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It’s that time of year when we start thinking about what we want next year to look like.
It’s the time we start planning and setting goals.
When I had an electrician installing a new fan in my office recently, I realized I had an old goals list still hanging on my wall.
My goals were for 2016. Yikes!
Other than writing down the list itself, I didn’t do much else. There had been no plan, no strategy, no tasks in my calendar – just a 4 point list of some very big-ticket items that I wanted to happen.
I hate to admit this but my 2017 goal setting fared even worse.
I didn’t even write down my 2017 goals.
After realizing that my last two years of goal setting hadn’t worked out so well, I knew I needed to get myself back on track. It was pretty clear to me that I had lost my goal setting/goal achieving mojo and needed some expert help.
I needed a kick-ass goal planner and I’m thrilled to say that I found it.
It’s the Slay Your Goals Planner by Nadalie Bardo.
I’ve been reading Nadalie Bardo over at It’s All You Boo for a while now and she has some amazing content. It’s informative, inspiring, motivating (very important) and fun (maybe even more important).
Nadalie is the Slay Your Goals extraordinaire.
Just to be crystal clear, I am recommending this product because I think it’s great and will help you but I also bought it for myself because I want to use it myself.
I’ll be right there with you throughout the year working away on my goals. We’ll be slaying our goals together!
Here’s why I’m excited about the Slay Your Goals Planner and where I think it can add value to help you achieve your goals.
Slay Your Goals gets you into the right mindset
Let’s face it when it comes to achieving your goals – mindset is important.
It’s super important.
You need to be open to the power of goal setting and goal achievement. You need to believe you are capable of achieving your goals.
Looking back over my recent 2 year history with setting goals (or lack thereof) it might be easy to simply think –
‘Why bother setting goals?’
My reason to bother is because I want to make important changes in my life. I’m frustrated with the lack of progress in some areas of my life and the way to change that is by having a clear path and self-determination to move forward.
While I might fall and stumble when it comes to my goals, the one thing I know for sure is that if I don’t set goals and work to achieve them, I’ll be stuck in the same place next year.
I know from previous experience (prior to the timeframe above) that once I have a solid goal and plan I can work on my goals to make them happen.
Slay Your Goals helps you pick the right goal
If I asked you right now what is your number one goal for next year what would you say?
You might be able to answer off the top of your head or your might rattle off a few ideas but not know which one is the most important.
You might name a goal but be so unenthusiastic about it, that it feels more a boring chore than a goal that you actually want to achieve (probably not the right goal for you, in case you were wondering!)
Or your first thought might be – Cr*p, I have no idea.
And you know what, that is perfectly okay because the goal of this planner is to help you brainstorm what your most important goal is.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. This planner will help you figure it out.
I’m really looking forward to working through this section because I have my number one goal in mind but I want to make sure it’s absolutely the right one for me.
Slay Your Goals will help you break down the steps
This is where most people (including me) struggle the most.
We don’t break down our goals into actionable chunks, we keep them too big picture (eg I want to go on holiday in 2018) but have no plan on how to make it happen.
The beauty of the Slay Your Goals planner is that it helps you break down the steps.
It’s always easier to do what has to be done when we know what we have to do. Nothing causes overwhelm or procrastination quicker than thinking – I don’t know what to do next.
This planner breaks down the steps with to do lists, calendars, flow charts and worksheets.
Putting tasks in your calendar (and being realistic about it) is important.
This is one of the areas where my goals have fallen over in the past. I set monthly goals and even break them down to weekly ones but then I drop the ball on placing tasks in my calendar.
It’s not that I don’t put tasks in my calendar, it’s that I don’t get detailed enough.
Let’s use an example of a mistake I picked up on recently.
I might have publish blog post as a task in my calendar for a certain day but there is no timeframe in my calendar to complete the task and sometimes I’m not 100% certain what the topic of the post is about. I have brainstorming ideas and half-written draft posts in my blogging folder but no solid plan.
I sit down to write and I’m back to the – what am I going to do next? problem.
I currently struggle with aligning my monthly plan with the tasks I need to put in my calendar on a day-to-day basis.
You need an effective tool that captures the flow of setting goals, breaking them down into monthly/quarterly goals, getting them on your to do list, putting them into your calendar and seeing them completed.
The Slay Your Goals Planner can help you with that.
Slay Your Goals focuses on mini goals
When I look back to my big-ticket list of 2016 goals, it’s no surprise I was overwhelmed by them.
There were too many HUGE goals.
While I’m all for having big goals, they also need to be realistic.
There were no mini goals leading up to my main goal. There was no build up, no milestones to achieve along the way. Just a feeling of ‘get this big scary goal done at some point – somehow.’
Definitely not the way to go.
Mini goals on the other hand are exactly the way to go. You achieve something, feel great about that achievement and it empowers you to keep going.
Mini goals keep you moving.
They give you movement in the direction of your number one goal which don’t look or feel as scary when you are making consistent progress.
Not to mention you get to celebrate achieving your mini goals along the way which means having some fun and let’s face it – this goal achieving stuff needs to have an element of fun about it.
Yes you are going to have to work hard and be disciplined but it should also involve having fun.
Slay Your Goals asks the right questions
I’m a questioner.
If you doubt that in any way, have a look at many of my blog post titles – a lot of them are questions!
The key is to ask the right questions.
Many of us often obsess over the questions running through our heads but they aren’t the right questions.
The right questions help our minds work things out. They get us thinking. They spark our creativity. They get us out of a rut.
You might be thinking, ‘I don’t like questions because they make me think about stuff I don’t want to.’
Let me tell you – that’s a good thing! To achieve your goals, you are going to have to ask yourself some tough questions.
Don’t be scared of the right questions – that’s where the power lies.
Slay Your Goals helps you decide what YOU want
Emphasis here is on the YOU.
Often we run around busy, busy, busy trying to achieve our goals when in fact we are actually trying to achieve someone else’s goals.
We go down a particular path because our parents expect it of us or our partner thinks it’s a good idea when down deep it’s not something we want for ourselves.
Decide what YOU want.
Slay Your Goals tracks your progress
Tracking your progress is essential when it comes to achieving goals.
If you don’t track your progress, you won’t know how you are doing. You won’t know if you are ahead or behind on your goals.
One of the important things about tracking your progress is that if things aren’t working out the way you planned (and let’s be honest that happens) we can take a moment to re-evaluate if necessary to get ourselves either back on track or going down a different path altogether.
Slay Your Goals helps you review your goals
Tracking is one thing – reviewing is another.
It’s important to review how your feel about achieving your goal.
When it all comes down to it, how you feel about achieving a goal is the important part, so it’s vital that you don’t miss this step.
Two points to keep in mind
There is a bit of writing involved
As with all planners, there is a fair bit of writing involved. I know at first glance, that can feel a little intimidating.
If you are anything like me when you first get a digital product (I do it with books and magazines as well) you do a quick flick through. That’s great but don’t let it overwhelm you.
Yes there is work to do but you don’t have to do it all at once.
The tracking and reviewing all come later.
Remember – The more clarity you get up front the easier it will be to achieve your goals.
You don’t have to wait till next year
You don’t need to wait for the New Year to start working on your goals.
You can do that right now.
Remember this year isn’t over yet folks, there is still a lot you can achieve.
You can and should start the moment you stop reading this post.
Grab your copy of Slay Your Goals Planner and get cracking.
You are ready for some serious goal setting and goal slaying. Go for it!