With the New Year starting up and all the hubbub that goes into New Year’s Resolutions, we are going to review a list of the things that can help everyone work on setting goals and reaching them this year.
With New Year’s just past, most people have already written up their New Year’s Resolutions and are actively trying to pursue them. If you haven’t, or if you’ve already thrown in the proverbial towel, this article is for you. The path to achieving a goal starts the moment you dream it up, and every action you take from there on out sets the stage for success or failure. There are three main areas to understand when working towards a goal; types of goals, setting good goals, and planning your pursuit.
Types of Goals
You can break up your goals in many different ways but the two main categories are: the length of time the goal is set to take and the area of life it falls into.
Length of Time
With the length of time category, there are two general sections: short-term goals and long-term goals.
You can define them how you see fit, but I typically set the parameters as such. Short-term goals take less than a month to complete, start to finish. Long-term goals last anywhere from a couple of months to an entire year, sometimes even longer.
When making goals, it can be easy to set lofty ones that typically fall into the long-term goals category. Goals like losing weight, training for a race, growing a business, or even saving a certain amount of money all fall into the long-term category. While these goals are great, it’s best to make no more than 40% of your goals long-term. If you set too many long-term goals, you won’t be able to give each goal the time and attention they require, and you may end up being unable to achieve even one because you’ve stretched yourself so thin.
Short-term goals aren’t any less critical. They can be a breakdown of parts that’ll help you work towards your long-term goals, or they can stand entirely on their own. Some examples of short-term goals I’ve had are trying a new hairstyle, attending a live music event, and attending a class for something new. These short-term goals facilitate the feeling of accomplishment because while they are still things you want to do, they’re quick to complete. This helps your long-term goals by helping you feel more confident going into them because if you’ve already accomplished several other goals, you can tackle one bigger goal.
Main Areas of Life
Another way to categorize goals is through the area of life they fall into. There are ten main areas: family and friends, personal growth and development, spirituality, finances, career/business, significant other/romance, fun and recreation, contribution and giving, health and fitness, and physical environment.
I listed them out so that you can sort any goals you’ve made into these categories. You may notice that one or two of your areas hold the majority of your goals. This is a good activity to ensure you aren’t working too heavily in one area and neglecting others. While you may think that some of these areas don’t apply to you, pursuing at least one goal in each area will make you happier and more fulfilled. I have included a list of ideas for goals in each area at the end of this article to help you get started on your own thoughts and goals.
Setting Good Goals
Notice I didn’t say “reasonable” or “realistic” goals. It’s okay to have some of your goals be slightly more “unrealistic” as long as they still align with what you want. You may just surprise yourself with what you accomplish after writing it down.
With each goal, you should detail what exactly you want to accomplish. For example, earlier, for a short-term goal, I said that one of my previous goals was to “try a new hairstyle”. This is not a well-written goal. I rewrote it as “dye my own hair black,” which outlines exactly how this goal will be accomplished and how I’ll know when I’ve achieved it. Be as detailed as possible when you are writing these out. It may help to imagine that you are asking for this exact thing from someone, and you need to include as many details as possible to receive the correct thing.
Additionally, your goals should be as concise as possible. While this might sound like it contradicts the part where I told you to be detailed, this actually reinforces the fact that each word you pick needs to fit the goal and help get it across in a sentence.
Planning Your Pursuit
This advice can vary depending on the category of the length of time your goal falls into. If your goal is a short-term goal, then you should decide on a month or season to work on that goal and schedule it into your planner or on your phone.
For long-term goals, especially those that span the entirety of the year, you need to figure out what needs to be done at different points in the year to keep you on track. For example, if you want to write a book in a year, you might break up the year and give yourself a set amount of time to complete each stage of the book-writing process. Your plan might look something like this:
- Basic premise = 1 week
- Story skeleton = 2 weeks
- Character basics = 2 weeks
- Synopsis = 1 week
- Plot development= 3 weeks
- Character development = 5 weeks
- Locations= 2 weeks
- Scene blocking = 3 weeks
- Draft one = 4 weeks
- Theme development = 3 weeks
- Draft two = 6 weeks
- Final draft = 12 weeks
- Final editing = 8 weeks
This is a well-written and thoroughly thought-out plan for how much time will be allotted throughout the year to each part of the process. This ensures you won’t fall behind and be scrambling in the final months and have to sacrifice on the editing or another crucial stage of the writing process, compromising the overall product.
Keep Yourself Organized
Regardless of your goal and how much time you allot to it, I suggest getting a physical planner of some sort to keep all of your deadlines in. Whether it’s a pocket planner or a desk-sized monthly calendar doesn’t matter as long as it works for you.
Here are some goal ideas for the different areas of your life if you need an idea of where you should start when making goals. Some of the areas, such as spirituality, cause people to say that they don’t need to work on all areas. Even if you are an atheist or agnostic, you can still work on spirituality in the form of connecting with yourself and your body through acts such as yoga, meditation, and journaling.
Give each area a try, even if you believe they aren’t applicable to your situation.
Ideas for Areas of Your Life Goals
Family and Friends
- Plan 1 outing a month with a friend
- Call someone you care about every other week
- Write a letter to a grandparent
Personal Growth and Development
- Read 15 books this year
- Listen to a podcast episode every day on your drive to work
- Take a dance class this year
Spirituality
- Practice meditation daily after waking up
- Read from your religious text (or from one you want to learn more about)
- Practice a spiritual activity such as yoga or prayer often
Finances
- Pay off your student loans
- Save $2,000 in savings
- Pay off your credit cards each month
Career and Business
- Work towards/ask for a raise
- Grow your passive income stream
- Expand your business reach by getting on social media
Significant Other and Romance
- Go on an out-of-the-box date this year
- Practice open communication and trust
- Spend a weekend together, just the two of you
Fun and Recreation
- Travel to Nicaragua
- Learn how to crochet a bucket hat
- Go kayaking this summer
Contribution and Giving
- Volunteer with a local organization
- Donate money to a nonprofit you admire
- Help raise money and awareness for a local charity
Health and Fitness
- Drink 10 cups of water a day
- Run a 5k
- Take your vitamins daily
Physical Environment
- Reorganize your room
- Buy a house
- Remodel your bathroom
