How I’m Doing Goal Setting This Year: 21 For 2021
It’s February. Moves fast, right? And you’re like busy busy. At capacity. Your days are filled with to-do lists, an over-scheduled life, children and significant others that rely on you (for everything). Constantly moving and doing, but feeling like you’re not really accomplishing anything. The hamster wheel. Rinse and repeat. And you just survived 2020. You can sit back and coast on that, right? It’s become the reason (errrr, excuse) for everything. I see you. And I get it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can own your day rather than it owning you. You can be proactive and intentional rather than reactive and accidental. What changed it for me was getting rid of the New Year’s Resolution style approach (big generalized/overarching goals) and focusing on the micro, everyday ways I live my life. Small changes done on a regular basis that add up over time. And putting it into a plan. You need a plan, my friends.
Enter, 21 For 2021. Inspired by the woman who “relentlessly explores human nature to understand how we can make our lives better,” the (genius) Gretchen Rubin. I devour her content: books, podcasts, blog - all of it. Twenty-one things you want to do/accomplish/become/complete by the end of the year. They can be easy or ambitious, one-time undertakings or habits that stretch for years. Think about what you want the new year to hold for You. Get the things out of your mind and onto paper and this list becomes your compass for 2021. When you feel lost or adrift, you have a place to go to course correct. A tangible body of words that will guide you back to the driver’s seat, because at the end of the day, no one else is responsible for your life. Empowering and terrifying, I know. I feel it, too. Do not be a deer in headlights as the calendar pages turn wondering what just happened? where did February go? what did I do with 2021? (oh I have so so been there). I promise this seemingly innocent little list will make you happier, healthier, more productive and more creative by year’s end.
Here’s mine:
Time Block 2 hours every weekday to write. No restrictions, no editing, no perfecting.
3x/week do a sweaty/can’t catch my breath workout (hiit)
1x/week do a 60-90 minute yoga practice
Start teaching yoga again
Meditate (consistently)
Learn! Take classes that inspire, interest and educate me on topics I want to know more about.
There are some (superficial, yes I know) things that bother me (reminder to self: this is normal, you are human). Decide if doing something about them will help me feel happier and contribute to my self worth/confidence. Spider veins, teeth, sun spots/wrinkles.
Go to one place on my Wellness Wanderlust List (btw, we should all have a biggest/wildest dreams list like this. Future post I will share mine)
Blow-dry my hair more often. You will feel better!
Have an out-of-the-house date night 1x/week
Stay up to date with photo/video project for Sienna + Aster: prints/yearly books/video/memory boxes
Write a personal manifesto
Complete laundry room/garage project
Redo our closet
Take Sienna on a mom/daughter special alone time weekend/overnight
Plan 1 family vacation
Plan a solo 2 day minimum getaway
Make a My Life Timeline
Plan a solo getaway with my sister
Keep making our home our sanctuary. furniture, art, organization
READ. 1 book/week
It seems simple, but for me simple is what works. My go-to list to ensure that I don’t let 2021 pass by in a haze of WTF? I have my compass. When I feel lost or adrift, I go to it. I let it lead me back. I have this list taped beside my computer and on my bathroom mirror. I will be the driver of this year. I will wake up every day and run my day rather than the day running me. And I will be happier, healthier, more productive, more creative and smarter for it. I will grow and change and keep becoming.
I keep a separate list of how I am going to make each of these items happen. I break it down to a micro level and flush out/brainstorm all the little actionable details. This is what will get you from thinking about doing the thing to doing the thing. And this is a living list. It can breathe and grow and change.
Here is what it looks like:
Learn! Take classes that inspire, interest and educate me on topics I want to know more about.
Topics that I want to learn more about: technology (website best practices/SEO/social) / writing (long form content) / nutrition / yoga
Digital Resources to tap into: Skillshare, Masterclass, Open Yale Courses, Squarespace Support Tutorials, Glo, Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Commit to 1 class/week. Every Thursday, 1-2pm. Plan out one month in advance and block out in daily calendar.
Human Resources to tap into: sit down with friends/educators who are crushing it in these fields. Write a list of 10 people and reach out: email/phone call/DM
Start now. Make your list. There are no rules, just put whatever comes to you down on paper. You are not being graded, this is not a contest. This is for YOU. Be the driver. When you control your days they add up to weeks, months, years. They add up to your whole life. Open a blank Google doc, a fresh sheet in Pages or simply tap it out in your Notes. But take action. Remember that physics class you basically slept through in high school? Yeah, me too. But. One of the most powerful laws of life lives there. The Law of Motion. An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion. Get in motion. Act. Share the first thing that comes to mind with me right now in the comments. I just made you my accountability partner, so let me be yours! You’ve got this. Tell me, tell me!