Review Your Goals & Write Them Down

It’s time to think Goals again.

At the start of the year (usually right after New Year’s Day here), goals show up everywhere. Literally plastered on ads, social media, blogs and whispered around any place people gather.

But strangely, as January plods on, people talk about their goals less and less. It loses momentum fast. By February, it’s almost non-existent. Why does our enthusiasm disappear so quickly? Or maybe it’s not gone. Maybe we lost sight of our goals because we didn’t write them down.

For the last couple of years and ever since hearing that written goals are achieved more frequently than goals that are just thought about (Check out a summary of the study done by Gail Matthews, Ph. D.), I’ve been keeping track of mine. On a piece of paper. Attached to the wall. Behind my computer.

And it helps. When I’m not sure of my next step, I glance up at those goals … and another list … under my goals I keep a running list of dreams … I’m working on coming up with 100 (here’s a great post on keeping track of dreams, How to Start Following Your Dreams by Holly Yoder at Breaking Average Blog).

This year, in addition to writing them down, I want to start the practice of reevaluating those goals consistently.

Seasonally.

Usually my review time comes at the end of the year when I want to think about a plan for the new year. I try to remember the year behind me, what I accomplished and what I didn’t. I use it as a time to remember my little and big wins along with my little and big failures. I’m always surprised at what I finished and what I learned (failures are excellent teachers).

Every bit of  information is useful. I need to know how long a project will take, so if I’ve misjudged one and it takes longer than I expected, I need to adjust my time estimate for the next project like it.

As I did my goal review in December 2018, I realized a few things.

• It takes a long time to evaluate a whole year thoroughly.
• I have a hard time remembering the many pieces of the year during one sit-down.
• As I work through the year toward my goals, I ignore things that I don’t have time for (I write them down but don’t look back on them, so they stay undone).

I wanted to remedy these problems.

What if I evaluate my goals more often?

I could note my accomplishments in smaller chunks and make a list of unfinished ideas/to-do items without feeling the overwhelm that an entire year of items brings. Then, I could add those normally ignored projects into the next section of the year instead of letting them fall into the oblivion, like they do now.

With that in mind, I decided to make my own goal sheet, using my watercolor and lettering (because I love them). Then I can use that sheet to reevaluate my year-long goals seasonally because the seasons form natural transitions in my life and work (ex: I work from home, and my kids don’t have school in the summer. So I have more concentrated time to work in the winter, etc.).

I need something more.

The goal sheet is perfect for displaying my goals on the wall behind my computer. But I need a way to keep track of the goals in smaller pieces. I need to break those goals into attainable steps and write the steps down, so I can plan ahead to achieve them.

I need a goal workbook with space to brainstorm, prioritize, break those goals into seasonal, monthly, and weekly steps so I can better evaluate my progress.

Today, I have the first piece. That goal sheet (I may change it up a bit for the final product, making it a little more customizable). I’m working on the rest of the workbook. It will be available for purchase soon.

(Update: Here is the finished goal workbook!)

If you want to get started with your goal tracking, you can download this goal sheet for free in the resource library (just plug in your email address in the box at the right or bottom of this page so I can send you the password. You’ll also receive blog posts and other updates as they become available. Thank you ahead of time, and enjoy!).

Happy dreaming, goal-making, and creating! It’s all worth it.