Since implementing new morning rituals (that I started last fall) I knew that I wanted to come up with a system for my goal setting at the start of 2019. I used to just write annual goals down and would sometimes check in with them but if I’m being totally honest, they’d usually end up forgotten. Now that I’m much more aware of where my time is spent and my productivity (which took a while to get a hang of, and I’m not totally there yet!) I felt that having several different rituals, but in an organized fashion, was going to help move me forward in all aspects of life.
After completing an amazing business mentorship this past year, Mike and I decided that on New Year’s Eve we were going to stay in with a bottle of wine, make a yummy dinner and write out our plans for 2019. This included making vision boards, reflecting on 2018 (the good and the bad) and goal setting.
Here’s exactly what we did:
2018 Reflections:
I love following Sarah of Simply Real Health and saw that for the past few years she’s kept a notebook of experiences and such. I loved this idea and made my own with a lot of what she used, but also added a few categories of my own in there:
- Trips taken
- Parties thrown
- Date nights
- Holidays hosted
- Favorite meals/ experiences
- Best books read
- Number of books read
- Favorite quote or motto
- Home projects completed
- Highlights
I’ll keep track of these throughout the year and then each New Year’s Eve going forward we can fill everything in and reflect upon the year!
We then wrote down goals for the coming year but we broke them down into these categories:
- First, I jotted down annual goals that came to mind
- Then we did quarterly goals broken down into:
- Personal, Career and Relationship
- Then we went back and made sure our annual goals matched with the quarterly ones. So if we have a career goal for 2019, we’d make sure that our quarterly goals included steps to complete this by year end.
I also wrote down my morning rituals and things that make me feel aligned and bring joy. (You can read about my morning routine here!) Examples of what makes me feel aligned and joyful are: No phone when I wake up (Instagram can wait), getting a morning workout in, taking a lunch break with Mike, reading a fiction book for 20+ minutes, daily walks while listening to a podcast, eating healthy and taking time out to cuddle with the pups. Hopefully these little examples will help spark ideas of what brings you joy and makes you feel like your best self. Another easy way to figure this out is: What makes you feel NOT great? When you get into bed at night and think “Ugh, I didn’t get XYZ done today” or “I ate way too much of X and feel gross.” Those are the things I’m looking to cut out of my life. Take note of them!
I wrote all of this down in a pretty notebook but also put my goals and routines into my all-time favorite daily planner.
We also created vision boards which was a lot of fun! I dropped the ball and didn’t get a bulletin board in time, so I taped things onto poster board and will now shop around for a pretty board I can hang in the office. We put up pictures of things that inspire us, trips we want to take, financial goals, motivating quotes etc. Anything that sets your heart on fire. It’ll be really cool to have this hanging in my office as a visual reminder of what I want my future to look like.
I’m a big believer in that we can (and should) better ourselves throughout the entire year, not just on January 1st. But there is something exciting about twelve yet-to-be-seen months and the possibility that lies within. However you choose to set goals and intentions for yourself enjoy the ride, check in frequently to make sure you’re staying on track and do a whole lot of what makes you happy and your best self!
Happy New Year, lovlies <3
PS. You can also check out my 7 Morning Habits That Increase Happiness and Productivity, here!
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