7 steps to start your goal writing and lists

Sat down with my coffee. and no i’m not really a “coffee drinker” i have about 1 per week. but still. it sounded like a good way to open up sitting down with a cup of coffee, let’s talk finances and goals.. there. that sounded like an adult. Though i have to admit, even at 30, i don’t feel like one. Except the times when i put on my old lady robe and slippers, get my errands done, and want to sleep by 7:30 pm after reading about investing. #whoami. 

i have fallen in love with setting goals for years now, but more recently specific goals for money. because let’s admit it, “progress and nothing happens unless a goal is established. otherwise we wander through life. sit and think about businesses, they have to ask themselves where do they want to be in 10-15 years and then gauge their efforts accordingly. so, you start your ultimate goals by making your next task, regardless how unimportant it seems in the right direction. It’s not one big jump into success, it’s one step at a time.” (quote from The magic of thinking big) 

i’m going to be redundant in some of these posts. i cannot stress enough to 1- write down your goals. 2- lists people. lists. i have done extensive reading about how to set yourself up for success, so to save YOU some time finding that out .. just do it. we tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can do in a year. 5 things a day is what i find i can do. 3 if work went extra long. (or if you want to make excuses about not enough time, there you can start with 3.) Even if you only do 5 things a day for the weekdays that’s doing 1300 things a year. yup. adds up. Don’t get me wrong some of the things i do aren’t strictly for my dreams but they are things that are in the direction of what i want for my future. For instance the gym can be one of the 5. maybe walking your pup, bettering your household in some way, when you see you only have to do 3-5 things the tasks don’t seem so overwhelming. i know personally if i feel like i have too much to do, i end up doing nothing. so i make a weeks worth of 5 things a day, splitting it up and accomplishing the small things, because i promise it adds up. You also might say "I can do way more than 5 a day." and you're absolutely RIGHT! I have a few days once in a while where I'm a cleaning and errand and getting done with stuff machine! but those aren't daily. i can get 15 things done on the right day, but if those only come around once in a while or you feel stressed doing it, then break it up. you'll still get more done with a few tasks every day. And as John C Maxwell says “You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily."

Here’s a personal example over the last few months. I have taken a few hours each day to work on my website, my SEO (search engine optimization) my social media platforms and way people find me. (yelp, linkedin, Facebook etc.) each day seemed like i wasn’t getting anywhere but my goal was to raise both the number of viewers to my website AND see more inquiries coming in. (see setting an attainable goal helped me understand WHY the task was important.) from November to March i’ve been up 400 viewers a month. i also have improved the number of clients contacting me which means the small time i’m spending on my website is paying off big time. i’m getting seen in more states and even countries, and more people are connecting and want to reach out. it’s a slow process, but it’s an important one to have a full time business here in Florida. All that to say, okay great Shanna, you love to tell us to basically write down ever little thing, but where can I start?

How do you start goal writing and lists? 

1- BUY THE CUTEST JOURNAL EVER AND CALENDAR. one you love (or had, since this is about saving money, and I seem to get journals as gifts!)  it'll help you organize all those appts, to do's, and even random thoughts. Which clears your mind for spending quality time with loved ones and not feeling you have to remember every detail. it's down on paper, it's out of your mind. 

2- START WITH SHORT TERM GOALS. Mine are both personal and for business, for each year, and i review them as the year goes. for example: read 10 books a year, amount of money saved, volunteer 12x, 12x a year meet ups or, blog 80x a year, travel out of country, make x amount of money, powerlifting competition. 

3- LONG TERM GOALS. i revisit these mostly to add to them, they don't need to be revisited more than twice a year. These are 5+ years goals. for example: write a book, own my home, x amount of money in savings, x amount of money in an IRA, making X amount per year, own a mustang again in 5 years, etc.

4- PUT YOUR GOALS IN A PLACE YOU CAN SEE DAILY. mine are always in the front of my current journal or my yearly calendar. i see them everyday, and get to ask myself if what i’m doing is making steps towards my goals and bettering myself. i also have a third list of things accomplished already, like how many books I've read, meet ups I've done for my business etc.

5- DAILY GOALS AND HABITS. i stated above that daily tasks help accomplish goals. so make a weekly list, since from experience it helps me break up the tasks and it gets all of those “to do’s” out of my brain so i don’t feel cluttered and i can focus on more important things. i start with Sunday and end Saturday and write down no more than 5 things to accomplish that day. and don’t get too concerned with how small the tasks are. The important thing is you're organizing all those to-dos and doing things to better your future. 

6- TRACK PROGRESS. as you work in both "needing to be done" tasks and "things that are for your goals", review your progress. whether it’s fitness and you take photos to see muscle gain, how far in your books you should be for the year, or make sure your savings is getting money being added every month, you’ll see things start changing. 1300 things a year will surely give you progress if it’s the right 1300 things. 

7- FEEL GOOD. yup. that’s what happens when you set goals, and work towards them. i promise you’ll feel more organized, actually BE more organized and have a clear idea of what little things you can do daily to get towards your goals. 

GREAT. Maybe you feel that you have a good grasp on organizing your days, weeks, months, and year for goal writing! But you're not sure what things you can do to reach your goals. In the next blog I will be writing steps and and what to do to REACH your goals! Attainable and success-proven ways to take the next steps. 

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Keep Shining

Shanna Star