There’s a lot of talk this season about how to set resolutions for the New Year. Here’s why it’s worthwhile to play along: any chance to take stock of our personal lives and businesses is one we should grab. When others around us are doing it, there’s more collective energy, encouragement and enthusiasm to tap into.
The general sense of renewal that comes with January 1, especially at the start of a new decade, is one we should internalize as our own.
For me, I’m still energized by my personal new beginning that came with my rebranding of Sparkr Marketing in August. After 18 years working in communications and nearly a decade in freelance, I finally launched my own brand with big plans to scale. I partnered with a crew of talented women to support me in my dreams. With that new beginning, I took on some new daily habits that I’m still practicing four months later.
I’d say that’s a win, so I want to share this formula that’s worked for me. I’ve used this same growth formula for 20 years, since learning about it in school in Israel.
How to Choose SMART Goals
In every new beginning, I select three small goals. I make sure they’re all SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
I choose three goals that fit into three categories of a meaningful life:
A personal goal between me, myself and I
A goal in my relationship with others
A spiritual goal
My 3 Goals
To illustrate these three goals in practice, I will share the three goals I set on the day I launched Sparkr.
My personal goal: Strength training throughout the day. I’ve been running for 20 years, so I’ve already made a habit of exercising. But now that I’m sitting or standing in place a lot of the day, I need ways to break that up. I do this by breaking my work up into blocks of time with short strength training breaks in between. I’ll do a 1-minute plank, some pushups, squats or attempt a pull up on the bar outside my office.
My relationship goal: weekly coffee dates. Building a business while serving clients lends itself to some long days in solitude. If I don’t commit to scheduling a date a week with a friend or family member, I’ll just hunker down and work all day long. Because I recognize that would be completely insane, I make sure to schedule a coffee date ahead of each week.
A spiritual goal: morning journaling. Every morning, I follow the same formula in a journal. I list 2-5 things I’m grateful for, without repeating anything I’ve already listed on other days. Then, I write 3-5 things I plan to focus on during the day. I schedule this in my calendar and do my best to complete each one without interruption. Then, I do an exercise recommended by Rachel Hollis to write out 10 of my dreams as if they already happened.
That’s it! Best wishes for a happy new year and new decade! Here’s to striving for big goals and achieving big dreams in 2020.
Let me know in the comments👇 what your goals are for 2020. Because committing to them publicly makes YOU more committed.
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