Today is December 30.
I’m so not ready for the holiday season to be over, for the year to be over.
I’m a big fan of setting goals but tend to avoid starting goals on January 1, just because it seems so cliche. So I started some goals in December, primarily working on a bedtime routine and getting to bed earlier.
I failed miserably.
I do a good job of setting goals, and throughout December I’ve been really consistent about using my weekly planner pages, which have helped me set priorities each day. But I find myself saying, almost every morning, that TODAY WILL BE THE DAY I start doing ALL THE THINGS. Some days they happen. Some days they don’t. Maybe most days.
What I’m currently lacking is any sort of accountability, any means of tracking how I’m doing. I’ve used a variety of means of tracking before – apps, paper charts, posted listed with actual gold stars.
I’ve created a half-page reflection page to complete each night to help myself think about what’s working, to have to answer to myself, and to be able to look back and track progress. I’ve emphasized the positive, because I know that what you look for in life is what you find, and I want more positives – more gratitude, more joy, more to look forward to.
I included spaces for six goals. I know that’s too many, that “best practice” in goal setting is to focus on one or two at a time.
But I just can’t get that to work for me. I’ve been listening to the audio book version of Darren Hardy’s The Compound Effect. He talks about how it’s the little things we do each day that add up, how small changes are what make a difference over time, either positive or negative.
So I want to have several little things I’m working on each day. For example, I really want to learn how to do a handstand. I’m not yet strong enough to hold myself up, but if I practice once or twice each day, eventually I’ll get there. Thirty seconds of practice each day is very doable, so doing a handstand doesn’t need to be the only goal I’m working toward.
Some of the goals are bigger, especially trying – again! – to get a better bedtime routine in place. January gives me 31 chances to figure that out, and now I’ll have a better way to look back and see what worked and when.
Other daily goals for January include:
- Recording my daily spending (following through with a new budget I worked on in December)
- Walking at least 10,000 steps
- Drinking at least 64 ounces of water
I want to improve. This should help.
