Embracing the New Year: Building my best life with goal setting part 1
How I calmly work through my tried and true goals framework for a new year
Happy holidays everyone. I've been taking some time to reflect on the past year and plan for the adventures that lie ahead. One thing that has truly made a difference in my life is the simple act of setting goals, and I want to share my thoughts on why it's worth taking the time to jot down your aspirations for the coming year as well as show you how I do it.
Firstly, there's something incredibly empowering about putting pencil to paper and expressing your dreams and ambitions. It's like giving a voice to the whispers of your heart, making them tangible and real. As we transition into a new year, it's the perfect opportunity to dream big, set our sights high, and imagine the incredible things we can achieve.
Setting goals isn't just about creating a to-do list for the year; it's about creating a roadmap for personal growth and fulfilment. Whether your goals are career-oriented, health-focused, or centred around personal development, they act as a compass, guiding you toward a purposeful and meaningful life. As the saying goes, "A goal without a plan is just a wish." Writing down your goals is the first step in turning those wishes into actionable plans.
Now, I get it – life gets busy, and finding the time to sit down and reflect can be challenging. But let me tell you, the time invested in setting goals pays dividends throughout the year. It helps you prioritise what truly matters, allowing you to make conscious choices that align with your aspirations and your core values. Plus, it gives you a sense of direction, helping you stay focused on what you want to achieve, even when you get side tracked by essentials and busy work.
When you have a clear vision of where you want to go, it becomes easier to stay motivated and overcome obstacles. Your goals act as a source of inspiration, reminding you of the exciting journey you're on and the incredible destination you're striving to reach.
So, here's my friendly reminder to take some time for yourself at the end of the year. Grab your favourite notebook and a pencil, find a cozy spot, and let your thoughts flow as you jot down everything you want in your life. Don’t censor anything just yet. Don’t even think about what you wrote last year. Don’t worry about whether you are writing goals or intents or action steps. Just list all the things or situations or experiences that you want in your life.
Living Life with Intention
I’m in the last 1/4 or so of my life so having a big list of wants helps me get realistic when I go over my list. I might have always wanted a 3 year round the world cruise or 2 years living in a French village but I don’t want to waste my time saving for a lifestyle change and miss out on living now. Visiting family or travelling to wonderful places in Australia are experiences I need now to build wonderful memories.
If you aren’t sure what to do I am going to show you how I come up with my goals for the year. It’s a messy process and has several steps. It usually takes me a week or two to get everything laid out neatly.
A big wants list
Image 1: My wants list
In this first image you see my list of wants. I have last years list in the same book so I checked it out and updated my list with some things I want to carry over. I do a big list each year before looking at last years list.
It’s interesting to see what gets put on and what gets left off compared to previous years. I think living in France for a few years is pretty much off the list but it’s still nice to think about sometimes. You never know for sure what’s going to happen. I might inherit a French vineyard from some long lost relative! (I’m a bit of a dreamer)
Some things I already have set up but I want to keep working on them. So there are lots of ordinary things on my list like keep my hair nice.
In no particular order I work through the list and put a time frame next to each item. I generally work with 1,2,3,5 and 10 year chunks. I decide what life area each item fits in and I will try to create a balance by adding more things or changing the wording of some items. I have several life areas but in my mind I condense them into Travel, Business/Finance and Me/Family. I also looked for items that I could classify as habits. Some were old habits I wanted to keep up and some would make good new habits.
Timing
Image 2: My timeframe
In this second image you see where I have sorted items by time frame. The numbered items are habits I need to write out routines for. I hope to implement them gradually throughout the year.
It’s about now that the things that matter to me start to crystalise. As I sort out when things need to be achieved I start to see that some things just won’t fit and I have to make choices. If I want to fit in all my travel wants before I get too old to travel easily I have to slot them in nearer to the present. If I want to hire a car and look around the Blue Mountains I can do that instead of visiting my daughters so I can do that sooner than later. It’s more certain that my daughters will be there later than it is that I’ll be able to travel later.
Making the hard choices
Initially I put all the big travel items in 5 to 10 years and it became obvious that I needed to juggle and move things. I’ve entered all my data into a spreadsheet so now I can move things around without making a big mess. The spreadsheet makes it easy to sort items as I make updates. I can see myself doing some juggling over the next few years.
I didn’t start in a spreadsheet because I find it easier and more conducive to thinking when I use a pencil and paper. Also the messy look suits how my brain works. I tend to think of many things at once and jotting things all over the place helps me sort everything out. Once I have a plan I like to see it set out in a very structured way like the spreadsheet.
Vision Statements
Image 3: My Vision Statements
In the image above I have 4 Vision Statements that cover most of my wants for 2024. The number of visions depends on your items. I had 4 this year. It’s a manageable number. Each vision is meant to be big and general so you can’t really have lots of them.
It’s hard to say exactly when I start to put my items into vision statements. It’s probably something that goes on in the background all the time while I'm writing my items and sorting them out. It tends to become clear that certain things are important to you when you start to analyse your list.
Before I started my list I knew that I wanted to work on old and new habits next year as well as get into my hobbies a bit more. Things like quilting, making jewellery, sewing, drawing, writing, reading and playing with the moon cycles are things that fit nicely into my selfcare, health, entertainment, business and home life areas even though they are all just fun to do. Eating right and getting to a healthy weight are only 2 items but they loom large in my mind.
The 2024 travel vision was sorted in 2023
Since I have been at this goal setting stuff for quite a few years now (more than 10 years) there are some things that don’t have to go in a vision statement. They just go without saying so to speak. My travel plans have a section all of their own in my head. I want to go on at least one trip each year for a while to come. So next year’s trips to family and sightseeing have already been decided and savings put away. This is why it is so important to plan ahead. In 2024 I will be working on the trips for 2025.
As with all my lists and statements I don’t fuss too much about the wording. My visions usually have some kind of action followed by a result that will benefit me. My vision no.4 combines my efforts to work on quilting and jewellery making in 2024. They are both new intentions and both are in the hand craft area so they go together in my vision. How you put things in a vision statement will depend on what you think. There is no right and wrong.
My vision no.4
Schedule time to quilt and work on the jewellery business so I will finish a quilt and make money from the jewellery shop.
I’ve talked about my Vision Statements here because they follow naturally from thinking about the Wants List. It doesn’t hurt to think about them some before writing them down. I got round to writing my vision statements a few days after the list.
Worksheets available in my Etsy shop
Click here to see the work sheets
If you’re keen to work on your life journey you might like to use some of the work sheets I’ve created. Sometimes a blank page is just to difficult to overcome. There’s a small cost associated with them on my Etsy Planner Shop here. You can use them in GoodNotes or print them out.
In the next post I’ll go through how I get to action steps.
Let's embrace the new year with open hearts, open minds, and a clear vision of what we want to achieve. Together, let's make 2024 a year of growth, joy, and endless possibilities.
Update
Just a quick update to my goals for 2024. After deciding what I would aim for this year I was presented with an opportunity to do a 9 day tour of Tasmania end of October. Since visiting Tasmania was on my Wants List I have decided to push buying my piano into 2025 and do my travelling sooner than later. Living life is all about choices and seizing opportunities!
Cheers,
Val