Setting and Planning Your Goals

   It seems as though each new year people make their resolutions to be better, to lose weight, to achieve this or that during the year. Typically those resolutions are forgotten or pushed to the side within a few weeks. I have decided to not make resolutions anymore but instead make goals for the year to come. Goals can end up the same way resolutions do if you don't make a plan to stick with them.

   First let's talk a little about goals. A goal is something you want to achieve in a certain amount of time, which can be long term or short term. I find it best to set a long-term goal, like within the next two years, then break it down into smaller short term goals. After you have a goal set you can come up with the steps or tasks that are needed to achieve it. This can be broken down into daily or weekly tasks.

   Like I mentioned I set my goals for the year based on my long term goals or something new that I am wanting to achieve within the year. It is important to make sure your goals are reasonable, measurable, and are specific. Be sure to write them down as well, so you can look at it often.

   Now that we have our goals set and wrote down it is time to make a plan to make sure you accomplish them. Think about the things that can help you achieve your main goal. Once you have done that put them in an order that they need to be done. Then put each task on a time frame. Here is an example of one of my goals.

                                                 Goal- Saving Money for Vacation

First- Make a budget. Plan trip to know how much is needed.	Monthly- Eat out less than 3 times. Don't buy extra wants that are unnecessary.	Weekly- Stick to budget. Work extra jobs to save more. Keep track of how much is left to go.

   Once you have your steps lined out all you have to do is follow them. I don't get as overwhelmed when I have it broken down into these tasks. How do you tackle your goals? I would love to hear your approach, I always like trying new things to see how they work for me.