Guess what? The New Year is coming, a year many of us have been waiting for. When a new year arrives, it feels like there are new beginnings. It’s pretty normal to want to set goals for the year ahead ~ and I love to do it every time (if you can’t tell from my various other goal-setting blog posts).
Today, I wanted to share how you can set New Year’s goals whether we’re spending more time inside, or out and about. I’m already brainstorming mine, and I hope you are too! Keep reading to see how you can set motivational goals to help you get through the holiday slump and maybe even start working towards your biggest goals starting now.
Why set New Year’s goals?
Now, you may be one of those that loves goal setting as much as I do. Or, you could be one that thinks it’s completely clique to think a new year could bring a new you. If you’re against goal setting for the New Year, simply take this as a goal-setting lesson to start right now. You don’t have to pair a New Year with new goals, get a head start, and work towards your dreams.
Step 1: Figure out what you want
Sit down with a pen and paper and write out what you really want in life. Is it a different career path? Is it starting that side hustle you’ve always dreamt about? What about that house you’ve been trying to save for? Write out the things you really want to work towards this year and don’t cut yourself too short or too long ~ be realistic.
Example: I want to save at least $10,000 for a house this year.
Step 2: Find your “why” for each “want”
With each goal, write out why you want to reach it. If you want to switch your career path, you may find more success and happiness. When uprooting a side hustle, you may find your true passion AND get paid to do it. When saving for a house, you’ll be able to invest in something you could eventually liquidate if you choose to move. To run with that same example, here’s a “why” for wanting to save for a house:
Example: I want to prioritize saving for a house so I can build my financial portfolio vs. renting apartments that won’t benefit my finances in the future.
Step 3: Brainstorm action items for each goal
Now, you can’t reach your goals without creating action steps. For instance, switching your career path could deter you from other things for a while. You may have to take a pay cut, take a lot of time to learn about the adjustments, and really put in the work to be seen by recruiters in a different industry. But if it’s worth it to you, you will put in the work to reach your goals, but it might not be easy.
Example: To save $10,000 for a house, I will need to cut down on unnecessary purchases, find a budget that works for me, and stick to it.
Step 4: And put them on the calendar
Writing it on the calendar makes it real. Personally, one of my goals (all the time) is to grow my blog. To do that, I set quarterly brainstorm meetings to think of all the content ideas I’d like to create and share with my audience. From there, I put it on the calendar. I strategically plan when my ideas should be published, when they need to be done by, and everything else in between. I create small steps that lead me to my biggest goals.
Example: At the beginning of a new month, I will create a budget that works for me. Following that, every Sunday I will have a money meeting with myself to ensure I stick to my plan!
Step 5: Track your progress
For every goal, you should track your progress. Not only does this help you visually see where your goals are at, but see how far you’ve come. Thinking back to when I was in college just starting out my blog, I would have been taken away with how far my blog has come today. While it was just a side passion project then, and still now, I have gotten significantly better and more creative than I ever thought I could.
Example: Every new month I start, I will look at my spending habits from the last month. What have I done to get better at saving and what could be improved?
Step 6: Don’t think about it, just do it
This works on so many different levels considering you can easily talk yourself out of anything. If you need to go to the gym for your health, you could talk yourself out of it all day. Instead, if you have a thought to go to the gym, save yourself the time and energy and just go. Even though I know it can seem easier said than done sometimes.
Example: If you have to think about spending money at your favorite clothing store, maybe you shouldn’t go in at all. You could save yourself time and guilt by avoiding the store altogether.
Step 7: Even with the smallest wins, reward yourself
The smallest wins can add up to so much. You may or may not know that I started an Instagram specifically for my blog. Instead of my old classmates and family being bombarded with fashion posts on my normal Instagram, I thought I’d start a new one for those that want it. Yet, I only have 81 followers on there as of right now. BUT, Gymshark (yes, GYMSHARKKK), liked my photo last week. While that’s a super small win, I’m celebrating with a small cup of coffee this morning.
Example: Every time you save a new $500 in savings, you treat yourself to one of your favorite things. That could be coffee, a nice steak dinner, or even a movie out with your friends.
Step 8: Look back at how far you’ve come
Serisouly this works like a charm. This year I started tracking my blogging journey. I wanted to see how many followers come across my site each month. While I’m growing it still means more to me than ever to see that I’ve got new visitors every day (more than just my Mom now). Tracking your journey will help you stay motivated and true to what you’re doing to make your dreams reality.
Example: Every month you look at your debts, savings, and spending habits. You’ve already saved over $2,000? Think about how far you’ve come from $0!
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m excited for this New Year (I know, so clique). I’m ready to hit the ground running with more aggressive goals and plans for 2021, and I hope you are too!
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