I don’t know about you but I've never been one to set my goals in January. When I was working on my cakes full time, I always gave myself extra time off in January. Intuitively it always felt like the right thing to do; the start of the year after the rush of Christmas always feels like the perfect time to cosy up, relax, be a bit more insular. For me, it was never the time for 'new year, new me'.
But here we are in March, spring is in the air and everything is coming out of hiding. The perfect time, in my opinion, to start working on some goals.
So come along with me, as I, a serial goal giver-upper-er, try and set (and stick to) some goals!
CHOOSING WHICH GOALS TO SET
Honestly, I find it tricky and overwhelming to set goals, so my aim is to keep things as simple and pressure-free as possible and, if you’d like to do the same, I’d love to have you by my side and we see how we get on!
I’ve recently decided that, for now, I am not taking on cake orders. To be honest, I’ve found it tricky around having a toddler. She’s a spirited one and we’re constantly on the go. As you can imagine, it isn't the best environment for cake decorating! And by the time the evening rolls around I’m not chuffed at the thought of starting work at 8pm.
It’s been a tough decision, and one that has taken me about a year to come to on my own and feel (semi) OK about it. But I know I can feel sad about it and it still be the right decision.
Before my daughter, my personality was 80% (probably more) the cake lady and, to be honest, it took up about 80% of my time. Work/life balance? I didn’t know her.
So now I feel in a kind of limbo. I’ve lost who I am now outside of being a mother and it’s felt a little like a failure that I haven’t been able to pair up being a mum with being a cake decorator.
I’m trying to think of it as a new opportunity; it’s the chance to work on different areas of my business. Plus, my spirited daughter is giving me the gift of adventure and it’s time for me to embrace that.
But I would still like to do something for me.
So I’ve decided that each month I’m going to set myself some goals. Which might seem odd given what I have just been saying but I have a plan!
HOW TO STICK TO YOUR GOALS
That is the question: how do I stick to my goals? No, really… Someone please tell me!
I’ve never been great at sticking to goals. This is what happens: I get the urge to set some goals, I decide I want to set ALL the goals, I get overwhelmed, I do nothing, feel like I’ve achieved nothing, feel bad.
Or…
I set the goals, make a plan, I realise it’s not going to happen tomorrow, give up, achieve nothing, feel bad.
A good example of this is a fitness goal. I’ve eaten well and exercised for one day - where are my results!
So I think what I need to do is:
Understand not everything is urgent. I don’t have to do everything and I don’t have to do it all immediately - this is going to be tough for me!
Know it won’t all happen overnight - again, this is going to take some work.
Make short term goals for that dopamine hit! But understand they are part of a wider plan
Start small. Like, really small
Show gratitude for where I am right now
Easy, right? Right?!
HOW DO I CHOSE SMALL GOALS?
In order to choose my small goals, I started with writing down all the goals I wanted to do. Just got them all down and out of my head. There was no particular order to them; this exercise was just about getting them down so maybe I could start to see a bigger picture within each group.
I then picked goals that felt manageable and also would help create some groundwork.
For example, I have money goals on my list but I know I can’t go straight into earning 5 figure months! I need to get some consistency and fun back into working. I therefore picked just spending a minimum of 30 minutes, 5 times a week doing something for my business.
Let’s take a look at the other goals I have set…
WHAT ARE MY GOALS?
Business
Work on my business, in any capacity for at least 30 mins, 5 times a week.
This goal is intentionally super loose;I just want to try and get some consistency back. I’m being really gentle with this goal, knowing that doing something, even if it’s just for 30 minutes, will be a small step in the right direction.
Personal
Complete a craft project
Reduce unhealthy snacks and takeaway coffee
I’m currently enjoying crochet and punch needle but there are a lot of projects up in the air! It would be nice to see some of them finished.
And I would love to get back on track with looking after myself and these seem like these are small enough steps to help get me started.
Spiritual/Wellness
Daily gratitude
Get outside at least once a day (weather permitting, let’s not get too crazy!)
I know I need to practice gratitude more and really feel it. I get so bogged down in what has gone wrong, I forget to enjoy the moment and all the joyful pockets of the day. I know how much this is going to make a difference.
Look, I’m not really an outdoorsy kind of gal but it’s good for me and it’s definitely good for my daughter!
HOW DO I TRACK MY PROGRESS?
For me, Part of the issue with setting goals is not being able to see results quickly. So it’s going to be necessary for me to try and have some way of tracking my progress and seeing some sort of result.
To start with, the goals I’ve picked can all be measured with a simple tick at the end of the day. Friends, I have even made myself some bullet journal pages so I can actually see my progress!
And of course I have bought some fun pens because that feels like a necessity to help me keep on track! Held off on the stickers and other accessories for now…
I’m also keeping my goals short term (month-by-month) while I start to get into it and hopefully gain some momentum. And I’m going to document my journey to keep me accountable, and also because writing is one of things that feels fun and easy to do as part of my business right now. So I will come back in April, check in and hopefully have some new goals to work with.
Right, better get cracking on!
If you’ve got any goals to share or any tips on how to stay focussed, I would love to hear about them! Just leave a comment of hop into the ol’ DMs.
Speak soon,
Vic xx