New Year – Time to Review and Adjust

SMART Goals: New Years is one of my favorite times of the year. I would enjoy it significantly more if it corresponded with a warmer time of the year… but there is just something about a fresh start, a new year, 365 new days.

I’m not a huge person for New Year’s Resolutions though.  It is probably because every time I’ve made them in the past I have done a horrible job of keeping them.  So I’ve decide to re-frame the way I think about “resolutions”. Instead I think of them as goals.

review and adjust New Year's goals

Each year during the final week of the year I like to take a few hours and go to a coffee shop and write down my goals for the upcoming year, on paper.

I like to pick a few categories like finances, healthy eating, and reading then I decide what I want to accomplish in those areas during the course of the next year.  Sometimes thinking about those types of subjects can be overwhelming, so to make it more manageable I like to break it down into smaller items.

In my opinion most people overestimate what they can do in a week or month, but greatly underestimate what they can do in a year if they consistently spend time working towards their goals.

This year I will be taking it a step further and implementing SMART goals to make sure I stay on track and achieve what I want in the new year

What are SMART goals? I’m so glad you asked!

SMART goals is a well-known acronym for 5 different goal setting criteria.  To make sure that your goals are on point ask yourself if they can be described using the words below.

S ­- Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Realistic

T – Timely

If your goals can be described using those 5 words you are on the right track!

Just remember that the process is more involved than just thinking of a goal, writing it down, and hoping for the best.  You have to continue to work on it throughout the year.  Set up times where you check in with yourself and see what progress you’ve made, if you’re on track for the rest of the year, or what changes you’ll need to make to your plan.

This coming year has endless possibilities, all you have to do is be willing to make it happen!

Good luck, we can’t wait to see what you accomplish!