime access to the videos. He's also breaking up the material on his podcast over the course of 6 weeks. I'm totally in for that! I was taking notes from his January 1 release, the first in the series. Jon offers many books for sale and they're available on Libby as audio books for free (connected with your library) - amazing! He also has a couple of very affordable courses. Do stop by his website to sign up for his newsletter and see what he has going on!

January 1 is such a completely arbitrary point. Start TODAY! Who cares! We're making our own rules here! 

Have any big goals you're aiming for? Love to hear about them - Let's Chat! (business inquiry not necessary - seriously - let's simply chat)

Business Plans
Have you begun to set those goals yet to transition to the new year? I haven't had an official session yet, but this is definitely rumbling on a simmer in my brain. There are as many ways and suggestions of how to do this as you can imagine. I'll touch on just a few here that I'm gravitating toward. 

Year in Review
Before we can look ahead, it's useful to review what's been. I appreciated a post from Austin Church on LinkedIn (link to his website) describing his December Zero process, and it may resonate with you as well. "Make a list of your loose ends, open projects, and any heartburn...Define the next step for each" to end the year well. 

MAP Out Your Editing Business
SD/PEN (San Diego Professional Editors Network) had a great blog post that could easily be appropriate as we head into a new year. This is from a course at UCSD Extension where students create a MAP (Marketing Action Plan) as their final assignment. A number of task heading ideas are noted. The author recommends creating a new MAP every 90 days to make forward progress in passive and active marketing. 

Business Goals
Melanie Padgett Powers notes in podcast episode #174 five questions to wrap up your year. You definitely want to listen to ALL of the podcast, but she lists the questions on her show notes. This is a combination year in review and goal setting.

1. What do I need to do now to line up work in January? 
2. What do I need to do to wrap up the year? 
3. Do I need to raise rates or fire anyone? 
4. Where do I need to improve my marketing and networking?
5. How much money did I make this year?

Work/Life Balance + Income Goals
As expected, Jennifer Goforth Gregory has some amazing suggestions in two different posts - work/life balance and income. Refer to her great blog posts for details, but here is a short list to get you thinking:

1. Work/life balance goal
2. Bucket list goal
3. Personal writing (or whatever business you're in) goal
4. Do something new goal (we all need to keep growing)
5. Business improvement goal

I hope some of these ideas resonate with you! Each offers a different approach or way to look at your upcoming business year. Austin and Melanie's ideas are great for some reflection as you prepare to set new goals with Jennifer and SD/PEN's ideas. 

Are you a goal setter or prefer come-what-may? Have you found any great year transition questions? Do you reflect and goal set in a single session or take your time to give each their due? I look forward to hearing your approach! 

If I may be of assistance to help your vision come to life, Let's Chat! 
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