A Feather On Your Path - Organising Your Goals For Success

Because this may just make your goals more reachable than you think.

The What -

Organise your goals this week. Sit yourself down and start making a list of the goals you have in life. Feel free to add new ones too as you go along. Now put them into categories of 'This month's goals, 'This year's goals' and 'Next five years' goals.

The goals can be as big or small as you like and related to absolutely anything (as long as it is primarily for your benefit). Just make sure you are specific about what they are and realistic about which category they should go into.

If your mane is a mess, by all means make getting a hair cut your goal this month. Want to learn a new language? Cool give it a go this year! Or maybe your goal is travel in the next five years? No idea is too big or small, just whatever comes to mind.

Now if we take the five year goal of travelling as an example, include in the month and year sections what goals you need to achieve to be able to travel in the next five years. Maybe you need a goal of saving a certain amount each month? Or maybe you need to find a more flexible way of working by next year to facilitate the time off to travel in future?

Get it all written down so it looks something like this before you read on...

This month's goals	This year's goals	Next five years' goals
Cook a new and healthy recipe	Lose 2 pounds a month	Get in shape
Put £100 a month in my savings	Save £100 every month for a year	Use the money saved to have a holiday in Cyprus

Now the really important part is to stand back and look at what goals you have in each section. If you have tons in the five year category and not a lot in this month, you need to re-evaluate. It's pretty likely you are in 'dream' mode. Basically you hope the five year goals will happen by magic. If there's nothing in your monthly/yearly goals to get you to your five year goals, how will they ever come to fruition?

If it's the opposite and your monthly goal list is enormous, you might just be taking on too much. Take another look at what's on your plate. What's important, what can someone else do and are these goals leading you to where you want to be? Or are they a big list of distractions?

The best scenario is a fair mixture between each with goals in each category linking to the next in some way. So if you're not quite there, do some moving around of your goals, look again at the timelines and priorities. All of it can easily be adjusted to keep you on track to your next big adventure. Now put that beautiful goal plan in to action and run with it baby, the world is your oyster and there is so much good to come!

The Why -

We all have overarching goals and work goals and usually some smaller every day goals too so sometimes we are drowning in goals and lose direction. If you're anything like me, this is when you get totally stuck and give up because it all feels like too much! The life plan looks like the wire drawer sometimes - one big mess of confusion, you would rather not look at. 

We rarely think about where we are trying to get to in five years time, unless you get asked this as an annoying interview question! But even then, that's just about work and usually something we made up on the spot (well it is for me anyway!) We can also easily get stuck in the cycle of work, sleep and repeat. Putting one foot in the other without much of a clue of where we are going or how we are going to get there.

So by taking time to think about our goals and simply putting them in timed categories, we can come up with a plan to get us back on track in a jiffy. There are tons of ways to organise and plan but honestly I think a lot of it is overkill. Don't even get me started on how much I hate Gantt charts (if you ever have to put them together at work, i'm sure you will know the boredom and pain these awful things inflict!)

The beauty of simplicity

What I've found with using this simple way of categorising and reviewing your goals every now and again is it's quick and easy (two of my most favourite ways of doing things!) But also it tends to start growing legs. One minute i'm writing down that my goal this month is to try cooking a new healthy dish and suddenly I've found myself engrossed in the world of Mediterranean diets and discovering poke bowls are actually the best thing since sliced bread (no better actually as they have more goodness in them!)

Oooh look now I've discovered even more healthy and delicious foods, i'm naturally losing weight and getting well on the way to my one year goal of losing a couple stone and then my five year goal of looking like a young Kate Moss! Ok maybe not exactly like her but slimmer and healthier than I am today anyway!

It's just such a simple way of staying on track to whatever you want to achieve but also to finding your happy and some more excitement in life!

Now if you want to go even further in this and especially if you struggle to stay on track with things by all means do use the tips below, but honestly no pressure! Just have fun with your goals plan if you prefer and enjoy the scenic route!

A few little tips if you struggle to stay on track;

Setting your Goals

Try to make your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and set a Timeline to achieve them (SMART). This will help you stay focused and motivated.

Example: "I want to lose weight" becomes "I want to lose two pounds this month to lose two stone by next year by exercising for 30 minutes, 3 times a week, and eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily."

Break Down your Big Goals into Smaller Ones

Large goals can be overwhelming, so break them down into smaller, manageable tasks. This will help you make progress and stay motivated. Make sure your smaller tasks are spread across each section. If you fill the 'month' section with too many, you will get overloaded!

Example: "I want to start a business" becomes "I'll research business ideas and create a business plan by the end of the month. I will launch my website within the next year"

Prioritise and track your progress

Ask yourself - Who are your goals for? (You I hope!) Why are you doing them? Are they all worth doing? Do some matter more than others? If you could only achieve some of them which ones do you hope to achieve first? As soon as you start making headway, make a note to take a look back at your goals plan regularly. I find monthly is best to keep updating those tasks in the 'monthly' category. Also, don't forget to give yourself credit for what you've accomplished. No task is too small to celebrate!

Focus on Progress, Not Perfection

Don't get discouraged if you don't achieve perfection. Focus on making progress and learning from your mistakes. Remember life is a journey and rarely is it a straightforward one! If you do struggle to stay on track, consider sharing your goals with your trusted ones and ask for their support. This can provide accountability and motivation for you but also loads more fun if you achieve things together!

Try to be Flexible and Adaptable

Life is unpredictable, so be prepared to adjust your goals as needed. Don't get discouraged if things don't go as planned. It's all just part of the ride! It's really not the pace that matters, it's the progress. This method not floating your boat? Check out how to create a Vision Board as an alternative goal setting approach or use it in conjunction with this one! Just stay positive, keep persistent and you will get there. Believe in yourself always.

And that's pretty much all there is to achieving your beautiful dreams! I hope you're feeling focused, motivated, and excited about the exciting future goals you're going to smash!

Remember, the key to achieving your goals is to keep it simple, keep it real, and keep it flexible. If you're feeling stuck, don't worry too much about specifics at this stage, just take the time to think about what you want to achieve and break it down into manageable steps.

And don't forget to celebrate your small wins along the way. It's the little things that add up to make a big difference in the long run.

So, what are you waiting for? Get out there and start making your goals a reality. The magic is yours to make, and the possibilities are endless!

The Who -

This little feather was inspired by a manager I worked for a few years ago. He wasn't the most pleasant of people to work for but in fairness some of his criticism was right and he did teach me some good lessons. Something he said to me once was that "My organisation skills were 'very pretty' and all but I tend to over-complicate things". He was right and I had got distracted from the main goals of the project we were working on.

After this feedback, I've tended to keep my organisation simpler and focus more on the why of what i'm trying to do. It helped with the project but more importantly it helped me stay on track with the goals I want to achieve. So I really hope this simple goal planning exercise helps you get to where you want to be too and that you can schedule a time this week to review your goals and take your next game changing step forward!

Lou @ Feathered Paths Xx