This year I started a new habit of keeping a list of goals to accomplish for the year. I got the idea from Gretchen Rubin’s podcast, Happier. In episode 147, Gretchen and Elizabeth introduce the idea of making a list of 18 things to accomplish in 2018. In episode 149, they both share their final lists. My best friend, Lara, and I decided to do the same and to hold each other accountable for our lists throughout the year. There are many ways to create a list such as this, but I’ll talk about how I created mine.
Think of Categories
I started by thinking of categories of areas that I’d like to focus on. I chose:
- Relationships
- Financial
- Travel/Adventures
- Wellness
- Learning/Self-Improvement
- Career
- Personal Brand
- Organize/Declutter.
You can choose whatever is the most important that you’d like to focus on for that year. You may think of other categories as you start to expand your list. I also color-coded my categories, because I’m realizing more and more how having things in my life color-coded makes me happy and very pleasing to look at.
Fill Out Your List
I filled out each category with a few items that included new habits that I wanted to form, bucket list items, things I’d like to do/accomplish, and one off items I’ve been putting off. The whole time I made this list I kept in mind what would make me happy and what type of person I want to be. You can create your list however you want to make it. In the end, I added more than 18 goals, but it still doesn’t feel overwhelming.
Expand Your Larger Items
I am a zealot for crossing items off of lists. It gives me such a boost and makes me more motivated. Not everyone is like this, but if you are, I think it is really helpful to break some of your larger items up. This will also help you track your progress. For some of my items that include creating a new habit or something that is an ongoing goal over the course of the year, I’ve added the months or dates below the item so that I can cross them off individually. Some of the larger goals that I have also broken down into the steps I need to take in order to accomplish it.
Accountability
I find that I need less accountability from a person when I have a list going. I’m not sure why this is, but it could be related to how much I like crossing things off of a list. However, if you find that you need more accountability it may be good to talk a friend into creating a list as well and keeping each other accountable. My friend Lara and I try to catch up once a month on our goals to see how we’re progressing.
I don’t think it’s too late to create a list for 2018. You could make a smaller one and also start creating goals for 2019. We still have more than half the year to go and you can start by writing out goals for the summer and fall! Below find my list of goals for the year and see where I’m at so far. You’ll also notice that at the top I set a theme for my year, Authentic Self. See Gretchen Rubin’s post about that to learn more!
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