On the Beyond the Image Podcast, posted on 12/25/2019 I went through a full deep dive on how to properly set up your goals for the New Year so they can actually be achieved.
Why is this important? Because 25% of New Year’s goals are abandoned by the middle of January and less than 10% are ever achieved! That is a horrible statistic.
This approach covered in the full podcast as well as listed herein will help ensure you accomplish more of the goals you set your sights on.
STEP 1
Set your VISION for 2020. Write “In 2020 I will have…” and then record your forecasted vision for the year as if it has already happened. This is a freewrite paragraph that allows you to mentally set the tone for where you see the year going.
STEP 2
Write your PURPOSE for 2020. Now that your vision is recorded, do a second freewrite paragraph on the purpose and intentions you will have in the New Year. Once again, write them as if they have already happened. You are just recording the future reality.
STEP 3
What will be your LEGACY in 2020? Last freewrite portion. When you set a vision, when you live with purpose you will create LEGACY. What will be the legacy you create in 2020?
BONUS STEP 4
One thing I do every year, and that I would encourage you to do is to set a THEME for the year. This can be a single word, or it can be a phrase. But it must be something important to you that will help accelerate your work and motivation as you reference back to it throughout the year. If you can’t think of one, feel free to steal mine. My theme for 2020 is ELEVATE. Elevate your body, mind, relationships and business. Seek and find ways to elevate every single day.
STEP 5
Set up your goal tracking sheet. I like to do this in MS EXCEL or GOOGLE SHEETS but you can use a blank piece of paper if that is what you prefer.
In the furthest left column write CATEGORY
Next column write SUMMARY OF ACTION ITEMS
Next column write DEADLINE
Then place 4 columns (SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, FINAL in that order).
Then under each category you will select a title. This will be a cluster that your specific goals will fall under. For example one of my categories is “Photography” whereas another is “FITposium” and another is “Personal Growth & Development.” Look at the category as a house that will hold a bulk of your goals. You can have as many, or as few categories as you would like. I have 12 for 2020. There are years I have 14 and years I have 10. Just depends on my goals.
Next column write an overall summary goal for that specific category. Example you could have the category being “Financial” and the summary goal is “Gross $100,000 with a net of $60,000.” Or your category could be “Coaching” and your summary goal could be “Get a new client once a month.” This sets the overall goal and tone for each category.
Next column set a deadline for that category goal. Some can be the end of the year. Some may be earlier in the year. Some may be weekly or monthly. Some may just be ongoing.
The next four columns “Spring” “Summer” “Fall” and “Final” you will use throughout the year to evaluate yourself in the months of April, July, October and December to write and assess how you did in each of your categories This is how we keep ourselves focused and accountable on our goals throughout the year. This becomes a living document that you use throughout the year.
STEP 6
Under this you will create a new section for EACH CATEGORY you listed above. Under each category you will then list as many (or as few) specific, measurable, attainable, realistic goals as you would like. Since the columns are still there, you will then have the next column being a description of the goal, the column after that being the deadline and the next four columns being the review columns for “Spring” “Summer” “Fall” and “Final.”
Example, under my “Health” category I listed 3 goals. Here is the first of those 3.
Goal: #1. Sweat Daily.
Description: Find a way to sweat (if not a full workout then a way to create increase heart rate for at least 20 minutes 365 days out of the year)
Deadline: Daily
(Then I have the four review columns next where I will assess my progress in this goal throughout the year).
Here are two more examples under my “Personal Growth & Development Category where I have 5 goals.
Goal: #1 Read 50 Books
Description: Average 1 book a week reading or using Audible.
Deadline: Weekly
Goal: #5 Learn Guitar
Description: Hire a new guitar instructor. Practice weekly. Perform a full song in front of an audience before the end of the year.
Deadline: Hire instructor 5/1, Perform 12/31
THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
Then throughout the year I will be referring back to this document, one to make sure I remember all my goals and can track them, but also four times a year to assess my status and if I need to redirect my attention and energy to specific goals.
Stay tuned for next week’s article where I will dive into how to break these goals into quarterly action plans!
As always, we love it when you share this article online or with a friend!
James Patrick
JamesPatrick.com
IG @jpatrickphoto
