MAKE A GOAL TRACKER A HABIT

It’s almost the end of May, and you may already be panicking that you haven’t followed your New Year’s resolution, or have it written but not started or started and not kept up with it. Well, you can stop the panic because most people have already given up on their resolutions by the time February rolls around.

Who says that you must start in January? To me, January is too early to start your resolutions, goals or projects. The holidays are still lingering around, and the weather usually takes a big dip and you start to receive your credit card statements for all the merriment you had in December.

I decided this year, instead of making myself crazy about setting resolutions and making yearly goals by January 1st, I would approach it with logic, patience and more soul searching as to what I wanted my year to be.

Yes, there are a lot of given resolutions, you know the ones of “lose 10 pounds in 10 days” that are automatically set up for failure. I do want to lose extra pounds, but first I needed to understand why. Better health was a given, but I also had to focus in on what would be the results of better health? Lower medical bills, more energy, the ability to be more active were big reasons for me to make that a goal. Now I have the beginnings of a resolution with a goal in mind.

But let’s back up a bit because I am getting ahead of myself and I want to really focus on the following steps.

Be still. Yes, that’s right you need to sit and be still for a few minutes. Sit and breathe a few deep breaths, to relax just a little. Then ask out loud, “what do I need?” Wait a few seconds and then write down the first words that come to mind. From there you should be able to pull a word that’s just for you. Mine was…RESTORATION.
Now think of what your resolution is and work backwards from there. For example, if you do want to lose weight, think about what you want to weigh, not how much you want to lose.
Next, work backwards as what you need to start doing to get there.
What can you do today to start to lose one pound by the end of the week? Make the next meal a healthier one? Start taking a 5-minute walk after dinner?
After doing this for 1-2 weeks, ask yourself what else can I do to reach my goal? Start making 2 of your meals per day healthier. Start walking for 10 minutes after dinner.
Working yourself up in increments will lead you to whatever goal you’re trying to accomplish and turn it into a habit.

What’s a good way to know if you are on the right track? Create a goal tracker!

You can use a notebook, journal book, bullet journal, digital planner or paper planner. I chose to use a Happy Planner Mini Notebook, along with Happy Planner stickers, from their sticker books Journaling, Alphabet,Quotes and Baby Boy. You can pick these up at either Joann's Fabric & Craft Stores or Michael's Arts & Crafts.

Tracking will help to keep you accountable, especially if you partner up with someone or a group.

Here are a few ideas for making and using a goal tracker.

Start small. Try creating three goals that you want to accomplish within one year.
Write them down separately. Then break each down by what you have to do each month to get there.

Next break it down to 3 months at a time, which makes it much easier to handle and to track.
Add some sort of motivational saying. You can use stickers, write or draw quotes or your favorite poem...whatever will keep you motivated.
Check off each step that you accomplish. If you didn't achieve your step, ask yourself, "why not?" Figure out what you can do differently to get there.
Write your reward that you will give yourself after the 3 months step. It should be something you wouldn't just randomly buy or do.

This is my finished goal for the next three months. Do one of these for every three months and within one year, you will not only check them off your list, but you will have reached your goals.