Happy New Year!!!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your family!  I was lucky to share some truly wonderful moments with my kids, my husband, and my extended family.  We shared lots of food, gifts and most especially lots of love and laughter.  As much as I enjoy some extra time off and all the celebrating, come January 2nd I always appreciate getting back to routines and setting into motion some goals for the year ahead.

Although it may sound like a cliché, the start of a new year offers a great opportunity to set goals and intentions.  Without creating goals, what are we working for, striving for, hoping to achieve in the coming year??

I encourage you to dig deep and decide what is important to you and what you would like to achieve this year.  Here’s how I do it…

Goal Setting & Goal Achieving!

STEP 1: PONDER

This part is essential for your success!  Think about what you accomplished last year.  What would you like to improve on?  What would you like to change completely?  Take some time to think about what you would really like to accomplish this year.  How would you feel if you achieved it?  Let that feeling be your motivator!   Jot your ideas down on a piece of paper or create a note on your phone.  Is it work related? Family related?  Personal growth?  Maybe a bit of each?  Think about this for a few days and take notes as you get ideas.

STEP 2: SET YOUR GOALS & WRITE THEM DOWN

Once you have pondered about the different ideas you have for the year ahead, now is the time to hone in on the specifics of what you want to accomplish.  It’s important to get really really clear on what you want to achieve.  Getting clear and setting this intention will set you up for actually achieving your goals.  If you are not specific it will be difficult to measure and stay accountable to.   For example, one of my goals for the coming year is to become an APPO Certified Photo Organizer (appo.org).  It’s something I have wanted to do for a while and I’m super excited about achieving it this year! This is a specific goal and there are specific things I will need to do in order to make this happen.  I have written down this goal along with my others so I can see them and have them inspire me regularly.

STEP 3: MARK YOUR CALENDAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

Once your goals are set, now you need to mark your calendar throughout the year to touch base with yourself on the status of the goals.  Mark dates when you would like to have specific tasks or goals met.  I have also found that having an accountability partner to check in with is a great motivator to help keep you on track.  You can have monthly phone calls or even just send each other a weekly email as to where you are with your goal(s).  You will be amazed how this can keep you forging ahead, even when it gets difficult.  Because I don’t sit in front of a computer every day and I don’t love a small screen for my calendar, I still use a paper calendar.  I use a Planner Pad organizer plannerpad.com which I love.  It easily allows me to keep track of my tasks and move them around my schedule as needed when other things pop up.  Whether you use paper or electronic calendars, just be consistent.

STEP 4: ACKNOWLEDGE AND ADJUST

So you have been going along great working towards your goals then SOMETHING happens.  You are thrown off course!  Perhaps a life change occurs or you realize the goal you were working towards is no longer congruent with where you are NOW.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of your plans….so you adjust.  Plain and simple.  Re-evaluate what you want to be working towards and modify your goals and related tasks as necessary.  Remember to be kind to yourself throughout the process.  The road of life is not a straight one and neither is the path to achieving your goals.

STEP 5: CELEBRATE!

Throughout the year and of course come December, take some time to recognize and celebrate your achievements.  Maybe you finally organized the basement… so throw a ping pong party to celebrate that you can now use the table again!  Whatever you do, celebrate these successes in a way that feels good for you and pushes you forward to continue your journey towards reaching your goals.

So as a quick recap, these are 5 Steps to creating your best year yet!:

• STEP 1: PONDER

• STEP 2: SET YOUR GOALS & WRITE THEM DOWN

• STEP 3: MARK YOUR CALENDAR THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

• STEP 4: ACKNOWLEDGE & ADJUST

• STEP 5: CELEBRATE!!!

So bring it on 2017, I’m excited you’re here!  I’ve got lots to do!!

Do you have any tips for achieving your goals this year?  Comment below.  I’d love to hear them!

Happy Organizing!

Emily