Did you set resolutions this year? How are they going so far? If you’re like most people, chances are you might not have even started working towards them yet, and that’s okay! Reaching a goal or resolution requires a lot of thought work, and if you’ve never done it before, it can be difficult figuring out where to start. But you can still have a successful 2020.
There’s a lot of planning, tracking, and internal check-ins involved when striving to reach a personal goal. In this post, I’ve compiled useful information from across my previous posts in addition to new tips and tricks to help make 2020 your most productive and successful year yet in all areas of your life!
Plan for your goals and systems
To achieve a goal, you must first set a goal. That part is easy. Most of us struggle when it comes to making the goal specific and intentional. Once you have an overarching goal in mind, write out ways you can make it more specific. For example, “I will lose 15 pounds by May 1, 2020.” This goal gives you much more direction than “I will lose weight in 2020.”
Now that you’ve figured out your goal, it is time to create your “system.” Your system involves the process of:
- Setting your detailed goal
- Developing action steps to reach that goal
- Evaluating your progress
- Adjusting your action steps based on your evaluations
- Continuing the process
Click here to download your free Goals & Systems worksheet.
Keep track of your budget
Now that you understand the basics of goal setting, let’s take a look at an area that many of us struggle with– the budget.
Whether your goal is to pay off debt, build your savings, or finally stop living from paycheck to paycheck, coming up with an organized system will help you get there! A controlled and organized system for your finances gives you the ability to put your time and resources into the other personal goals you set out for yourself.
Before you can set any financial goal, it is imperative to track your expenses first. This gives you the opportunity to see where your money is coming from and going to each month. Once you have an idea of how much you bring in monthly, subtracted by monthly bills, you can then take a deeper look and see where you can make changes to reach your financial goals.
My free Printable Budgeting Binder inserts provide you with expense trackers, budget templates, a financial goal setting worksheet with step-by-step instructions, and additional practical tips to save money and get out of debt.
You can download your free budgeting binder here!
Find accountability
Studies show that you are 65% more likely to follow through with a goal if you have someone to hold you accountable. According to Medium.com, “when you are accountable to someone or a group of people for doing what you said you would do, you can easily get stuff done because you engage the power of social expectations.”
If your goal is to lose weight for example, but you’ve been unsuccessful at attempts in the past, try investing in a weight loss program with a support system, like WW, for accountability. Or try signing up for fitness classes with a friend through a program like Class Pass– you’ll be surprised how motivated you are to go to class when your workout buddy is counting on you to show up. Not only does a group/community provide accountability, but also support and encouragement, which is beneficial when working towards a goal.
Practice gratitude
If you’re rolling your eyes at this one, then you’ve likely never given gratitude much of a chance. There are so many benefits to practicing gratitude, including the reduction of stress and anxiety, the ability to have better control over our emotions, a higher quality of sleep and an increase in self-esteem.
Practicing gratitude daily is important when working towards any goal because it helps to keep you moving towards your goal without giving up. It also increases your patience when experiencing trying times and lowers your stress levels. Visit my gratitude blog post for full specifics and details on how to practice gratitude, along with free printables to help you find gratitude every day.
Overcome self-limiting beliefs
If you read my blog post on overcoming self-limiting beliefs, you would know that self-limiting beliefs are things we implicitly believe that hold us back from achieving our goals. In my post, I mentioned that my greatest self-limiting belief involves my weight and fitness level. Examples of self-limiting beliefs that affect weight and physical health may include “I don’t have time to work out,” or “it’s genetics and I can’t control what happens to my body.”
We hold on to these beliefs so tightly out of fear. It is easier to hold on to your excuse than to actually step outside of your comfort zone and risk failing. To help let go of your limiting beliefs in 2020, I’ve compiled free downloads to help you realize the thoughts that are holding you back and instead turn them into freeing beliefs.
Practice time management
Last (but certainly not least) is time management. Without proper time management, we lose control over what we make time for. If we don’t plan our time around daily tasks that will help us reach our goals, then we will feel as though we are too busy with other things, such as work and family, to ever reach them.
Start by gathering a to-do list of all the lingering tasks you need to complete. Make multiple lists if your first list starts to get overwhelming. Break them up by “work to-do,” “home to-do,” “personal to-do,” and so on. Make sure the tasks you’re writing on these lists are specific, as vague tasks tend to be left undone. “Clean the house” for example, is not as effective as “go through the closet and collect old and unworn clothes for Goodwill,” or “organize the pantry and throw out expired cans.”
Once you have listed out everything that you need to do, rearrange the items on each list from most important or urgent to least important or urgent. Then, look through your calendar and pencil in chunks of time to work on each specific to-do task. Of course, things come up and you may have to reschedule, but try your best to keep this appointment with yourself.
If you want more time management help or are looking for further resources to make 2020 the year you effectively manage your time, download my free life organization printable.
What are you going to do?
If you’re aiming to have a successful 2020, the above tips are here to help you.
Can you take a moment and comment below with which tip helped you the most?
Leave a Reply