Happy New Year!

I am so excited for the 365 363 brand new days that lay before us. I have a feeling that 2018 is going to be the start of an amazing journey. This could be due to the fact that this is the first time I have mapped out my goals and created an action plan for success.

In the past I've made a lot of vague goals/resolutions/intentions but never supported them with a specific plan of action. This year, I set aside time and energy to put pen to paper and really get clear on what I wanted to accomplish. My word for 2018 is CREATE and I know it's going to take planning and preparation to execute on all of the fun things I have brewing in my brain.

Here are the steps I took to map out my 2018 goals. It's my hope that this will be helpful if you are still in the planning stages and/or aren't sure where to begin.

Before organizing anything, I simply started with a blank notebook page to write down all my goals. The idea is to get everything out of your head and on to a sheet of paper (or a digital document if you aren't a fan of analog). Try to be as specific as possible here. I like to use the S.M.A.R.T acronym- goals should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and, Timely.

Once I had all of my goals written out, I sorted them into categories. I ended up with 4 - personal, professional, physical, and financial. (I really wish this had been 4 P's. Does anyone use the word pecuniary anymore?)

Here are my actual 2018 goals, organized into each category.

In this step you will reverse engineer your goals. The bonus? You get to imagine yourself as already having achieved them! 

First, you'll create a large circle with the category in the middle.

Then you will create branches with each of your main goals. 

For each level after the main goal, ask yourself the question "What will I need to do to be successful with this?" The answers will become the next branches.

Continue creating branches (or action steps) until you feel like you can't go any further.

Here is one of my Physical goals mapped out, as an example-

One you have a mind map for each category, you should end up with a detailed plan on how to accomplish each of your goals. At this point, it is important to make room for them in your daily routine.

The branches of your goal will become the action steps- in other words, these will be the things you need to do daily/weekly/monthly to be successful. In the Fencing example I gave above, I would need to plan when exactly my lessons will be and choose the open fencing sessions I will attend so that I can build them into my schedule.

This whole process will take some time, so allow yourself a quiet afternoon with a nice cup of coffee or tea to get started.

P.S.- Check out last year's blog on Setting Intentions for the New Year