The New Year is right around the corner, and I have some fool-proof tips for you to make and stick to your goals for 2016.
Goal setting:
Let’s be S.M.A.R.T. Maybe you have heard of this term before, but have never implemented it into your life. This is an easy acronym for you to remember how to make your goals.
S) SPECIFIC. Be specific about your goals.
You could say, “I am going to save money this year”, but that’s not specific. How MUCH money are you going to save, and when are you going to save it by? Also, how are you going to do it? By moving X amount of money over to your savings account on the first of the month, every month, for the whole year.
Or if you say, “I am going to get fit this year”, what does that mean? Are you going to lose a certain number of pounds? Are you going to train for a marathon? These goals need to be specific, so that you know exactly what you are aiming for. How are you going to lose that weight? Are you going to hit up a Zumba class three times a week, or maybe find a a running partner that will run with you three times a week? Those are the specifics you need to turn your goals into reality.
M) MEASURABLE. Give your specific goals a quantity.
You want to save $1,000 dollars this year or you want to lose 30 pounds this year. This gives your goals some measure and value so you can numerically keep track of your progress.
A) ATTAINABLE. Make sure that your goal isn’t so lofty, that you can’t actually attain it.
Saying you want to save $1,000,000 this year if you don’t even make that in one year, is not attainable. Saving $100 is attainable because it is probably such a small amount of money that you won’t even notice transferring it into your savings account.
Saying you want to lose 100 pounds this year is probably not attainable- that is, if you were to do it in a healthy way. It’s more powerful to set smaller goals so that they are quickly attainable. That way you gain some momentum, which drives you to set more goals, which ultimately will get you to your main goal.
R) RELEVANT. Make sure your goal is relevant to your life or that it means something to you.
Why are you saving that $1,000? Are you wanting to go on a trip? Are you wanting to have extra money in savings or to put towards retirement? Those are things that are relevant to your life. Why are you wanting to lose 30 pounds? Is it because it will improve your health? That is very relevant to your life!
T) TIME-BOUND. Make sure your goals have a proper time frame in mind.
You can be even more specific about how you are wanting to save that $1,000 this year. You can outline that each month you plan to save $100, so that way, at the end of the year, you will exceed your goal and actually have $1,200 saved up.
And if you want to lose that 30 pounds in the year, break it down into smaller portions. In one month, I will lose 2-3 pounds by doing X (Zumba, running, weight lifting, etc). You can even say, every week I will lose 1 pound. If you give yourself a realistic time frame, you will feel more successful when you reach that goal.
My last tip is to WRITE IT DOWN! Put it all in your Google calendar, or your planner, or your smart phone. Put it in writing, somewhere you know you will see it!
Say GOODBYE to 2015 and HELLO to 2016. It’s going to be a GREAT year!
Do you set New Years goals every year? Why or why not? And do you actually follow through with your goals? Why or why not? I would love to hear your 2016 goals!
XOXO-Jenna
