22. Checking in with my goals
Resources include some useful checklists and grids to organise your goals for paid subscribers
Hi there, I’m Val Spiers and I write and create my way through my life with joy and purpose.
Week 22/1000
In this week’s newsletter:
I go over the steps I use to achieve my goals and big intentions for the year. I have included a few pages that I use to stay on top of my goals to add to the Resources Library for paid subscribers.
Goal setting is a useful skill that can be learned
I have several systems to make following through with my goals a part of my planning.
I like to write down my next step whenever I review a goal.
I don’t have a set time to review my goals. I usually review them when I sense that I might be drifting. This might be several times a quarter or just once.
I focus on what I can control right now.
It’s important to know where you want to go so you can keep adjusting course.
It’s important not to be running in all directions reacting to stimuli. Your time trickles through your fingers and you wonder how you got where you are. Usually you blame someone else or something else.
I have always believed in the value of having goals and writing them down. I was stuck in rooky status up to my 40’s then I started to be a bit more intentional with my planning. In my 50’s, with retirement looming I got serious with my long term goals. Now that I am retired from working for other people I allocate a large proportion of my time to planning and thinking. I love being a soloprenuer. I love doing all sorts of work and creative design on my computer and tablet. I love including lots of interesting experiences in my life.
My steepest learning curve with setting goals and following through came with the growth of my Doll Clothes Pattern business. I don’t think I would have studied goal setting and planning so intensely if I hadn’t had my business goals to work with. However, over the years I have discovered how important goal-setting and planning is for creating a well-rounded and fulfilling life in all areas of life, not just business.
How do I work on achieving my goals?
One of my goals this year is to create beautiful patchwork.
Part of that goal includes completing the Down Wander Lane quilt that I am making with a monthly kit subscription. Another part of that goal is to make cushion covers. Another part is to finish a UFO quilt and another part is to work towards mastery of quilting and patchwork by intentionally practicing skills. I am enjoying the process so much that I am thinking of updating my doll clothes sewing goal from maintaining the pattern business to something more like my patchwork goal where the sewing is the most important part.
I like the idea of tick box lists to show my progress. For the last few years I have had lists of tasks or achievements that I can tick off as I go. The beauty of having such a list means that I can easily decide what I will work on next and I can quickly make that task into actions steps to put in my weekly planner.
I like the idea of using grids to create a system. They can hold so much information in such a small space. I have multi cell grids as well as two column grids.
What do goals look like?
I write my goals out like a story of what I want to achieve. I have 4 big goals this year (2024) and I have called them visions for the last few years though I like the label ‘intentions’ too. But if you call them goals everyone knows what you are talking about. When I think of them myself I think goals or intentions. When I talk to someone else I call them goals.
I tried the SMART goal method for writing goals but I kept thinking they were just objectives and way to narrow or small so I start with something big and general.
Once I got comfortable with my big intentions I started to see where I could break them down into more useful ideas. I began to narrow them down and get more specific. I still think of these ideas as goals. Even though it is now April I still look at my goals and delete some or change some. I have had enough time working on the jewellery store to realise it doesn’t light me up at present so I have let that slide. I am starting to get more excited about sewing so I will be expanding my doll clothes sewing goal.
An original vision was to schedule time to quilt and do jewellery so I finish a quilt and make money from the jewellery shop.
I still like making jewellery but I don’t see me working on the shop this year. I find the sewing lights me up. I can probably make just as much extra income by working on my doll clothes patterns so my more specific goals that fit my ideal are, sew quilts, sew doll clothes, keep the house tidy and save money. How did I get here? Sewing quilts includes sewing any sort of patchwork along with a quilt so I need to keep the house tidy so I can show off the table mats and pillow covers that I make. I would like more money to go towards my travel so the benefits of saving more offsets any effort required to increase my income. Saving money is also one of the habits I want to work on this year.
Now, how am I going to work towards those more specific goals?
I have expanded my evening routine to include tidying up my coffee table and my lounge and the kitchen routine stays in place. I intend to publish a new doll clothes pattern every month so I am adding action steps in my weekly planner to work on a doll pattern. I am also scheduling in time to do patchwork each day. I also think about what I want to buy and it has to be something that will bring me closer to one of my goals rather than just a whim.
Setting goals is about creating an ideal future
While trying to explain how I set and achieve my goals I can see that there is a lot of rubbing out and rearranging and trying new ways to make my plan visible. All this reflection has lead me to the idea that I need to develop a framework that helps me see the big picture. But for now I will summarise this newsletter with a list of steps.
To sum up
Write out what it is you want to work towards this year as big intentions.
Mull it over and start to come up with more specific goals.
Think of some action steps to put in your planner.
Create a checklist of action steps for the specific goals to enable you to check your progress.
Reflect on how excited you are about your goals. Is it time to rub out and rearrange?
Look at your original big intentions. Is the progress you are making taking you in the direction of your big intentions. Do you just need a course correction or do you need to adjust the big intention?
Where to from here?
Once you have been working on these steps for any length of time you will start to realise that you really do need those core values written down or that you need to have a daily, weekly and quarterly review and reflection. There is no one true place to start when planning your life. It’s just important to start with something. I started with something like the above 6 steps about 10 years ago. After a few years I worked on my core values. From there I have spent the last 6 years developing some systems and experimenting with what works for me. I am extremely happy when I look back and think about all the skills I have learned, all the fun experiences I have had and all the things I have created. I can see that what I am doing is working and I look forward to the journey yet to come.
If you are reading this thinking that you are just an ordinary person with no hope of creating the future you are dreaming of, then rest assured that I am just an ordinary person. I am still an ordinary person. However, I am an ordinary person who is very happy and fulfilled and excited about my future.
Cheers,
Val
Additions to the Resources Library for paid subscribers
A table with items you can record to make it easier to follow through with your intentions pdf
A Progress checklist to tick off the actions steps you have completed pdf and jpg
Track your pearls pdf
