Learn how to set goals and make them happen — and take a peek at my goals for this year!
I had a mini nervous breakdown yesterday.
I looked at the calendar and saw the date “December 31” staring back at me…
And suddenly I felt tremendous pressure to produce the perfect goals before the date changed to January 1st.
It’s not like I haven’t already been thinking about them, but suddenly I felt an urgency that honestly made me want to shut down — completely.
Like hibernate in my bed under the covers until February … or March.
Do you feel the pressure this time of year too?
Well, I have a plan for you.
January Jumpstart
For the next four weeks you can join me for my January Jumpstart (otherwise known as the 2018 “Get It Together” Challenge) for tips, tools and strategies to get your life started off in the right direction. Each week I’ll give you specific steps you can take to bring order, joy, peace and passion to your days.
To join us, see the instructions at the end of this post.
Today we’re focusing on gaining vision then setting awesome goals that work for the upcoming year!
How to Set Goals and Make Them Happen
If you’re feeling the New Year Haze like I was, let me show you how to set goals and make them happen in 2018.
Review Last Year
Let’s start by thinking about all of the good things that happened last year. You can also make a note of the challenges. I think it’s good to gain perspective on the hard stuff.
I like to flip through my Joyful Life Playbook from the previous year to remind me of all the goodness. (The “Celebrate Last Week” sections help me to do this really quickly). I also look through the photos on my phone.
Evaluate Where You Are Now
Next, it’s time to evaluate how your life is going right now. Think about the areas where you’re doing well as well as the areas where you’re struggling.
And be honest with yourself. (The 2018 Joyful Life Playbook has some awesome questions to help you with your review so you don’t get stuck.)
Dream Big
Imagine how you want life to look then write that description down on paper.
And be specific. Think about what you want as if there are no restrictions to achieving those dreams.
The beginning segments in the Beautiful Life Video Course and the DREAM section in the Joyful Life Playbook guide you step-by-step through this process for every area of your life.
Decide Your Focus and Make an Action Plan
Once you know where you are and where you want to go, it’s time to set some goals, make a plan and take your first tiny action steps. While our big dreams and vision can motivate us, it’s our daily actions and habits that enable us to actually achieve our dreams
I personally translate my big goals into action steps and then add those tiny action steps to my weekly plan. I’ve created a genius exercise in the Joyful Life Playbook to help you do this painlessly, but let’s take a peek at my goals for this year so you can see exactly what I mean.
My 2018 Goals
My Spirit
Goal: Maintain a close spiritual connection with God at all times.
Actions:
- daily morning brain dump, journaling and prayer session
- tech-free mornings
- read the Bible daily
- pray throughout the day
My Physical Health
Goals: Lose 30 pounds by September.
Actions:
- walk vigorously at least 25 minutes daily
- do exercise videos at least three times a week
- eat protein for breakfast daily, eat gluten free and low carb
- drink 6-8 glasses of water daily
- go to bed by 10 pm
My Emotional/Mental Health
Goals: Live at a slower pace, engage in real life and enjoy more daily.
Actions:
- art journal daily
- laugh daily (watch funny videos or read funny blogs/books)
- schedule face-to-face friend time at least monthly
- spend time in nature at least once a week
- play with my dog daily
My Marriage
Goal: Enjoy a vibrant, intimate relationship with my husband.
Actions:
- kiss my husband passionately at least once a day
- speak kind words/express my gratitude daily
- buy him a special treat once a week (gifts are his love language)
- weekly date night ($10 Date Night Ideas)
- take a class together
- weekend getaway at least twice this year
My Children
Goal: Encourage and equip each of my children.
Actions:
- pray daily for my children
- put down my electronics when someone is speaking to me & look at them
- take each child on an individual “date” at least monthly
- daily chat time (take a walk or chat at bedtime)
- monthly family fun outing
- read a book together with each of my children at least once this year.
My Money
Goals: Cut expenses and save $4000 for bathroom remodel.
Actions:
- post our current specific goals on the fridge & review them daily (use this Savings Target Page)
- have a weekly money meeting to create our spending plan (free budget worksheet or Budget Binder Printables)
- buy only needs for the month of January & review overall budget monthly
My Business
Goal: Simplify my focus. ( My attention was scattered in too many directions last year.)
Actions:
- focus primarily on The Peaceful Mom
- eliminate parts of my business that take time but that I don’t enjoy
- research additional ways to make money
My Home
Goal: Create and enjoy a peaceful home where my family and others feel comfortable.
Actions:
- daily 10 Minute Declutter starting with master bedroom
- continue weekly cleaning schedule
It may seem like a lot of details to keep up with, but each week I choose several action steps and schedule them into my weekly plan. Breaking the big goals down in this way prevents overwhelm and ensures that I actually make progress toward my goals.
I encourage you to take the time to make a few goals for 2018. Just remember, don’t wait for perfect, simply start with something. Goals that you make today can be changed on January 2nd, or 8th or 31st.
To join the January Jumpstart:
1. Make sure you’ve joined The Peaceful Mom Community and downloaded your FREE 2018 Vision Planner. (You will receive a weekly organizing email on Sunday evenings.)
Click HERE to join now.
[Contest closed.]
2. Leave a comment below telling me at least one goal you have for 2018.
Everyone who leaves a comment on this post will be entered to win a prize pack of organizing and money saving resources from The Peaceful Mom — yay!
Let’s Make This Year Fabulous!
More January Jumpstart Posts
- What’s Your ONE Thing?
- Have You Made Your Monthly Vision Board Yet?
- How to Organize Your Finances for the New Year
- Make Dinner in 15 Minutes!
You May Also Enjoy:
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Get my home more organised so life is simpler and my brain doesn’t feel so cluttered!
Fantastic plan Anita! A decluttered environment definitely helps with the overwhelm.
This year I really took the time to think of meaningful, helpful and fulfilling goals.
My first goal is to come up with a budget me and my family can live with so we can save at least $3000 this year. I’m tired of not knowing where my money is going and having no savings 🙁
My second goal is to lose 50lbs by working out at least 3 days per week and meal prepping my lunches for work….so far so good!!!!
My last goal is to plan and save for a family vacation we’ll be taking next year. There are 5 of us so saving for the entire trip is going to take a while!
I love that you made your goals truly meaningful to you and your family, as well as specific so you know when you’ve reached them. Great job Shawna!
Pay off $7400 in debt and use the extra money toward a new (used) car purchase by July.
Awesome Karen! Your goals is specific and you have a deadline. You’re totally going to rock this!
I will make a better effort to declutter my house.
Great plan Cheryl! Have you seen the 31 Day Decluttering Checklist in the Resource Library?
pay off debt
Awesome Niki! You can do it!
To sell/gift all of the toys and games the children have grown out of and to put the money towards a family holiday.
To walk 1000 miles in 2018!
Really great goals Sadie!
I used your Joyful Life Planner to evaluate 2017 and plan for 2018. I’m super excited!! I have my big picture goals, my steps to get there and my bite-size action steps all planned out and I incorporate those into my weekly plan so I make sure my time is going towards meeting my goals. We had our first family meeting tonight (a step towards creating more quality family time) and have planned some fun activities to do together this weekend. It happened because it was in my planner 🙂
I’m so excited to hear this Michelle! Thanks so much for sharing your success with me. 🙂
thought I had commented but didn’t see it so commenting again. Purge & organize is a biggie that needs doing.
Purging and organizing is my favorite! 🙂
My goals for 2018 are:
To pass all my classes
Lose some weight and be healthy for my heart
See my boyfriend off to Marine Basic in February
See him graduate in May
Get engaged
Begin to plan our wedding for May 2019
Begin to plan my last four semesters of school and my graduation that is in May 2019
Be a better friend and roommate
Get a job at a vet hospital
Sounds like a really big year for you Gabby! 🙂
Thanks and yes it is going to be a big year for me.
Kimberlee, one of my goals came true – I got a job at a vet hospital 🙂
So awesome Gabby!
Thanks
My big goal is to take a trip to the USA!
Besides Disney, going to visit Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. Any readers from Albany, to say hi to me?
God bless you and your family, Kimberlee. You are such a good inspiration to me!
How fun! Do you want to visit Sherwood Baptist because of the movies they’ve produced? Bless you too Sandra!
Because they are an inspiration too! Their faith, their movies, everything!
I am from Lagoinha Baptist Church. If you want to visit us, I will be very glad!
Blessings!
Blessings to you too!
Focus on improving health, as much as is in my power. The rest is up to God to heal me.
So true Paula! Good for you for taking responsibility for what you can do.
My main goal is to live life as a single mom who homeschools. I have a lot to learn and figure out, including an income. Your goals are so good. I love how they are broken down and attainable.
I’m sorry you’re dealing with being a single mom Marisa. I have a couple of friends who are newly single and it’s such a challenge. One of those friends is also a homeschooling mom and she has been teaching English online and making really good money. You can read about it HERE if you’re interested. Blessings!
Decluttering and organizing in our master bedroom
Love that this is specific and attainable Melanie!
Declutter!! This has been my goal for three years now, and excuse (no time for a garage sale) after excuse (not enough time) has led to resolutions that are moved from one year to the next, much like I keep moving junk from one room to the next. This.IS.The.Year!
You can do it Angela! One step that has helped me tremendously is to keep a box in the garage where I place items to take to the donation center. When the box is full I take it on my errand day. I’ve learned that keeping the stuff so that I can possibly sell it one day is a huge drain on me mentally and emotionally, so I have learned to just let it go. Just take one area at a time and make baby steps. 🙂
I would like to restore order to my study area with routines in place so I don’t overlook important bills or dates.
That is an awesome, specific goal Jean — and for a good reason. 🙂
I LOVE the Micaela’s word: intentional. I am planning to be more mindful and intentional …in what I do with my time, what I do with my space, what papers I really need (office!), how my time is spent, what my expectations are of others, how we spend family time and how I prioritize self care.
1st step – the office purge and reorganization!
Really great goals Beth! And I love that you decided your first step. You can do this!
Peace, comfort, & simple beauty in our house, weed out and stay on top off clutter and dust.
Fantastic goals Lisa!
I feel like this year I really need to put my focus back on God but reading the Bible daily (at least one chapter). I’ve let life get too busy and forgot what was most important and I feel that if I refocus on God I can begin to get everything else in order. Thanks for having this community!
Really great goal Dena! I’m reading the Bible every day this year too. It’s really motivational to have a chart to mark off each day that I’ve completed my reading.
First of all I would like to take a moment to say how much I enjoy your blog and emails. Even with how crazy God challenged you last year 😉 your work you sent out never seemed disorganized or frantic like most of us would.
So thank you.
Now, for my husband and I, we have always used our finances to eat out- we rarely like eating the same items and definitely don’t care for cooking. But now with a 16 month old, our eating hanits have drastically changed (along with our money in our wallets ha)
So my goal for is to find weekly dishes that will provide nurishment and save money and time for our family.
My simple goal to start with is to get rid of clothes that I dont wear- ones i think i’m gonna wear or that will come back into style. Ones that have been taking up space in my closet for the past 6-10 years just because i like the way they look.
Same with socks! When it became “sock season” in Virginia Beach this October, I started throwing away any socks that were tattered or torn in any way and ones that I “thought” I could somehow find their mate. What a great feeling.
I am getting my house and life ready for a new me, a new year, a new adventure with a soon to be 18 month old!! Oh my! Yardsale prep has begun!!
Now pray for me on the separation anxiety of clothing items. Its gotta happen!
Thanks so much for your encouragement Joy! That’s good to know that I was able to stay “professional” in the midst of it all. 🙂 I love that you have made very specific goals, and if you’re talking about getting rid of your child’s clothing, I always kept at least one favorite outfit from each stage (baby, toddler, older toddler). I have them in a plastic bin in the garage and I love looking back at them. Maybe I’m weird — haha!
Four kids, full time job…I want to be proactive in the New Year so that mornings and afternoons run smoothly and we aren’t all running around like chickens with our heads cut off!
Haha! That’s something that my mom would always say. Yes, here’s to calm mornings and afternoons for you Amy!
I am going to pay off credit card debt using Dave Ramsey’s advice. The credit card debt is a constant source of anxiety for me. I am tired of living with the stress of credit card debt! Our family is going to make some BIG changes this year. We are taking the children out of private school and I am going to home school for the 2018-2019 school year. This will save us a ton of money, and I can enjoy more time with my kids. I have friends and family who homeschool, my husband was homeschooled, and I feel this is going to bring us closer together. I am going to take on a part time job on the weekend and really attack this debt. Please pray for me!
Good for you for working toward being debt free, and I hope you LOVE homeschooling. It has it’s challenges to be sure, but I have really enjoyed having the time together as a family and being able to tailor my children’s school work to their interests and abilities. 2018 is going to be a good year for you Laurie!
On new year’s day I caught the “go through it all and get rid of the unnecessary bug”. I have been cleaning and downsizing my entire house! Only one room to go and it is the easiest! I look forward to your emails and I read every one of them. I pray for you and your family also. God Bless and may your family and you have a blessed 2018!!!! Shay
Thanks so much for your prayers and encouragement Shay! I truly appreciate it. I’m impressed that you’ve already accomplished so much. Good for you!
My goal is to make some organized logic out of the chaos my life currently is. Family time, healthier meals, financial stability, and designing specific schedules prior to the construction we are going to begin in the spring is a necessity for my own sanity.
Great goals Anne! You can do this! 🙂
I am a homeschool mom (this is our 21st year), minister’s wife, and children’s non-fiction author. Additionally, I do freelance educational copywriting on the side. One of my goals for 2018 is to manage my time better and not let my ‘business hours’ overtake my life in the evenings and on weekends. An aside: I tend to procrastinate, and I get off-track very easily. Then I get upset with myself for not being more productive and efficient with my time and energy. So, although I know that choosing one word for the year is usually the norm, I actually chose THREE words this year–FOCUS, CONSISTENCY, and GRACE!
Looking forward to your posts and encouragement!!
I totally understand the distraction issue and allowing work to creep into family time Amy. It’s a constant struggle with working from home, so I feel your pain. I trust that you can accomplish your goals with your Words of the Year as a reminder. 🙂
I’m ready to claim 2018 for me!
Good for you Beth! It’s so important to take care of ourselves.
One of my goal this year is to lose 10 pounds by June. I’m going to a wedding and would like to look good and healthy. Thank you Kimberlee for the inspiration and setting an example to follow.
You are so welcome Mary Ann!
We’re moving, so I need to sort through everything. It’s a big job, but I’m looking forward to a fresh start. Thanks for inspiration!
I always hate moving, but love the opportunity to go through all of my stuff and purge. You can do this!
This is my year of FAVOUR/FAVOR! I know that God will awesomely bless me and show me His favour, and I’m counting on His help to show favour to those around me, starting with my family, which at times can be hard, with the challenges of supporting and encouraging my lovely husband, as well as nurturing two teens and a pre-teen, with all the emotional and physical roller coasters! On a practical level, I really want to reclaim our house back and work at bringing it back to being a welcoming, inviting, spacious and ordered environment to live and have fun in, rest in and make long lasting memories!
I LOVE that word Debi. And I love that you created a vision for what you want your home to be. Great job!
1. Focus on my marriage.
2. Save $10k.
Simple and powerful. Great job Kelly!
Debt free by Christmas.
Run another half marathon (it’s been 3 years and 2 babies ago 😉
Make money from my blog
Have a game night each week with the kids.
Great specific goals Faith!
One goal is to focus on my total health — mind, body and soul — by eating well and keeping carbs low, exercising 5x per week, reading, creating, and taking some courses in areas that will feed my soul. If I’m not healthy, I’m probably not going to make much progress in the rest of my goals, so this has to be at the top of my 2018 goals.
You are so right Lisa. Health makes everything else possible.
My major goal for 2018 is to earn a steady income from my blog so I can stay home with my girls!
Great goal Haylee! You can do it! Do you follow Amy Lynn Andrews? She has some great info.
I do not – but I will look her up now. Thanks for the suggestion!!!
You’re very welcome!
I’m in!!
I’m working on purging my papers and possessions so I can downsize and possibly move into to smaller, WARM home.
Yay! Thanks for joining us Diane.
My goal is to be more present and really listen when my children and speaking.
Spectacular goal Jennifer!
I’m in! Can’t wait to get organized.
Woohoo! Thanks for joining us Jennifer!
Decluttering and organizing my home are the 2 main big goals for 2018.
You can do it Catt!
Self care and love, and to remember, progress, not perfection.
Yes! Have you seen the “Progress Not Perfection” print in the Resource Library?
I have lots of goals! Pay down debt and finally get to the beach are on the top of my list!
I’m in total agreement with the beach goal Jen! 🙂
I need to do so much everywhere. Decluttering and de-debting are my main goals. My husband and I are in our mid 60’s and certainly do not want to leave a mess for our children. The work goes slowly for me, but it will be so worth it to accomplish as much as possible.
You can do it Rebecca!
To become debt free
Awesome goal!
I need to work on menu planning and organization. Thanks for encouraging me.
You are very welcome Cheryl!
My goal is to get out of debt and to stay organized!
Awesome! Thanks for joining us Amanda!
God Bless you for encouraging me when I need it most. Bless you and your family in 2018…
Aw, so glad I could encourage you Lola! Blessings to you and your family too!
just trying to keep the disorganization from sending me over the deep end :/
(and to be able free up some of the stress caused by the clutter)
I know what you mean. Baby steps. 🙂
Lose 50lbs by end of year
Great goal Jodi!
One goal I have is to start paying down our debt and make sure there isn’t any false information on our credit reports.
Awesome Kate! You will never regret being debt free.
My goal this year is to declutter our house and to try to save enough money to pay for a family vacation to Disney.
Yay for decluttering and Disney! 🙂
My goal is to be more intentional in how I spend my time by bringing my focus back to God and my family. Be intentional in spending time in God’s word. Have monthly outings with the kids and a monthly date night with my hubby. Reinstate family game/movie night.
Awesome goals Micaela!
Declutter my home and make some fun memories with my family.
Good plan Juli!
I have decided to start clinical practice properly
Awesome!
I want to focus on decluttering and organizing.
Great plan Melissa!
My main health goal this year is to run 4 half marathons! I feel like it’s a huge goal, especially since I haven’t actually run an entire half yet… but I’m confident. =)
I’d also like to focus more on my husband and daughter. Life can pull me in so many directions and I’m working one step at a time to set aside what’s not important so I can focus on what is! I like your 10-minute declutter idea; I’m going to work on that this week!
You will never regret the time you spend with family Jaime. I made an effort to have more family time this past year and we made such sweet, amazing memories!
I’m going to live 2018 fearlessly. 🙂
LOVE this Julie!
Continue to Declutter my home
Replace the income of my J.O.B. with my Nygard Style Direct business enabling me to resign the job.