Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution only to give up before January is over? That’s probably a silly question. For me, many times January comes and goes without much intention or goal setting. No matter where you are on this journey, we are going to flip yearly goal setting on it’s head and make it something fun that you actually want to do and something you can coach yourself through.
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Reflection
It you are going to make a plan for your year, the first step is reflection. Wait, don’t click away yet! Reflecting on your past year doesn’t have to be a chore! Here are a few fun ways to walk down memory lane:
- Scroll through the photos on your phone
- Look back through your calendar
- Reminisce with a loved one about this past year over your favorite beverage
- Go over your Birthday List
What is a birthday list you might be asking. Bethany and I have a tradition that we’ve done off and on for the past 10 years or so. Each year on our birthdays, we make a list of items we would like to get done before our next birthday. We limit the number of items on the list to whatever the age we are turning. For example, on the first list we made it was 30 items before turning 30, or as we called it 30 before 30. I still actually have my 30 before 30 list archived on my Google Drive!
The fun thing about making a birthday list is we approach it with a spirit of adventure. There can be aspirational items or smaller goals, whatever you decide. In Episode 102 of A to B Podcast, we go into more detail about specific items we had on our list so be sure to taken a listen if you want to make your own birthday list for this year.
Reflecting on your past year doesn’t have to be so bad! But before we move on there is one last step to make the most of our reflection. We have to process the info we gained by asking ourselves a few questions:
- We did we do well that we want to continue doing this next year?
- What things do we want to change for this coming year?
We have created a downloadable freebie to guide you (and us) as we are working through planning our year. You can download it here to follow along.
Planning
Now that reflection is complete we can move on to planning. Planning can sometimes feel dauting, especially if you don’t consider yourself a natural planner. This is when the birthday list comes into play for us. We think of a birthday list more like brainstorming fun things you’d like to do and less like planning.
- What are all the things you’d like to get down this year, big and small?
There is no wrong answer with this list. Go ahead and take a sigh of relief, you don’t have to get all right when you write it down.
If birthday lists aren’t really your style, use the idea of big rocks, small rocks, and pebbles.
- What are the big things you want to accomplish, (the big rocks)?
- What are the smaller items, (small rocks)?
- and the seemly little items, (small pebbles)?
Again, use the free printable to help you record your rocks. If you have not heard of the jar of rocks productivity story, be sure to listen to the podcast to hear Bethany’s retelling.
After you have decided on the main tasks you want to get done, let’s think of the next actionable steps you can take to move that task forward. Use the printable to record this small actionable step that you are going to take next.
Action
Now it is time to take action! Grab your calendar and schedule in time to work on the small, actionable steps you listed out above. This is actually when the hard work takes places. You have to find time in our busy daily lives to fit in your small steps to your projects. Check out Episodes 82, Time mapping for the Win part 1 and Episode 83, which is part 2, where we talking about finding more time in our schedules.
As you are focusing on action, be sure to celebrate the small steps you are taking. It can feel like a marathon most days so it is important that we coach ourselves through it. You got this! If you want to share your journey with us along the way, we’d love to hear it.
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