Let’s face it. I’m a dreamer and not a do-er by nature. Remember my Pinterest boards? I’m loath to admit that they’re filling up again with all of my projects-to-be. Every day I get on a roll scouring the Internet for new and exciting crafts and recipes, only to be brought back into reality by one of my biggest faults: I’m terrible with follow-through. Take, for example, that basket-weaving kit a former employer gave me over the summer. Where is it now? Half-completed in a plastic bag on the floor in my room. Not much good it’s doing there.
If there’s one thing I’ve gotten right, it’s that I’ve limited myself to just one project at a time. Thus, if I don’t finish the basket or outright hand it off to someone else (any takers?), I am not allowed to move on. My room at home in NH is the place where half-knitted scarves and failed art projects go to die.
Now the holidays are creeping up, and I’m slowly going out of my mind. I want this to be a crafty Christmas, but my mind is seriously jumbled right now. Between Christmas gifts, party planning, travel arrangements, work, writing projects, I’m starting to feel a little overwhelmed.
My best solution when I’m overwhelmed? Dig into some Rocky Road ice cream. THEN, I like to get down and set some goals.
Here are the steps to achieving your goals (no joke, I have these written down in my daily planner):
- Acknowledge the purpose. Why are you setting this goal, what is it for?
- Develop your vision into a solid goal – it needs to be specific and measurable. A good rule of thumb is to write down your goal as though it has already been completed.
- Make a plan to reach your goal. You should be specific. If you’re approaching your goal one step at a time, arrange these steps in a logical order, and list the actions you’ll need to take with each. Then, get started!
- Work your plan. Spend at least 15 minutes every day to review your goals and steps, inspire yourself, and renew your dedication.
- Lastly, it can be helpful to visualize your goal. A photo collage is a great example!
Okay. My first step was to write down every goal I could think of that I wanted to achieve between November and January. It was a fairly long list, but it helped me to divide everything into different categories, like ‘work’ and ‘Christmas’.
Can you tell I love planning?
For instance, I want to have all of my Christmas gifts bought early this year. If I get them out of the way earlier on, it’ll be less for me to stress about as the holidays get closer. To make it more specific, I’ll make my goal to have everything bought by Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving). Here’s my plan:
- Brainstorm a list of everyone who’ll be getting gifts & cards this year.
- Brainstorm ideas for gifts for those listed.
- Budget a set amount per person.
- Shop!
As a final step, I’m adding due dates for each of these steps to my calendar. I may be a procrastinator, but the only deadlines I’ll be pushing this year are my own.
Happy goal setting!
The Seekers 