Whops! Life just did it again! Just like that, and in a flash, it flipped over to the second chapter of 2023 and we’ve still got goals for the year. With the way the year is starting to pick the pace of 2022, we might soon be cooking fried rice, hanging Christmas decorations, and counting down to the end of the year. Then we’ll do the whole “new year new me “thing over again. But wait. Pause for a second.
It’s true that time is always ticking and you should find a way to catch up to it, especially when it comes to fulfilling your goals. But, you don’t have to feel overwhelmed. Truthfully, achieving your dreams can be challenging, but setting and consistently following through on the shorter-term goals can help you stay on track. This guide provides steps and tips to help you set and achieve your 2023 dreams in an organized, efficient manner. let’s dig in!
1. SMART Goals, Smarter life.
Goal setting is one of the most effective methods for achieving success. To increase your chances of success and stay on track, make sure they are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. I’m sure you’ve heard all those motivational speakers say it to the point that your ears start to bleed. It might sound like one of their lies, but trust me, setting SMART goals actually work, and here’s how to put it into practice.
Start by establishing clear objectives that are well-defined in terms of outcomes and actions. For instance, if you want to change your wardrobe, start by defining what you want your style to look like. Then, curate a fashion vision board for it. After that, clarify the actions you need to take.
Buy a fashion piece that aligns with the fashion style you’re trying to create. You could go shopping monthly. Don’t forget to allocate funds to fulfill this goal too. Ensure you assign a timeline to each goal so that you know what needs to be achieved and by when. This can help keep you motivated and focused on completing each task along the way toward your 2023 goals.
2. Break them down
Another way to stay on track with fulfilling your dreams is to break them down. When it seems huge in your mind, you might be paralyzed by it to the point that you eventually do nothing about it.
As a result, you’ll catch yourself shelving it with your 2024 to-do list. However, Breaking down your long-term goals into manageable chunks is the key to success.
For instance, if part of what you want to achieve in 2023 is to read 24 books, start by picking the titles and breaking them into the months of the year. Realistically, that would mean you plan to read two books monthly.
Now, ask yourself- does your daily schedule permit you to read two books monthly? if you have a reading culture, you might be able to break down the chapters of the first books into the first two weeks of the month, while you read the second book within the last two weeks of the month. However, if you’re trying to cultivate a reading habit, consider reading one book monthly.
That would mean you’d have read 12 books by the end of the year if you consistently read one book in a month. Ensure to break down reading each chapter daily. For instance, if there are 13 chapters, decide to read one chapter daily.
3. Planning Milestones? Yes, Please!
Milestones are crucial to staying on track with your target and eventually smashing them by the end of the year. To make sure you are progressing towards your 2023 goals, break down your larger dreams into smaller milestones.
Create milestones and steps that are specific and measurable, so you can track your progress and stay motivated. A good milestone example would be to track how many chapters you’ve read weekly. If you choose to read a chapter daily, that means by the end of the week you should have read at least seven chapters.
Once you have identified each milestone or step on your journey, create a timeline with deadlines that will help keep you accountable. Remember to be realistic physically, mentally, and financially when setting these timelines to ensure success instead of burnout!
Doing so will help you to better visualize how each step builds on the last and how they all fit together to lead you to success. Map out each milestone in order of priority and assign yourself a timeline for when they should be achieved. This will allow you to easily track your progress as you work through each step, allowing for course corrections if needed!
4. Record and Track- Regularly.
Once you have your timeline of milestones mapped out, it’s important to record and track your progress regularly. Make sure to include both short-term and long-term goals in your tracking as they will help you understand how far you have come as well as how much further you need to go.
Additionally, take the time to record any setbacks or successes besides just dates and numbers. You’ll effectively do this by invoking the magic of journalling your journey. This will be a great reminder when looking back on future goals or successes!
5. seek Support and Accountability.
It’s important to seek out support and accountability from others, whether they are friends or family, co-workers, or mentors. Asking for help and advice when you need it can help keep you motivated and on track.
Making connections in your chosen industry who understand your goals can be even more beneficial as these people can also provide resources and guidance on how best to achieve them.
Conclusion
So, Hakuna Matata! While you want to achieve your goals, you should take time to breathe and stop stressing. Everything will surely fall in place as long as you keep up with the ticking time at YOUR pace. The easiest part about dreaming is getting the vision. But you have to take actionable steps to execute those dreams in your heart.
Goals help us get them out of our heads, transporting us into the first stage of execution. But don’t beat yourself up when things do not work out as planned. Just take a deep breath and stay the course. Hopefully, this guide would help you keep the fire burning so that by the end of the year, you’d have achieved the majority- if not all, of your goals.
