Your big “to-do” for 2023: ponder, really ponder, your goals
I wrote my first goal list in 1980 (see photo) when I was 20 years old. I’m not sure why I sat down and did it (maybe it was the cool stationery that said “GOALS”) but that list changed my life. I had always been a “to do” list kinda guy – I love a good to do list as I am always thrilled at crossing things off the list to see what I’ve accomplished! However, those lists typically only dealt with things I wanted to get done that day or that weekend.
This goal list was different. I had taken some time to think about what I wanted to get done that year. I carefully considered what was important to me — relationships, family, spirituality, career. This wasn’t a list of tasks I could cross off at the end of the day, like my Dad’s old “Saturday Work List” that had better be completed before he got home at 4 p.m. that same day. These items would take some work, some “stick-to-it” discipline and I would need to develop more of a long-term mentality with these goals.
In his book “Getting Things Done,” David Allen describes how you can get things out of your head and onto paper to clear up some thinking space. I use my journal to do this most of the time. But when you start talking about what you want to accomplish over the next year, or three years, or five, or 10 plus, goal setting takes a little more time and thought!
Jim Rohn, in his book “The 7 Strategies for Wealth and Happiness,” describes a method of setting goals I have used for years and it starts with a rapid-fire list right off the top of your head. I then separate my rapid-fire items into categories I created to help me focus on the areas of my life that mean the most to me. My categories include the following: Spiritual, Family and Friends, Physical Fitness (Health), Career, Financial, Travel and Personal items that may not fit in the other areas mentioned.
I then take some time to ponder (a super scientific way to say I really think about what it is I want to accomplish over the long-haul) the items I have listed and I try my best to rank each item in its particular category. Then, I identify the top three to five items per category.
Now comes the fun part: more pondering! This time, the pondering is about attaching a reason I want to accomplish each goal in my top three to five items per category. This helps me reorder my lists and I can start developing action steps necessary to accomplish the goal. The longer the timelines, the more you will want to establish milestones to track your progress and help determine what will land on your 2023 goal list.
My 2023 goal list is being assembled now and, once I finish it, that list will be printed, cut to fit in the front of my journal so I can look at it during the year.
If you don’t journal,we’ll talk more about that next month! Until then, dump the resolutions and start your WRITTEN GOAL LIST for 2023 (and beyond!). You’ll be amazed at all you can accomplish when you look back!