Ugh. Goal Setting.
It's that time of year and I don't know about you but 'goal setting' is something that fills me with dread and reminds me of school. The start of the new year, get out your shiny new notebook and some fancy pens, write a list of goals that are too extreme or too vague, close the book. never return. job done.
Looking around for some examples to cherry pick can be more draining than inspiring too and can lead to us choosing goals that we want to want or that we think we want.
After being lost in social media land and not really having a main goal as such, my aims became a bit number and vanity based: 'reach 3,000 followers,' 'make 50 sales on etsy' or 'get 300 people on the mailing list.' Well, since deleting most of those apps, I can't focus on those goals any more and had to find a new set of targets. Although these were measurable, they weren't getting me anywhere and they weren't adding any extra value to my life or work - something that's trickier to measure.
After taking 2 years out of 'normal life' for Covid and then a year out for an even less 'normal life' for chemo, I had a new priority: HEALTH. This priority came with some tasty new perspectives: time, attention and energy.
What Do I Want More of?
I go about setting goals by thinking 'what do I want more of' and 'what do I want less of?' in my day to day life. This helps to set little habits that change over an achievable time period and not just setting big and scary goals that encourage me to focus on the end goal and that keep me swimming in the same circle.
Health as a priority
I started with my priority - health, then I worked from there. Yours might be family, self-care, eduaction, exercise, travel... could be anything (I find it easier to just have one).
I started with what I need and how I can get more of that in my life
Rest. A Freelance role allows me to take time when I need it, I'm not closed in by a strict contract or holiday days.
Money. To pay my bills and to work on a 'buffer fund' of a few month's wages - to reduce any money anxiety.
Social. Having colleauges to interact with on a daily or weekly basis.
Then I started to add into what else I'd like more of:
Rest. To take a regular day out to refil my energy bucket, to be inspired and well fed.
Money. To add to my pension and aim to save for a car.
Social. To enjoy coffee with friends, fellow small business owners and new connections.
I felt like these goals were something that I could achieve, I also threw in a challenge, to increase my attention span over the year too. I'd use research, experiments and determination to see if I could be less distracted and more focused.
How do you attack goal setting? Do you fight it with procrastination and scrolling online? Do you stab it in the eye with a glittery gel pen? Or are you in the 'I just don't bother' camp?
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Another post from me about being organised with a to do list and a post on how I tackled a Digital Detox whilst trying to stretch my attention span.
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