Goal Setting and Planning for 2018

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     Are you a goal setter and a planner? I try to be.  But, unfortunately all too often my determination for self improvement begins to fizzle after a couple of weeks (or days) and my goals are all but forgotten. This leads to me setting some of the same goals year after year and feelings of frustration.
     I know, I know, goals need to be written down or they are only wishes. But where do I write them down?  I have used charts and notebooks with varying degrees of success. What usually happens is that I either misplace the notebook, or it gets re-purposed as time goes by.  Charts are just in my way. As you can see, I need a solution and one of my goals for this year is to find one! 

     Madalynn came to my rescue this Christmas when she gave me this beautiful calendar and planner! 

 I love it because it has a daily and monthly calendar, and a place for my yearly goals.  It also has tabs and for each month and copious note pages at the back. And finally, a pouch to hold pens and pockets to tuck in little note cards.  I have decided to use this planner (similar style here) to help me to succeed at my goals this year! Here is my strategy:
    

Review and Reflect 

    This week, before the beginning of the New Year, I am taking some time to review and reflect upon the different areas of my life where I would like to see growth or change.  All of us have so many aspects of ourselves.  I am considering my blogging life, my spiritual life, my physical self and my personal growth and personal preparedness.  Of course, many of these layers overlap. But, I am hoping to come up with a goal or two in each area.  I will let you know what my final decisions are in a later post.

Make Specific Goals

     Too often I have made goals that are too general.  For example, Lose weight, or Do more canning.  Those goals are much too general and overwhelming. That makes me feel defeated before I even start. I need to set goals that are more achievable and specific.  Instead of Lose weight, I could say Cut out processed sugars, or stop drinking sodas or make 2/3 of my dinner plate plant based. or walk 3 miles per day.  Those all seem like goals I could achieve and get the result I am looking for.

Write the Goals Down

     I know it really is important to write my goals down.  If not for any other reason than to help me remember them! My new planner has a page for recording my yearly goals.  I will record them bullet journal style with ideas to help me reach those goals.  If my goal is to can more meat for food storage, I might write watch for sales on beef to can, or purchase extra chicken, or get more wide mouthed canning jars. In other words, plan ahead to succeed! I will be able to write specific dates to do things towards my goals in my calendar.

Journaling

     I used to be really good at keeping a journal.  As I had more children and life got busier, I have become terrible at it.  I am pretty sure that one of my goals this year is going to be about journaling.  That goal is going to help me reach my other goals.  My planner, as I mentioned before, has a nice amount of note pages.  Having my calendar and goals and journal pages all in the same book will make my life so much easier! I may not journal daily, but even if I only do it monthly, I will be able to reflect on my monthly progress and stay on track.  I hope to be able to record many successes! 

Don't Give Up!

      There will be months when the goals will fall by the wayside and I will mess up.  We all will have moments when things just don't come together.  It is so important to just carry on from where you are at! Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you can never try again until next year! Never give up! Never Surrender! (Famous line from Galaxy Quest).

     If you don't have a planner ready, here are a few to check out! Click the pictures to purchase them.

This one is from Swoozies! Super stylish!

Minted has beautiful fully customize-able notebooks. You can add a photo to the cover, personalize it with a name, turn it into an address book, planner or journal or all 3 at once.

Etsy has so many choices in so many styles and prices to choose from when it comes to planners! Some are ready made and some are printable. There are personal planners, wedding planners, financial planners, you name it! The two above caught my eye. 

     I will reveal my goal decisions at the New Year! I wish you all success with your goals in this coming year.  If you have any tips and tricks when it comes to achieving your New Year's goals, please let me know in the comments.