Goal Setting (for underachievers)

Ello~!

This will probably be a bit long

- Why - 
I really haven't said much but I am working on a simple workbook, I hope anyway, for download to help with goal setting. Saying it out loud helps me be responsible. I am doing this because I felt, from personal experience, that sometimes it seems stupid and those overly 'happy go lucky' people tend to bother me. I don't consider myself negative, actually quite the opposite and usually very cheerful, but I look at this from more of a FACT and pragmatism point of view. In short, I am hopping it will help those people who try to avoid the bubbly people. 

That was a bit long, but saying it makes it more concrete. Do not get me wrong though, I plan to sell it but I plan to continue to offer freebies related. 

- Getting Started -
Now onto Goal setting.
If you did not know, I have a goal sheet & a dashboard for download (free). I like these as they keep your goals handy, however essentially to use these you need goals. 

If you are anything like me coming up with a basic goal is hard. It really is, sit and think for a moment what you want to set as a goal and typically most people come up blank. I think it is because its a complex question that really has many questions in it. Like an interview question "tell me about yourself" - there is so much, its just hard to start. 

I have seen so many goal setting suggestions and theories over the years, I just sorta winged my own. SMART goals are nice, they set expectations, but when you are starting out I think your goals should start with WHERE you want to me, ideally, and then work backwards. 

This seems to be the easiest way for me to set goals. So start with an idea you. What would that look like, or even a LONG term goal, such as financial independence at an earlier than average age. 

As an example: I would love to retire before 50 personally, from a corporate job. What does that look like? Well do you have kids? Do you want kids? What do you spend a month? (to get an idea of how much you need). Let's say $2500 a month. How long do you think you will live? Now basic math (live 30 years, retire at 45) and you get a savings goal of 900k. Break that down into months and years and you need to save around 60k a year (I am 30) or invest well. This is just an example. Working backwards allow's you to see the steps to get there a little better. 

Learning a language, program or degree, same thing. If you know where you want to be, it is easier to get there. 

Another tip I picked up, if you are unsure where you want to go, or you are happy as you are, try taking a week layout and building your idea week. Would you be off all the time? Would you bake in the mornings? Would you exercise at 2PM? Would you work on personal projects? It makes it a little easier to imagine your ideal self and day. 

Next, the final tip I have, is to separate them into categories, such as:

• Family & Friends (such as make some, or get together more)
• Self (any personal projects, such as Blog, Etsy, etc)
• Personal Development (such as learn something, read more, etc)
• Religion (if that is what your into)
• Career (such as learn a new program or get a new job)
• Marriage (seperate from family)
• Fun (anything you want to accomplish, like a massive hike)
• Charity (volunteer more or help others)
• Health (loose that 10 lbs)
• Home (get a new couch, find an apartment with laundry, etc)

You can of course do any section you want, if you have an aspect of your life, such as teaching maybe, you want to include, do so. 

Finally, just a note until I am able to get more items done for this, something I like to do is set monthly goals. So I have some big goals, smaller goals, and like stepping stone type goals, but I also try to set goals for the month that help the bigger goals. These goals help me accomplish items towards the 'big picture' and its always nice to review at the end of the month and see what got done.

This is also why I think the trackers (go to freebies to get the latest) are so nice - the days go by so FAST, it is already JUNE, where did the time go?! So I think tracking fun things and thing you want to know you did are helpful. 

Another random tip, if you are feeling down, instead of doing a todo list - make a DONE list. It really helps cheer me up if I am feeling unproductive to list out the things I DID to that day. Maybe I didn't get all the art I wanted done, but I got up, go dressed, showered, did the dishes, played with the bunny, etc - it can really be a mood bonus. 



What are some of your goals?
Ska