Hello 2021!! Like for many of you, 2020 was a crazy roller coaster of year filled with plenty of ups and downs.  The year started with Covid canceling my social life and finding me confined to my small one bedroom apartment, then lead to the purchase of my amazing home.  At the end of summer, I hit another low when my father unexpectedly passed away.  But, I ended the year on the high of getting engaged.  After of year of extreme highs and lows, I was excited to get away for a bit by spending the last week of 2020 in a small town in Northeast Texas visiting some of Steve’s family. I took a break from blogging, focused on being in the present moment, and came home ready to kickstart a new year.

I usually spend New Year’s Day laying out my goals for the year, setting up my blog calendar, and brainstorming new ideas and posts.  Since we were out of town, I decided to wait until my first 3-day weekend of the year.  I spent most of yesterday thinking up lots of new content ideas and starting my yearly goals.

GOAL SETTING PROCESS

I love love love setting goals! I make yearly and monthly goals which help me stay on track, stay motivated, and keep me moving forward.  My goal setting process is pretty simple.  I’m sharing it below in case you are looking to set yourself up for success this year.  I usually do this process twice – once for my personal goals and one for my blog goals.

1. SET 3-5 ATTAINABLE YEARLY GOALS AND 1-2 BIG DREAM GOALS
   I think about what I hope to accomplish this year and set a few goals that I know with a little work and determination that I can achieve by the end of the year.  I also like to set one or two big dream goals.  These are items that I’m okay if I don’t achieve, but I want to work towards with my baby goals.
2.  SET 3-5 ACTIONABLE GOALS EACH MONTH TO HELP REACH ATTAINABLE YEARLY GOALS
   At the start of each month, I write down a few goals for each month that I would like to focus on and that are actionable.  I make them simple, easy, and short.  I usually keep them posted somewhere visible like on the fridge, bathroom mirror or at my desk.  These goals are things that will put me on track to achieving some of my yearly goals.For example, if my yearly goal is to improve overall health, a monthly goal might be to eat 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  The next month, my goal might be to do yoga 3 times a week.  My hope is that the goal I set month one becomes a healthy habit, and I add to it each month.  By the end of the year, I will have built 12 new healthy habits that will improve my overall health.
3. SET1-2 ACTIONABLE GOALS EACH MONTH TO HELP REACH BIG DREAM GOALS
   I use the same idea as in step 2 with these goals being steps moving me towards those big dream goals.
4.  REVISIT AND REVISE MONTHLY AND YEARLY GOALS AS NEEDED
   My goals for the year may change as the year progresses and life changes.  I like to keep the option open to mix things up if needed.  This doesn’t mean cancel a goal because it’s hard or not going how I want it too.  It just means I give myself the flexibility to be adaptable to the changing circumstances of life.

If you are looking to set some new goals for 2021, I hope this process will help you out! With my blog goals in mind, I’m including a quick reader survey below.  One of my goals this year is to grow and expand the topics covered on the blog.  This is where you can help me out by letting me know what you want to see more of, what you love, and other things that help me plan out my content for the year.  I really appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey!

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