Welcome to 2017!

It’s hard to believe 2017 is already here! I could’ve sworn we were just welcoming 2016. The older I get, the faster it goes (just like my elders have promised!) Life is a downhill ride; the closer you are to the bottom, the faster it goes.

So now it’s time to think about and start putting into practice all those goals and resolutions you’ve set, right? If you’re not into that, I totally get it. No one wants to plan to do certain things in the New Year only to give up days, weeks, or months later. But if you’ll take the time to consider doing so, you can accomplish some great things this year!

Be Specific

When setting goals, be specific. You’ll want to know if and when you hit the mark. “I want to lose weight this year.” Great goal! But how much weight? Be sure to track your progress too. If you’re planning to save an extra $1,000 this year for that 2018 Getaway, randomly pitching in pennies here and dollars there without counting it every once in awhile isn’t going to help much if you don’t know how far you have to go.

Set a Deadline

After you’ve set your goals, add a deadline. If that’s the end of the year, great! That’s an easy deadline to remember. Along with deadlines, it’s helpful to set checkpoints also. See if you’re on track. Don’t let it be a surprise on December 31, 2017, when you’re nowhere close to accomplishing what you thought you would. Just like running a marathon, you’ll need to pace yourself for the bigger goals to make sure you don’t leave too much ground to cover too close to the deadline.

Write It Down

If you do nothing more, be specific, have deadlines, and write down your goals. I like to put my goals in a planner so they’re easily accessible when I need to refer back to them. I always have better results when I make things fun and inviting, so I invested in an awesome new blog calendar that will also house my goals.

Stay Accountable

The best way to follow through with your goals is to tell someone about them. Share with someone close to you what you plan to accomplish (and how if you so choose). Ask them to check in with you. If it’s something you believe in, you’ll want to share, then whoever you choose will be able to celebrate with you when you meet your goal.

Reevaluate

One thing I find to be helpful with goal setting is to reevaluate once in awhile. If you’ve made good progress, but are too close to a deadline to meet it, that’s ok. It’s not failure. A lot of times, it just means you didn’t set a reasonable deadline, and you need to reset it. Scratch out the due date and put a new one. That tends to remove some of the pressure too. (If you’ve accomplished nothing and choose to move a deadline, beware of plain old procrastination!)

Another reason to reevaluate a goal is to ask yourself if you should defer it to a later time or forget it altogether. If a goal is important to you, then you’ll be sure to make it happen whether that’s now or at a later time when it makes more sense. Staying accountable to someone close to you means you also have someone to collaborate with, and they can help with the evaluation process. Don’t get bogged down when you’re just not getting traction on what you thought was an important resolution at the time. Your priorities are going to shift throughout the year, so it’s ok for your goals to ebb and flow with them. One example that comes to mind is if a young lady were to set a weight-loss goal, but became pregnant. She’s going to expect to gain some healthy weight to support the baby. It’s probably a no-brainer, but deferring her weight goal makes sense.

While this list isn’t exhaustive (and I’m still nailing down the specifics), here are some things I’d like to accomplish by the end of this year:

1. Read more. I would love to read a book per month! Reading definitely fuels my writing, so I like to be consistent in this area. If I reach that goal after the first quarter, I’ll start reading two books per month, one fiction and one non-fiction.
2. Ask for help. I’ve learned that I can’t do it all. Personally and professionally, if I’m coming close to a deadline or acknowledge biting off more than I can chew, I want to do better about raising the flag early and as often as necessary to get the job done.
3. Control the clutter. When my computer, phone, or home becomes cluttered in certain areas (you know, the things that start causing the blood pressure to rise!), I want to proactively remove the junk. I’ve found the DayOne app to be extremely helpful in this area as I can store photos, memories, and notes there, and don’t have to hold onto unnecessary items.

I enjoy encouragement, so I wanted to share a video I stumbled upon earlier today since it helped me to visualize what it would look like to make a difference this year. If you’ll take 4 minutes to watch, you’ll not only get the warm fuzzies, but it’ll change your perspective for sure!

For the wonderful New Year, I’ll leave to you with one last tidbit – fear less; be more…

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” ~II Timothy 1:7