Goal Setting
Goal setting is easy. Right?
Take out a piece of paper or open your notes app on your phone, write down a bunch of things that you want to get done and then....forget about it. Only to come back to it a day, week, month...year later (yes, I've written down goals only to get busy, forget about them and not come back for a solid year). Setting the goal is one thing - achieving said goal is another. Have you ever planned out the roadmap of your goal? As in - how will you get from where you are now to your end goal?
Effective ways to set goals AND achieve them!
If I’m being honest - I’ve been working on writing this blog since April 5th 🤣🤯👀. Why?!?! Because I tend to err on the side of, “I’m not a good blogger.” …and to coin a phrase…this, is False News 🤣. It’s not true, it is 100% a story that I have made up about myself, told myself and allowed it to percolate into an ugly faux truth. I think I’m not a good blogger because I haven’t prioritized it. I’ve let it sit on the sidelines and I’ve sulked about how I NEED to get it done but not taken time to do it.
Well, that stops NOW. I know the only way to get better at something is to practice it. As a yoga teacher I tell my students this time and time again. As a photographer I tell my clients that having their photos taken is as easy as smiling over and over at the camera. And as a business coach I tell my clients that the key to getting better is to keep on doing it. All three of these situations stem back to practice, patience and planning…the three P’s! Sometimes I really love how so much of the world comes back to simplistic ideas. ❤️
You can’t just pick up a 500 lb dumbbell and lift it over your head, right?!?! I mean you could try. But if you haven’t prepared for that you’re going to look at that dumbbell and think, “yea…right…” So how do you get to the point where you’re lifting that much?? You train. You rest. You probably have a little pep talk with yourself along the way about how you are getting better everyday even on the days it doesn’t feel like it.
This month I’ve been focusing a lot of my instagram posts on Goal Setting and goal setting tactics. Like I said in the beginning, it’s one thing to write down a list of goals. It’s another to actually complete said list. And you know what?!!? I am confident that you too can achieve that laundry list of goals you’ve got written down! I’ve been working with clients on goals that they have and ways that they can create a pathway to completion of those goals.
One thing that can get into the way is the attainable-ness (is that even a word??) of your goals and the specificity of your goals. Are your goals too broad? Is the timeline of your goal too quick/too broad (as in you haven’t given yourself enough time to complete or given yourself too much time)?
Remember that our brains LOVE confusion and the “easy” way out (which often tends to be the lazy way…or not doing the thing at all). So as you look at your goals and you start to think, “how am I going to get this ALL done?!?!” - have you mapped out how you COULD complete your goal and then assessed each step for how long you think it will take? Having a plan takes the confusion out of the equation. Having a plan allows you to not have to stress about “what’s next?!” or “what now?!”. Having a plan allows for things to move smoothly and when the inevitable hiccup happens it doesn’t feel so catastrophic.
Take this blog for instance. When I set the goal to blog once per month I instantly thought, “great! that will be SO easy. 30 minutes of writing and done!” Wrong. And once I realized I was wrong I LET the blog be that ugly pile of clothes in the corner of your closet that you’ve been meaning to get rid of for a year (yes, yes I do have that pile sitting in my closet right now 🤣). I’ve probably put HOURS into this one blog post at this point. Why?!?! Because I didn’t have a clear plan. Every time I sat down to blog all I could do and think of were other things. Things that my brain was telling me were more important than writing these words. I also didn’t have any topics. I had a broad Goal Setting topic but I didn’t have any subtopics to write about. Goal setting is a vague topic and frankly most people are GREAT at setting goals. But completing goals, now that’s another ball game - this blog is case in point.
How did I remedy my blog conundrum????
I used my 90 day Mindful Method to plan out the next 3 months of blog posts. In my 90 day Mindful Method I give you the HOW to execute goals in a way that gives you a clear path to completion. Making the end an attainable place.
I knew I wanted to write one blog per month - eventually I’d love to write 2-4 blogs per month so I included this in my 90 day plan as well. What my 90 day plan does is to help you break down your goal into smaller attainable goals - down to weekly and daily goals/to-do’s to complete your goal. The first task on my 90 day plan is to do a brain dump on your goal - write down anything and everything that’s relevant to that topic. Next go through that list, rate things that are of importance and cross of things that are not. Then start plugging those important things into a weekly and daily schedule over 90 days. Easy right?? YES! And, even better it’s attainable and sustainable!
My biggest hurtle when it comes to blogging is writers block. So I knew that in order to work through my writer’s block I needed to carve out time to write each day for at least 7-10 days to get my mind in the mindset of “I can do this.” and also to prove to my mind that I am a good writer. So part of my task list and my goal list was take 20-30 minutes of time each day to write. I now include this in my morning work flow. After I drop Maeda off (or after I make coffee on days she doesn’t go to daycare) I write my thoughts on purpose, any to-do’s that are popping out in my mind and write any thoughts about blogging or IG/FB post topics. I also check my daily schedule to see what I have on the docket - this is something that I plan out on Sunday’s. Some days I spend all of that time writing for my blog and others I spend NONE of that time writing for my blog. But, here’s the thing - I’m still writing. I’m perfecting my writing abilities every time I pick up a pen & paper or open the notes app on my phone. I’ve actually begun to really enjoy this writing time each day and plan to continue it!
Right now I’m about 10 days into my 90 day Mindful Method plan for blogging. And I’m loving the results! I’m ahead of schedule on a few things and behind on a few as well. And as I continue to move forward I can tweak what needs to be tweaked for the next time I plan out a goal set. My end goal for blogging is to have 1-2 hours of my schedule a week dedicated to writing blogs (whether that’s still daily 20 min blocks or one large block, we’ll see) and 60-90 minutes of time per week to plan and write out IG/FB post content. The best part is one feeds the other AND I’m learning that I am just as good of a blogger as anyone else! Things you “aren’t good at” require practice and patience. Flexing my writing muscle hasn’t always been the easiest but it’s getting easier every single day!
So as you embark on your goal setting journey - make sure you have a PLAN for said goals! And if you need help planning those goals out - that is where I come in! I am here to give you a free 90 day planner and help you along the way! If you’d like to chat about your goals you can click the button below to schedule a FREE discovery call! ❤️ I can’t wait to chat!
xo, Maggie
