New year goal setting – the ultimate guide.

New year goal setting. I used to look down on new years resolutions, thinking if I wasn’t already doing the thing I needed to do it obviously wasn’t that important enough. Just plodding into each new year without a plan, going about the days. Generally letting life run me, instead of the other way around. But how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, right?

Maybe it’s the covid effect, that stark reminder that life in fact is so so precious – and sometimes not as long as we would like it to be. So at the end of 2020 I made the definitive goal list, the biggest of brain dumps (terrible phrase but this describes it the most accurately!) A complete cleanse of all the unsorted open tabs in my head, niggling to do list and most importantly – desires of where I wanted my life to go, and how I wanted to feel. It made going into 2021 more clearer, aligned and purposeful. I felt even as busy mum of 3, who’s days can be a muddled with questions, endless snack requests, nap schedules and toddler chaos – things felt, clearer, even peaceful.

As 2022 draws in, and a new covid variant has snuck up on us to throw a spanner in the festive works – I can feel the year draw to an end, and the urge to reassess and reevaluate and organise the million tabs open in my head is pulling me in again. Even if there’s a million things on my to do list by December 30th – this will help move into the new year with space and purpose. Clarity, and perspective – which is something we all need right now.

Want me to let you in on the 4 step new year goal setting process? Go grab a some paper and a pen, pour a big cup of coffee, and lets get into it….

Figure out your why.

Always start with your why, why you do you want to improve on certain areas of your life? What is your WHY?

If you want to lose weight, great – but why – to create longevity to stick around longer for your kids? To boost your confidence? Dig into the why.

Do you want to make more money? Why? Are you saving up for your first home? Want to save for a dream holiday? Create generational wealth – great! Lock into your why.

Write down your why, there may be more than one. Let them anchor you and come back to them regularly.

Set the intention.

I could write a whole article about this, and it’s something I try and practice at least once a day. If you haven’t tried it, it’s a total game changer I promise you.

When you dive into the process of New year goal setting – set the intention for the year first. Think about how you want to FEEL. How you want to be perceived, how you want the year to go. Do you want to feel fun? light? Free? wealthy? dependable? alive? Set the intent. Once you know how to feel – you know what you need to do.

You don’t have to just use this going into a new year – you can use this every morning before you get out of bed, before you go out for the evening, before you pick up up your children from school. Check in with yourself, how your feeling, what you want – and set the intent.

Are you in alignment?

What does being in alignment actually mean exactly? To simplify when you’re in alignment with the way you want to live, your values, goals, pleasures and desires – you will feel good, lighter, happy – with a purpose. When something is out of alignment you can feel off, ratty, easily annoyed, sad etc… How are things sitting with you? What areas are you dissatisfied with, what sucks the joy and energy from your very soul?

Maybe it’s the long commute to a job you hate, maybe your house feels cluttered and you are constantly picking up after the kids, maybe you cant sleep. It can be anything – maybe you long to dip your toes in the Pacific with an island breeze wafting through your hair as you sip rum from a coconut shell (ok, that’s me)… my point is – the world is a very large oyster with endless possibilities and are you living in a reality you created because you love it? Or, are you living in a reality you created in accordance to what you think you should be doing, or what you think you can’t stop doing due to the limitation society and other people have placed on your shoulders.

Bit of a head scratch-er there, but maybe grab a journal and go sit with that for a while and see what comes up. Boom.

How can you move your life further towards your ideal day and life?

Think about this as you go into the next step, and its helpful to work backwards here. So start with the end result, then figure out how to get there.

For example:

End result = A house move

Steps include:

Valuation, budget planning, location research, deposit saving etc.

So work backwards, whats the goal? Then define the steps that need to happen to get there.

One of my goals next year is to write a self published book. So instead of just saying I’m going to “write a book”, and just throwing that out into the universe and going about 2022 on autopilot – I’ll work backwards. What needs to happen – to make that happen?

Time to write – so maybe get up an hour earlier twice a week before the kids wake up, and diary in two distraction free hours a week of writing. Then research how to self publish, design cover art etc. All these tasks then get diaried in. Now writing a book isn’t just a goal, it’s a true possibility with actionable steps.

Time for a brain dump (sounds gross, buts its true.)

Ok, grab a journal – or a big piece of paper. (Better still download my free template here.)

Firstly write down your top 3 goals for the year – these might be:

Buy your first home

Launch a new business

Become the healthiest version of yourself

(Then you’ve set the intent. )

Then split it up into the following sections:

Personal

Family & Relationships

Health

Business

Home

Travel

Financial

Jobs to do & finish

Then brain dump you goals , hopes and desires for 2022 into these sections. Go crazy and don’t hold back, you’re creating a dream life here so dream big my friend.

Here are some examples:

Financial: save a house deposit

Travel: Take a trip to Paris, book a cottage stay for next Christmas.

Home: Renovate garden, ditch the clutter.

You get the idea, the jobs to do and finish section is a full brain tidy. List al those annoying things you intended on getting finished by Christmas. You know the ones: delete old pics on phone, tidy that drawer, fix that tap, organise that thing, book that appointment etc etc.

Creating the master plan….

Now you have your goals split into categories, figure out what you can dump off the “to-do” list (do you really need to alphabetise your blu ray collection?) and what you can delegate? For instance if you feel like your house is a complete mess could you hire someone in January to do a deep clean, or hire a babysitter for a few hours to tackle the issue in peace? If one of your home goals is to tidy the garden for Spring could you find a gardener for a couple of hours a month to help you? What things are you adding to your plate that you can out source or accept help with.

Once you’ve figured this out you are clear and have space to start moving the needle on the tasks only you can do.

Breaking it down.

Now you have your definitive list of goals, they may seem overwhelming. The key now is to write down a few actionable steps to each one and actually put them in a calendar or diary. If you make a commitment to yourself to get them done, things will seem more achievable.

So for example if one of your goals is to improve your health, you may diary in the following:

• Book consultation with Nutritionist / join a healthy eating support group
• Meal prep on Sundays
• 3 hours of running per week

Now the steps towards achieving your goal are actually put in your diary as guidance, not just thoughts floating around in the air. Things will seem more do-able and less intimidating if you break things down into manageable chunks.

The world has gone a bit tipsy right now I know, as I write it’s 5 days to Christmas day and a new covid 19 variant is once again spreading it’s way through the population. Things feel off, uncertain. It can be easy to buy into the fear.

So even in the face of uncertainty and mayhem, you can still grab 2022 by the balls, rise up and apologetically go for everything you want and desire for your life and future. I’ll be here cheering you on.