Five Ways to Dominate National Goal Writing Day & Demolish Your 2019 Goals
If your dreams do not scare you, they aren’t big enough
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
The hardest part of trying anything new is often knowing where to start. It is that lapse of time between courage and procrastination that impregnates our mind with doubts. Timid voices explain all the reasons why we shouldn’t or can’t accomplish a feat. For some people this could be as easy as a new diet or routine. For others it may be getting that promotion or applying for a job that you don’t feel that you are qualified for.
Although I know the human brain works off repetition and seeing things, I wasn’t always the best at writing my goals down. It was easy to forget them, not track progress or anything of that nature. I look back and realize how much more I potentially would have achieved if I took the time to be intentional about my accomplishments and seeing them outside of the notebook in my head. As you get ready to enter a new season with 2019 on the horizon one thing is certain that walking into the year with your goals being written with purpose will make the year successful.
In 2015, Marcus Gilmore launched National Goal Writing Day to help peers be intentional writing their goals for a new year. Gilmore who is also the founder of The Culture Supplier, a blog for creatives, cool kids, and all things for the culture, has reached over 10,000 people around the world with this campaign. With December 27th being the official date for the national day of writing, here a five ways to ensure that you get your goals.
Be Intentional. Your goals have to be something that you are willing to sacrifice for and quite honestly be uncomfortable with. It is your time, money, effort, sleep, etc. You have to be fully invested in it as well as be positive about them. Go into your goals with a grateful mindset.
Make them SMART. They are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time bound.
Keep them visible. Writing your goals down and keeping them in a visible area means you are more likely to work towards them and keep track of your progress. If you are always on your phone consider keeping them on the background of your home or lock screen. When I had a goal to lose weight after gaining 60 pounds after college I kept a picture of my ideal size/weight on my phone to remind me daily to do and be better. After months of kickboxing, workouts, and drastic dietary changes I went from 165 down to 120.
Break your goals into sub-parts. Seeing things in smaller parts that add to the larger sum will help you make them SMART as well as take off some of the pressure by making them manageable. For instance, maybe you want to get 30 new clients for your business this year. You would need to roughly get 8 new clients a quarter. If you shoot for 3 clients a month, it gives you some wiggle room in your 30 as well as potentially getting 36 instead of 30 if you are able to achieve it.
Continuous growth. Goals are as much about the action as it is growing mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. That requires obtaining knowledge to listen and learn which shapes you as a person. Having personal growth is really the purpose of any goal no matter what it is. You should be proud of who you will become by the end of the achievement. I pick tangible and intangible goals every year because I understand they go hand-in-hand If you want that blog, do the research. Understand your tools. Become the subject matter expert in what you are talking about. (I have a list of about 60 questions you should ask yourself before starting your blog or business. I do a one-on-one with new bloggers 1-2x a month. If you want the questions shoot me an email)
Between everything that I do during my 9 to life and beyond I understand the importance of keeping it all together. One of the questions I got this year was how do I balance everything which took my blog in a different direction earlier this year. In addition to my favorite agendas and supplied below make sure to download my The Balance Sheet. To form a a new habit it takes on average 30 days. This time is the most crucial part to keeping it up. The Balance Sheet is a layout of how I organize my day as well as some “get shit done today” affirmations for the busy Corporate Entrepreneurial Social Butterfly.
As always, stay classy my friends.