Goal Planning for 2020

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I have been knee deep in planning and setting my personal, business, and home goals for 2020, and beyond! According to Marie Forleo, you are 40% more likely to achieve your goals if you simply write them down and review them frequently. With that kind of success rate, why WOULDN’T you be writing down your goals?! I personally think it can really help clarify what is important to you, and your top priorities for the year. 

The way to set goals that works best for me is to set the major goal, and then break it down into steps or systems of HOW you will achieve them. The major goal should also be a SMART goal, or specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. Here’s an example for you ~

GOAL: Read more books 

See how this goal isn’t specific enough, it doesn’t tell you what kind of books, how often you want to read, how many books you want to read, etc? You need to set specific and attainable goals, like so ~ 

SMART GOAL: Read 1 nonfiction book per month, or 10-20 pages per day. 

This one is specific about how many books you are reading, and how many pages per day you are reading, it is measurable by the monthly and daily goals, it’s attainable for me, relevant to my overall priorities in life, and time bound with 1 book read per month.

Now, after I set a SMART goal, I try to get even more specific with the systems of how I will achieve that particular goal. This is especially important if the goal is bigger, or requires more depth.

For example – 

SMART GOAL – Start a lifestyle blog by the end of February 

SYSTEMS – 1. Purchase a domain name  2. Design & set up the website 3. Set up the social media accounts 4. Write 5 blogs to start  5. Take or gather  photos for your blog posts  6. Set a launch date

There may be many more systems you need to write down to actually achieve your goal – this one is just an example for you. Another example might be – 

SMART GOAL – Lose 10 pounds by March 1st, 2020

SYSTEMS – 1. Go to the gym or exercise 3-4 times per week 2. Meal prep and plan all lunches 3. Practice intermittent fasting 4. Cut out sodas and sweet tea from diet 5. Weigh yourself at the same time & day once a week and record the weight

Whatever goal you may be pursuing, using SMART goals and systems to help you plan out the actions needed to achieve those goals will greatly increase the chances of them actually coming to fruition! Breaking things down into smaller steps can help it feel more attainable. 

Don’t forget to review your goals and systems as frequently as possible to keep them fresh in your mind. I try to look over mine at least a few times a week, if not every day. The more you review them, the more you will pursue them.