2015: Your Year [Goals and Planning]

Can you believe it's already February and 2015 is off and running?!

Did you make resolutions for the new year? Or maybe set some really awesome goals to crush?




I made my own goal board for this year with a foam board, Post It notes, and a Sharpie.

I chose 20 goals from several different areas of my life to focus on.  The MOST IMPORTANT tip I can give you is to set measurable goals.  It's great if you want to lose weight, but your goal should be to lose a certain number of pounds or inches.  If you want to save money, have a dollar amount written down.  This way you can easily track your progress!  

Having something like a board to look at daily also helps keep your mind focused on the things that are the most important to you.  I also have a document on my laptop where I can keep notes of my progress, for example, I will be adding each personal development book I read to the list.  Look at often!

Have you been able to take steps toward any of your specific goals so far this year? Have you stayed on track and committed?  If you have...that's great!  If you haven't...that's okay too!  Sometimes all you need to do is recommit to the goal.  Other times, it may require a revision to make it work.  Life happens and things get hectic and everyone is busy.  Things change and all of that is okay.  It doesn't make you a failure and it doesn't mean you can't do great things.

A great book about setting goals is Push by Chalene Johnson.  I highly recommend this book if you are looking to refocus your life.

Another tool that is really working for me is a new planner I ordered from Whitney English, the Day Designer.  First off, it's BEAUTIFUL!  But of course, it is also super functional and the perfect planner for anyone who loves a good to-do list.

There is a full page for every day of the year (except the weekend is on a single page).  There is plenty of room to log your schedule for each day and any things to check off of your to-do list.  When I first got my planner, I put in all of the holidays, birthdays, etc.  Basically, any event I know will definitely be happening.  I also do this on the days certain bills are always due.

At the beginning of the month I start to do some initial planning and adding in tasks to complete to keep me on track with my timeline.  Then on Sunday nights I go more in depth for the upcoming week.  I take 5 to 10 minutes every night to evaluate what was completed and what wasn't and then make any adjustments or notes for the next day.  Seriously, just a few minutes each night can make a huge improvement in how productive your day can be!

Don't give up on your year.  Keep pushing forward!

xoxo Shannon