every human being matters

Everyone has their own way of setting goals—some do a brain dump first, others create vision boards with images and quotes, while some use sticky notes and color-coded calendars to break goals into manageable parts. Whatever method you choose, keep it simple—don’t overload yourself with too many goals, or you’ll accomplish none.

Here’s what works for me…

Maybe it will inspire you to find a method that works for you.

Every year, I set unrealistic goals with too many unrelated ones, leading to burnout and quitting.

In the past two years, I narrowed it down to three achievable goals—two of which I was already working on and ready to level up.

This year, I was pushed to start the third project I’d been planning to delay, even though I wasn’t fully prepared. It wasn’t my ideal path, but it got me started—and now I can’t stop the momentum.

But each of those goals needed to be visualized. Without visuals, I lose interest quickly. So, I turned to my trusty vision board.

Vision Board…

In the past, I never fully understood “vision boards.” I made one years ago, but nothing stuck because I was using it wrong.

It finally clicked—drawing the goals made them real and visible.

Getting onto Canva (a popular online drawing program), I used a business influencer’s template, adding photos that represented my main goals for the year: three business projects and self-care. The self-care category was broken down into three parts on the vision board to keep each piece of that goal clear. Over each photo was text to remind me what each of those photos represented.

Now my main vision board for the year is done.

But I decided to do another one with motivational sayings in each slot that would give me an extra incentive to achieve each goal. I printed it in vellum to lay over the top of the vision board. That way I can see each page, the goals, and the motivations all in one place.

The breakdown…

Once the yearly goals are completed, I took each goal and divided the major steps into four parts. Those parts were the Quarters for the year.

Without breaking the goals apart in this manner, it would be almost impossible to stay on task. 250 days (weekends don’t count), 52 weeks is a far cry from a mere 60 days, 12 weeks….with the added bonus of a week for recovery, reviewing the steps, and resetting the next quarter to follow.

To launch a YouTube channel and drive traffic to the website, I’d follow four steps: brainstorm video ideas, practice script writing, record videos, and edit. Get familiar with the process.

After the first quarter’s discovery, plan the second quarter to allocate days and hours for defining topics, scripting, recording, editing, and uploading videos. Then assign specific tasks each day to produce the weekly video.

The third and fourth Quarters would be used to critique and adjust the processes as well as the videography itself. Those tweaks add improvements to smooth out the processes.

Following this process, I will achieve the goal by year’s end. Breaking it into manageable steps simplifies weekly planning and helps me stay on track.

This can be written in any form of planner or journal that works for you. For me, I have used the Finisher’s Journal for the past several years and love the format. It helps to break down those quarterly and weekly goals into manageable chunks. (Get a 15% discount just for my wonderful readers!)

But don’t forget the downtime…

The extra week per Quarter helps to build in downtime. Catching a breath between the 12 week sprint and the next Quarter is necessary. It gives the refreshing break of working and allows the mind to unwind enough to review the past Quarter and adjust the upcoming Quarter accordingly.

If you worked straight through the year without a break, you will have a breakdown.

But what about habits and self-care?

Remember the goal setting at the beginning of the year? Part of that encompasses habits to gain during hours that do not involve business. Just like the project goals for the year, think of the top goals you have for yourself. Is is losing weight? Changing your diet? Adding fun activities into your life? Including exercising? Relationship building?

Whatever it is, write them all out. Set them in order of priority. Then pick one – just one. If you accomplish that one, you can always go to the next one after giving yourself a reward for your accomplishment. Then set out to reach that one goal in the next 30 days. If that isn’t long enough, or you want to up the challenge with that same goal, keep it going another 30 days.

Use any visual reminder to stay on track. The Finisher’s Journal has a Habit Tracker, but it’s too hidden for me. Instead, I created colorful, fun trackers with 30 symbols representing specific goals, placed somewhere visible. When I complete a daily task, I fill in the icon with a colorful pen to mark my progress.

And that’s pretty much it!

Set your goals, take action, and complete your challenges. Finish the year with less stress, more downtime, and some fun. Make this year a success!

Then share with us how you made it happen.