5 Ways to Make Goals More Manageable & Achievable
We all have goals. Some huge, others small. No matter the size, sometimes the goal requires more from us than we realized. This feeling can cause doubt, procrastination and sometimes drop the goal all together. Whether your goals are ginormous or just a step in the right direction, learning ways to make goals more achievable without it taking over your life never hurt anyone.
We all have goals. Some huge, others small. No matter the size, sometimes the goal requires more from us than we realized. This feeling can cause doubt, procrastination and sometimes drop the goal all together. Whether your goals are ginormous or just a step in the right direction, learning ways to make goals more achievable without it taking over your life never hurt anyone.
1 | Make it part of your routine.
There’s no better way to ensure you will accomplish something like spending time on it each day or week. Wouldn’t publishing a book be a lot easier if you spent 20 min a day writing, than if you decided you had lock yourself in a room for as long as it takes to complete your next masterpiece of a book? When a goal becomes part of your routine it takes away the conflict of when to work on it or if you should in less than perfect circumstances.
2 | Have someone to talk to about your goals.
It’s not uncommon to hear that you should be careful who you share your dreams with. People can inflict their worries onto you and unintentionally discourage you. Deciding who to share your goals with may be a challenge but there’s no doubt this is important. My goals are much better fleshed out when I have people to talk to about them on a regular basis. Let it be someone you trust, who understands the process, and most importantly is working on their own goals.
3 | Schedule a date with your goals.
Once a month, schedule some time with just you and your goals. See how you both been doing. No pressure, just a review of you and the goal’s interaction. Here you can decide if the goal is still what you want. If necessary, ou can now readjust your energy towards the goal the following month.
4 | Have diverse goals.
Diverse goals prompts more experiencing and less grinding. When we have goals that only focus on one area like financial success, it’s easy to get drained and unmotivated. The overall experience of striving for a better your life can be filled with variety: spiritual, friendships, professional, physical, environmental, romantic. Growing in one area will also help growth in another.
5 | Put it on the Calendar.
“If you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen.” If you haven’t heard this enough by now and still don’t do it then there’s really nothing more I can say.
In 2018 we are truly in a time where anything is possible. Your goals are not as farfetched as it seems.
Make it part of you daily life.
Get you a trusted friend to have goal-talk.
Take your goals on a date every month.
Keep it multi-faceted.
And if you don’t want to forget your goal, pencil her in.
It’s part of who we are as humans to strive for a better future, it must mean that deep down we know it’s possible.
Feel free,
Melissa
Professional Organizer/ Owner
Feel Free Club
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Intention vs. Action: How to Automate Your Goals
I’m the kind of person who starts their day feeling like I can conquer the world. I’m 110% positive that nothing can stop me from being amazing and accomplishing everything my heart desires. As many times as I’ve started my morning renewed, excited, and full of the best intentions, there have been more days than not when something got in my way from having the day I wanted.
I’m the kind of person who starts their day feeling like I can conquer the world. I’m 110% positive that nothing can stop me from being amazing and accomplishing everything my heart desires. As many times as I’ve started my morning renewed, excited, and full of the best intentions, there have been more days than not when something got in my way from having the day I wanted.
How come once it turns noon it feels like the day is nearly gone. If I didn’t know any better I would swear seconds double up at 12:01pm
Reality Check: Does the Success You Want Match What You’re Doing?
A lot of us intend to do a lot of things with our lives. We intend to have a loving and fulfilling relationship. We intend to make a lot of money and buy our parents a home or car. We intend to travel the world and experience different cultures. We intend to buy an island, name it The Land of Melissa. Take everyone you love there to drink coconut water all day and do random nothingness. Intentions are cool to say. Point is, despite all of our intentions, our reality often doesn’t reflect what we dream of doing.
Create Actions to Equal What You Want
Truth is, intentions are cheap. They’re nothing but empty promises. There’s no commitment, no plan, no dedication. Intentions don’t have any weight on what you actually do. Your actions on the other hand makes all the difference.
If you took a second to think about what you did last year, you would understand why you are where you are today. In order to leap towards your long term goals, take the time to decide what actions are going to get you there. It’s easy to do a bunch of nothing to say you’re busy working towards something. If you haven’t determined which actions are going to get you where you need to be, how do you know what you’re doing is worth it? How do you know it’s not wasting your time?
Think about it like this, your daily action is the sum of your year. Whatever you want your year to look like, each day should resemble a portion of that.
Set Up a Weekly Routine to Automate Your Goals
Now that we’re both on the same page and you’ve come to the light, what now? So glad you asked. Turn your intentions into actions.
Here’s 5 Steps to Set Up Your Weekly Routine:
1. Get clear about the goal you want to reach by 2017:
Get oh so very clear on what you want accomplished this year. What would make this year amazing? What would you like to say in 2016 #donethat
2. List what you need to do to reach that goal: If you would like to get paid 5,000 per month as a speaker your list may look something like this:
- develop 4 talks to memorize
- find a speaking coach
- practice speaking Monday through Friday
- book free speaking engagements
- register with a local toastmasters club
- buy 3 books on how to make a living from speaking
3. Decide which items you’ll focus on daily:
Out of your list, prioritize them by adding it to your calendar for every week for the rest of the month. Your future has to become just as important as your personal hygiene. Skipping a day of brushing your teeth or showering is out of the question (unless you didn’t leave the house then it’s only you that has to deal with it ) but 2 days is down right gross. You know it. I know it. And the rest of you are way too comfortable with your funk. Each day of the week should have a task assigned.
4. Start SMALL:
Practice working on the action for only 15 min whichever day you assign it to. Creating a routine in the beginning is not about Go Big or Go Home. It’s about starting and discipline. In order to start, you can’t feel too intimidated. In order to build discipline, you must do it rain or shine, sleet or snow and everyone has 15 min in their day to spare.
5. Ask Yourself WHO do you need to become to achieve these goals:
Make a list of the kind of person who is able of accomplishing these tasks. They’re probably motivated, disciplined, punctual, passionate, adaptable, willing to take chances.
Determine which qualities you have and which you need to develop. Remind yourself every day that you are the person you are trying to be, but you have to allow it to come out of you. That will take a lot of growth and that’s okay.
You may not like the way growth feels but you’ll like where it takes you.
You should know what you do every Monday through Sunday. Each day should be dedicated to getting you closer to the life you want so when it comes you’re prepared. A lot of people are intimidated by hard work. If you want to live a simple, easy, mundane, practical life then stop making goals all together. Don’t even bother. But if there’s a part of you that wants something a bit more interesting, more authentic, rich and freeing then hard work is in order. But just because it’s hard now doesn’t mean it always will be. You’re becoming more and more prepared for what is ahead. That right there ladies and gentlemen is the power of consistency.
Feel Free,
Mel
***Need help setting up your weekly routine? Schedule your free Goal Routine Strategy Session with me. We’ll break down your goals and set up a simple, fun routine for you to stick to. It’s EASY & FREE! Never have another unproductive week again! Don't Wait, Schedule now.
How I Let Reaching a Goal Take Over My Life
When I had my son IV, I decided I would breastfeed him until he was old enough to drink regular milk. I figured it would be 4 months..6 months tops. On our first visit to the pediatrician, to my surprise it was much longer than that. Children aren't allowed to drink cow's milk until their first birthday. I was floored..
When I had my son IV, I decided I would breastfeed him until he was old enough to drink regular milk. I figured it would be 4 months..6 months tops. On our first visit to the pediatrician, to my surprise it was much longer than that. Children aren't allowed to drink cow's milk until their first birthday. I was floored, but I was also committed. I was committed to providing IV with all the nutrients he needs to have the best health possible, and breastfeeding would accomplish that.
My Purpose: A healthy baby.
My Goal: Breastfeed my baby for his first year of life.
USE ALL YOUR RESOURCES TO REACH YOUR GOAL
At 3 months I was doing great. At 6 Months I was struggling with my supply. Between 6 and 9 months I tried all the tips to increase my milk supply: fernugreek, blessed thistle, multiple lactation teas, ginger, oatmeal, eating more, drinking more, basil oil, power pumping. I did it all. But as soon as my supply would increase, it would decrease with one missed pump. It was so finicky. It drove me nuts.
I was slowly losing my mind but didn't want to admit it.
Sometimes you need more than what's in your backpocket to reach your goal. Take advantage of all that's available to you.
WHEN YOUR GOAL STARTS TO FEEL OUT OF REACH
At 9 months I knew that making it to 12 months would be a miracle. With the stress of work, the busyness of the holidays, preparing for my business, I started to lose it.
I was pumping my life away.
I would be late going places because I needed to stop home first to pump. I was getting little to no sleep because no matter how late it was, the last thing I needed to do before bed was pump, and the first thing I had to do before work was pump. I was drained and it showed. I knew that if something didn't give soon I was going to lose it.
The circumstances of life can get in the way towards reaching your goal. No matter how much effort you put towards something, sometimes it doesn't pan out the way you hope. Don't be afraid to adjust your goal, seek new paths.
WHEN YOU LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR PURPOSE
Reluctantly, I started looking up organic formulas and found one I really liked but couldn't bring myself to order it. I told friends and family about it as if I was waiting for them to ask why or maybe I needed convincing. Surprisingly, everyone understood even without the drawn out explanation. Even IV's father's response was simply, "Okay." No one was making a big deal about it other than me. Why?
One word: failure. I felt like a complete failure for not making it to 12 months.
I completely disregarded the fact that he's been having breast milk for the past 10 months and he's now as round as a rollypolly. I disregarded the factthat in order for me to be the best mom that I can be, I needed to be well rested, full of energy, stress-free and pumping was hindering that. I ignored that fact that I went through not one but two breast pumps. The second one broke on me and it now takes me double the time to pump, because I can only pump one breast at a time. I disregarded the fact I was doing the best I could.
You are the only one who truly knows if you've done your best, and usually when you have, those around you can tell. When we are committed to something we often feel that if we change courses or our minds, we have done something wrong in some way. When the truth is, life is forever changing. It's important to change along with it in order to enjoy it as much as you can. There's nothing wrong with making adjustments. You can only fight the tide for so long until it consumes you. Lettinggo of pride and stubborness is part of this process. Give yourself permission to allow your needs and wants to change.
“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.”
BE FLEXIBLE IN ORDER TO REACH YOUR GOAL
All that mattered to me was my child being fully breastfed for the first year of life. That's it, nothing more nothing less. And when the road got tough, I was willing to sacrafice any and everything-- even my mental health in order to reach my goal. At this point, the goal was greater than the purpose.
When you have a goal it is imperative to completey understand your purpose. Your purpose will not only motivate you when times get hard, it will inform you of when you've reached your goal. The moment your purpose is forgotten, your ambission is now in the driver seat. And your ambission doesn't care about friends, family, health, or having a good time. All it cares about is getting to the goal by any means necessary. I forgot my purpose was to have a healthy baby, because I was so fixated on breastfeeding for 12 months. Not only is my child healthy, the formula I chose would also provide him the nurishment he needs to thrive. I allowed my purpose to take a backseat, while my ambission drove me crazy.
Don't allow your dreams and goals to hold you hostage. The further you go down a path the clearer you become about what it is you need. Things will come up that you had no way of knowing before. Be patient with yourself, you may be surprised that the new goal in mind was greater than the first.
Feel Free,
Mel