Goals: How I’m Wrapping Up the Final Quarter of 2020

It’s the last quarter of 2020. Three more months and the strangest, most growth and gratitude-filled year of my life will come to an end.

I’ve said it from the start of all of this madness in March, and I’ll continue to say it: the Pandemic came to force us all to have a seat, to turn inward and answer whatever calling we found. The chaos happening outside of us? That was a distraction. I’m not taking away from or trying to minimize the very real atrocities that have gone on. I feel the pain, stress and frustration of humans on a global level, and anyone who knows me knows how much I mean that. What I am saying, though, is that people who focused only on the news, the headline after headline that we’ve been bombarded with are likely in the same spot they were in at the start of the year. Those of us who used our time to pray/meditate, to focus, and to remain vigilant of our thoughts, well, we’ve made moves.

At the start of June, I set goals for the third quarter of the year. Once the school year was over and I had more wiggle room in my schedule, I became determined to use that time to make sh*t happen (sorry, you know sometimes the ratchetry just flows right out). There were only three of them, one personal, one professional, and one for my relationships, and I’m so humbled as I write these words: I accomplished far more than I’d set out to.

—Ya know, I need to pause here for a moment and explain to y’all how hard it is to talk about happiness and progress out loud. There are an infinite amount of haters out there. People who don’t know me might read this and get instantly upset, not because I’ve done anything to them (again, we’ve never met) but because they’re lacking something in their lives and view the success of others, especially during the sh*tbucket year that has been 2020 on a global level, as an offense. I don’t say any of this to brag, but rather to try to encourage people who aren’t where they want to be and are feeling inclined to do something about it. My hope is that my experiences will serve as inspiration for someone else and that’s what prompts me to share my story.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. —

I’ve always been the type to set goals, to plan things out and write them all down, but not the best at following through. So I’m even more proud of the fact that I actually tracked my goals, checked in on them regularly, and set mini goals each week to make strides through the past 3 months.

Setting goals for the last quarter of the year

We’ve all heard of setting SMART goals. To me, that just means that they need to be realistic, specific and they need a timeline. My preferred timeline is 3 months because it’s easy to keep track of, and I have a short attention span as it is, so anything longer than that and I may actually forget what my goals are.

For the last 3 months of the year, this is what I’ve got:

Personal: Dial in my nutrition (I need a limit on the desserts and drinks that are going to be readily available during the holidays)

Professional: Write daily and expand my network (This is part of the overarching goal of making writing my full-time job)

Relationships: Spend dedicated time with my children daily (Even though we’re still working and learning from home, we have to be intentional about our quality/fun time)

When it comes to goal setting, it’s easy to get carried away. You want to do it all and you want to do it all RIGHT NOW! I love the enthusiasm, but reign it in, my friend. The best way to actually get things done is to be focused, so narrow it down to 3 things. Three things, three categories, three months.

Ways to stay on track

Please write your goals down. You can write them in a journal, on post-it notes, wherever makes your heart happy, but put them on paper, tell someone else about them, and keep them in a place where you can see them daily.

Mine are written by my calendar, along with daily affirmations that I not only read but actually say out loud. I meet weekly with a girlfriend of mine who’s just as obsessed with goal-setting and growth as I am and we keep each other motivated and accountable. That may sound dorky and lame to some people, I know it would’ve to me a few years ago, but I legitimately look forward to these weekly chats. Every Sunday I walk away from our conversation feeling fired TF up and ready to take on my week. Find someone who you can check in with weekly, and make it someone who is unlikely to let you off the hook if you fall short.

Set mini-goals each week to make progress towards the larger goals. For example, my goal to write daily is coupled with a word count. I need to write 500 words a day, or 3,500 words for the week. There are days when I feel more motivated and write more than 500, and then there are days when I’m lucky if I get one little baby word, but by the end of the week, that 3,500 mark is met.

Keep your foot on the gas. There have been so many days when I would really rather take a nap than do any of the things I need to do, but I show up anyway. There’s this stigma right now around the idea that you and only you are responsible for your success in life, as if it’s OK to give in every time your body says “but I don’t wanna work!” Spoiler alert: it’s not OK.

Life has a tendency to suck, sometimes more than others, but if you’re serious about making progress, you have to show up anyway. Take that mental health day when you need it, then wake up the day after that, drink coffee and get to work.

Friends, you can do absolutely anything you set your heart and mind to. You can make what’s left of this year whatever you want it to be, I need you to believe that.

If you need help setting goals, LET ME KNOW! I’m here for you :)