#goal tips

I have. Opinions. On goals and resolutions and all those fun things. One of the greatest things in life for me is completing a goal. That said, following through with the things you promise yourself is incredibly difficult- especially if you go for big goals (which is a-okay you just gotta prep right)

Note on resolutions: Please PLEASE start doing the thing a month or two before the new year. I know it sounds dumb because it's a NEW YEAR resolution, not a November resolution, but getting into the habit of (for example) going to the gym 3x per week in November, and having slip ups in November, means that when January rolls around, it isn't new and scary, and it's way less likely that you will stop doing the goal in a week.

Note for all goals: don't aim too high- like in the previous example, I said gym 3x per week. I know so many people who decided they wanted to go to the gym every day, and then missed one day, and gave up because their streak wasn't perfect. Depending on the importance to you, I might even pick a goal way lower than what you think you can do- just so you can give yourself grace if you have an off day, or if you get sick.

Onto my method!

I'm a visual person, and I also happen to enjoy decorating paper, so I make goal sheets. I typically have three at any point in time.

My quarterly goals. I'm still in high school, so I make a goal sheet for each quarter of the school year. These are going to be your most broad goals- get >85% in all my classes - or journal 2x per week. Goals that are longer term, or goals that are not incredibly difficult, but would do a lot of good for you. Try and make these goals easy/medium. For example- I hope to journal every day for this quarter because it does me quite a bit of good, however I know that there may be days where I get tired or don't have time, so I left plenty of room for error.

Monthly goals. These can be very similar to quarterly goals, so if it wouldn't help you to have both- don't. I do this, because I like to hyperofocus some months onto specific things. I'm doing NaNoWriMo this November, and so one of my monthly goals will to be writing every day. Separating this out to months is less stressful for me, because I can push through one months, but pushing through three is an awful lot.

The most important for me- Weekly goal sheets. I don't include weekends into these, and they are typically very focused on issues I'm having in that moment. I was finding myself skipping a lot of class, so a weekly goal was to go to every class I had. The weekly goal sheets allow you to focus in on issues you're having, and help push you towards achieving your quarterly/monthly goals.

The thing that allows all these sheets and rules and nonsense to work is a rewards system. As I'm making my sheets, I write in things I can do if I complete my goals. For the weekly goals, I will allow a trip to my fav tea shop, or organizing an event with friends. I try pretty hard not to make the reward buying something because that feels icky to me.

Monthly goals, I generally attatch a reward that could be read as a chore. For example, one of my goals this month is to read before bed three times a week. If I do that, I can clean out my bookshelves and get rud of books. This may not seem like a reward, but once I clean out my shelves, I'm allowed to buy more books, so it opens an opportunity. (without rewarding myself via consumerism)

Quarterly rewards are the most exciting (for me). I have a long list of things I can afford, I want, but feel like I need a special occasion to buy. this could be a tailored vest, a pen, a new notebook. Is it consumerism based reward? Yes. Does it massively decrease my purchasing bc I only by myself "for fun" things when I complete a quarterly task? Yes. It also forces me to use self control because I

1) have to wait a while to get the thing

2) If I don't do the goal, I cannot buy.

If you’re having difficulties completing or committing to your goals, there’s a good chance that the goals you’re aiming for are too vague. 

For example, at the beginning of the month, or school term, or whatever, I used to always set myself the goal to “Write Everyday”, but that would always fall through within about 10 days. 

Recently however, I paired that goal with another one, which was “Write a short story every week”, in which I sorted out a writing schedule to ensure that I would be able to complete the short story within the time frame (Monday + Tuesday planning, Wednesday + Thursday + Friday writing, Saturday + Sunday editing, etc)

Then, not only did my week have a structure I could follow to complete my goals, but I actually have an idea on what type of writing I would be doing on any given day. 

And you know what? I’m currently on 14 consecutive days of writing, the longest streak I’ve had in literal years, and I’m pleasantly surprised to find that it’s actually been quite effortless to keep. 

*disclaimer*: these tips are just part of how I make my resolutions, i am not in any way saying that this is the “right” way to make them. that said, i hope this post can help you as you plan out how to make 2018 your best year!

- splitting the year up by seasons and listing the general goals/focus areas in each season can help you avoid being overwhelmed by a seemingly extensive amount of goals/resolutions you have. It can also help you focus on a small number of goals rather than trying to fulfill them all together at once.

- splitting up your resolutions by category is another way to organize your resolutions in an easier-to-manage way. example categories on my list include “money/finance”, “personal hobbies”, and “academics”.

- start small and use baby steps when writing your goals in order to make them more tangible and achievable. for example, instead of making it a goal to “raise my GPA” or “get all As”, you could make it a goal to “go to tutorials whenever you are struggling on concepts” or “review what you learn in class after school every day”. By making your resolutions into small physical tasks and habits, you are more inclined to do them, and more likely to fulfill the bigger goal.

- know that there will be bumps along the way, and plan for them. no one is perfect, and if you break your resolution it isn’t the end of the world. the important thing is to not let yourself get caught up in it. identify the problem and find a way to help/get rid of it. for example, say one of your goals was to “do homework as soon as you get home”. instead of doing so, you find yourself playing on your phone until dinner, and subsequently not starting your homework until much later. by recognizing the problem, you can often find a solution, such as turning your phone off until all your homework is done, or by using productivity apps such as forest or focus now to keep yourself off your device.

- plan small rewards for achieving your goals as a way to keep yourself motivated and focused on your task. 

- justify your resolutions. ask yourself, why am i making this resolution? how will it benefit me as a person? many resolutions often fail simply because people lose their interest in their goal, showing that they were never truly bent on achieving that goal or forming that habit, but rather came up with it based on a brief whim or were influenced by societal trends or standards at the time.

- check in at the end of every month. reflect on your progress, identify if any changes should be made to your resolutions. the resolutions you set at the beginning of the year are not definite, as you may find that throughout the year your goals and interests have in fact changed.