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a Goal without a plan is just a Nice Idea.
It’s the time of year when many of us start deep diving into reflection. Mulling over the major events and even mundane daily happenings from on the past year. Reflecting on relationships, accomplishments and times that we missed the mark. We also become wide-eyed with anticipation and excitement as we dream big and make plans for the brand new year. Some call them goals. Some people make resolutions, and then others mock and jeer about how “everyone starts making all these resolutions and then fall off the wagon before January is even over.”
Isn’t it sad that folks are out here tearing down other human beings who are hoping for a brighter future and have a desire to change for the better? You definitely won’t find me in that number. I’m here to encourage you, cheer you on and let you know that even if you’ve made goals every other year, and failed miserably; this year can be different. I’m here to help you (and me) by discussing the “how.” Let’s get into it!
This year when we write out our SMART goals let’s take it a step further. Before I get into that next step, I want to make sure we’re on the same page with SMART goals. These are goals that are:
Specific- write specifically what you want to accomplish
Measurable- you should be able to track your progress
Attainable- dream big, yet consider ALL your responsibilities/obligations
Realistic- your goal shouldn’t be impossible to reach
Time-based- give yourself a deadline
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s get back to the daily schedule. A daily schedule is an often overlooked key to helping you reach your goals. Our SMART goals can be the valedictorian of all goals, but guess what? If we don’t make time and space to work toward them, then they’re ultimately useless. Let’s set ourselves up for success by creating a daily schedule that carves out time to work toward our goals. As this work becomes part of our daily routines just imagine the success we can achieve.
Make time For Your Goals with a daily schedule
The first thing you want to do when creating your daily schedule is consider how much sleep you’ll need each night. Ideal for me is 7 hours.
Next consider when you want to dedicate time towards your goals. I have a goal of writing 1-2 blog posts per week, and I want to get after it before I go to my job most weekdays. Considering everything else that I have to do before leaving for work, I’ll need to wake up an hour earlier than my alarm typically goes off. This puts me at 5:00 a.m. wake up time, which also means that my day should ideally end at 10:00 p.m.
Frame Your Day to make time for your goals
It’s super important to frame your day with beginning and ending times so that you don’t over schedule, AND so that you’re mindful to keep a lively pace as you go about the tasks of your daily life.
I had a period of a couple years where I didn’t have a defined bedtime, and I just sort of went with the flow all day, not really thinking about how my choices throughout the day were all compounding and leading to me only getting 4-5 hours (sometimes less) of sleep most nights…talk about insanity!
Once you’ve framed your day with a beginning time and ending time , you can start time blocking the rest of your day with your priorities as well as the things you want to do.
Dedicate a Block of Time
Make sure that your daily schedule includes at least one block of time to work on your goals. That’s our main focus here. Maybe you’ll set aside 30 or 45 minutes each day before going to work, or before the kids get up. It’s ok if you use that time to work towards one goal on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and possibly work toward other goals on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
We all live different live with unique circumstances, so don’t get down on yourself if you’re having a hard time with making your daily schedule work. If you can’t find at least one dedicated block of time, try to make a point of using some of your unexpected pockets of free time to work towards those things that your heart truly desires.
Bake it into Your Routine
Remember that a goal without a plan is just a nice idea. When working towards our goals is baked into our daily schedule and routine, it keeps the vision fresh and increases the likelihood that we’ll accomplish what we’re setting out to do. What are some of your goals for the upcoming year? Leave me a comment down below. I’d love to hear from you!
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