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| Photo credit: Dumblittleman.com |
As fall rolls around and the school year starts again, it seems like a great time for setting goals. For me, realistically, my life revolves on a August to August basis much more than it does January to January.
I listened to an amazing podcast today on goal setting and with all of the planning and working I've been doing to structure my days with the kids all in school all day, it seemed like a really good time to look at the goals I set in January and see what needs to be fixed, updated or improved. So, I looked back and discovered...that I didn't set any goals for the year.
I did set a few goals to accomplish by the end of February and I accomplished three of the four.
This is kind of a shock.
Still, it seems like now is as good a time as any to set some goals--not just for 2014, per se, but for the 2014-2015 school year. Then we'll have a few summer goals and it will begin again.
I just have to stop right here and say how freeing it is to not feel a need to set goals in January! I feel liberated! (You can be, too!)
As I'm thinking about goals, I have to share some of the amazing tips from today's podcast, though you really ought to listen to the whole thing.
1. Don't set a ba-zillion goals.
I'm getting better at this as time goes on, but author, Kat Lee, insists that you cap your goals at 4. And don't be ashamed if you just do one goal at a time. She made an awesome point that once you've accomplished that goal, you can totally set another.2. Be prayerful.
She suggests reading, journalling, praying, assessing the past year for a week to solidify goals. And even then, as directed by the Spirit, you can totally change, remove or improve your goal.3. Set up SMART goals.
I can't say that I was familiar with the acronym, but I was with the concepts. Goals should be...Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound
(You can see these and get a cool free printable for Goal Setting here.)
4. Write your goal as an affirmation.
I have long know that goals need to be positive and written in the present tense. But writing your goals as an affirmation? This was a paradigm shift for me and perhaps the most exciting thing about goal setting that I learned in Kat's podcast.5. Write the your goal-affirmation regularly.
I think Kat said that she rewrites her goals once a week. You could totally do it daily. The cool thing is, not only will writing the goal keep it at the forefront of your mind, but it also allows you to evaluate the goal and change it as needed. This way, the goal serves you instead of you feeling beaten by the goal.
(I think this tip came from Kat's podcast on goals Part 2. Don't yell at me if it's not in Part 1.)
I'm ready now! Off to write two goals. I think that's a good place to start.
