I remember getting my first planner when I was seven. I was obsessed with my mom’s so she bought me one to leave hers alone. It worked and now almost 30 years later, I can’t leave home without it. But I mainly love it because it helps me accomplish my goals.
I am a firm believer that you need to have goals so you have something to look forward to and to keep yourself busy in a productive way. Not everyone shares the same sentiment and that’s okay but if you’re like me, read on for some tips I came up with to help make them stick. If you make it to the end of the post, you’ll even get a sneak peek of my 2022 goals!
1. Figure out what your actual goal is.
When you’re setting a goal, actually think about it. A lot of people will say general goals but beyond that, they’re stumped. “I wanna lose weight. I wanna save money. I wanna travel.”
Okay cool. But like, how much weight do you want to lose? What do you mean by saving money? And where are you traveling to? General goals are great because it gives us an idea of what we want for our lives but without naming something specific, it’s hard to break it down and actually do the thing.
Take losing weight for instance. 42% of the people surveyed by Prevention shared they plan on losing weight this year (myself included). But like, how much? If I don’t know, then I can’t break the goal down into actionable steps for myself. I also won’t know how to measure my goal, or if there is another way to measure what I’m trying to accomplish overall. Correlating health to weight loss isn’t always accurate so it might be a good idea to have another marker beside the scale.
Pro Tip: Decide on what you want your actual goal to be. Pick two ways you can measure your progress so in case one way falls short, you’ll still be able to measure your hard work.
2. Find a goal setting method you can stick with.
I LOVE goal setting but I don’t love the SMART Goals philosophy. My ADHD brain gets hung up on having too much to do so I tend to mentally tap out. Do my goals still get accomplished? Hell yeah! How? I figure out a goal-setting strategy that works for me and alter it if I need to.
I will not knock the SMART Goals philosophy because I know a lot of people love it and it works. But I am a big fan of writing out my goals and then dividing them up per month and then making a hella long to-do list. Is it overwhelming and I might cry? Yeah, but my to-do list has a better chance of getting done than me filling out a SMART Goals worksheet to make sure I’m doing it right.
Pro Tip: Pretend goal setting is like your dating life and experiment until you’ve found the one. Try SMART Goals, Action For Happiness, or stick post it’s everywhere with things to do.
3. Find someone to annoy about your goals aka an accountability buddy.
Have you ever sat down with a child who refuses to do their homework? What happened? Did they continue to argue or did they see you working on something and then start their homework?
Mirroring or mimicry is the act of subconsciously following someone’s actions when you are in close proximity to them. When you see someone across the room taking the action you need to be taking, you are more likely to follow their lead, even if it’s subconsciously. Mirroring has been a great tool for me as I work on goals related to my career and my casa. You’ll often find me cleaning with a Youtube video in the background of someone else decluttering and cleaning. I’m also continuously checking in with my accountability buddy and good friend Moriah Chace. Sometimes I text her a bunch of tasks I’ve completed and sometimes it’s me saying I just got out of bed. But having someone there rocks.
Pro Tip: Put it on there that you’re looking for an accountability buddy. You could ask your friends or post on social media. Chances are there is someone that needs help too. And if not? Start a blog! A lot of people in personal finance started one to be accountable for their finances and the community takes it from there.
4. Plan for having some “off” days.
In my early thirties, I was properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and ADHD. It took me YEARS to receive the right diagnosis. I had many of the symptoms, including the ability to burn my life to the grand every other year or so when I cycled. But I was always deemed too “high functioning.” There is such a stigma around those with bipolar disorder and what it looks like, or how someone acts.
I’m in a way better place than I ever have been and have finally found a regime that works for me. I take meds, I stopped hyper-fixating on being codependent in relationships and I regularly see a trauma-focused therapist. But I still have days where I can’t get out of bed or I’m exhausted or can’t focus or irritable. So now, I plan for off days. When I can’t do anything, I pretend I’m a Sim and do the bare minimum. I rest and watch a lot of 90 Day Fiance. And as much as I hate to “surrender”, I always feel much better when I accept it instead of run.
Pro tip: Try to plan to work on your goals just a few days a week. You can’t be busy or productive every day so don’t schedule it. Decide on a day or two where you simply have fun or rest and put the to-do list away.
5. Celebrate the shit out of yourself.
No one will make a big deal out of you if you don’t make a big deal out of yourself. I’m guilty of doing anything I can for outside validation. It’s the codependent in me. But I’ve also realized that I am a hot commodity and I have a lot going for me. Sure, it stings when someone doesn’t recognize it, but the more I celebrate myself, the less I seem to care.
Set up a reward system for when you make programs on a goal. Did yoga all day? Go get a pedi. Didn’t go to Target this week? Put the money you didn’t spend into a travel fund. I’m also a big fan of just doing nice things for myself. It doesn’t have to be expensive or cost a lot. Some of the ways I celebrate myself are getting flowers at the grocery store, picking up a Starbucks on the weekend or trying out a random subscription box.
Pro tip: As RuPaul says, how the hell are you gonna love somebody if you don’t love yourself? Remember you smell like sunshine and rainbows. Celebrate yourself, queen.
Sneak Peek Of My Goals for 2022
- Make $100,000
- Move-in with Josh
- Track my spending every day for a year
- Continue to take good care of Harrison.
- Be able to be a full-time entrepreneur if I wanted to.
- Go to Hawaii
- Read 52 books
- Lose 40lbs
Tell me. What are you up to this year?
