I really wanted to have a well-written, researched, and sound post about my 2019 goals. It turns out, however, that I blog like I write fiction – from the seat of my pants. Everything else ends up feeling forced and fake. So, having done quite a bit of prep for this, I’m going to keep what stuck in my brain, and the rest…
Oops.
So this is about setting my 2019 goals. There are plenty of blog posts by others on how to do it, there are workbooks walking you through what you should pay attention to, and so on and so forth. I’ve been saturated with information for several weeks now, and I’ve made some progress on my own.
Knowing where I stand has been pretty important for me. If I want to improve things, I ought to know where the starting line is. I’ve collected some of that information in workbooks, notebooks, and my brain, but since I want visitors to the blog to hold me accountable, I’ll be laying it out here in just a moment.
Knowing where I want to go is also kind of critical. Clearly the definition of a goal is to have a finish line, but it has to be more than “lose weight”, “write more”, and “parent better”. Measurable goals are critical for success – that’s something everyone is saying. And I’m totally guilty of setting New Year’s Resolutions that don’t do that, so I’m going to fix that.
Knowing how to get it done, or creating a plan, will help me succeed. I’m trying to remind myself that it doesn’t need to be so strict that missing a day or approaching something from a different angle shouldn’t completely derail me. That’s a bad habit of mine, too. I need to allow for mistakes, slow starts, and also for over-achievement moments.
Most importantly, knowing why I want to achieve my goals is going to help keep me on track. Goals are super easy to set. “I’m going to go to the gym every day this year” is not only a goal I’ve made (more than once), but also one I’ve failed every single time. There was never a Why glaring at me when I hit snooze on the alarm that was persuasive enough to get me out of bed anyway.
So that’s the plan. Figure out where I stand currently, set measurable goals, create a plan to accomplish the goals, and making sure there’s a “why am I doing this” for each one that’s meaningful and personal to me to keep me motivated.
Technically, setting goals for 2019 is in itself a goal. Let’s just buzz through the process quickly, eh?
Where do I stand?
I have no current goals, so I guess this is kind of a null entry. I have those vague things in my head – I need to write more, I need to move more, I need to make more money – but no real action items to get them accomplished aside from “Make better plans for 2019.” Which I’m working on right now, actually!
Where do I want to go?
I want to have a list of measureable goals with due dates and processes to get them each accomplished. I want to include goals for my health and for my business. I don’t want to overwhelm myself with goals that I think I should set but don’t actually feel like I need. There will be no guilting myself into doing something because I “should”. And I want to have a plan that feels acceptable set up by the first weekend in January.
How am I going to get it done?
I’m going to post the plans here on my blog. I am going to take a bit of time every day to make progress. I’m not going to beat myself up if there’s not time to work on it when I ought to be doing something else (family or work obligations), which means I need to make time for it in the mornings (like now!) when I have some time to myself.
Why?
Because I like the idea of having goals to govern my decisions and choices. Because I like to start a new year with new plans. Because I want to set a good example for my kids. Because I want to live the next four years with purpose and increased income.
So that’s it, I think! I’ll come back with more details soon.
Nicki Gets Distracted 