2019 Year in Review & My Goals for 2020
There is probably no other community I'm aware of that is as goal-focused as the planner community. Many of us carry around planners filled with reminders of the things we each hope to accomplish, trackers that encourage us to be better, and vision boards that inspire and motivate us to achieve those goals.
This post is perhaps a bit more personal to me, but like a lot of us, I get quite introspective at the end of each year and I really enjoy grabbing the goals section in my planner to see just what it was that I accomplished... or didn't. I wanted to share my thoughts on what worked for me, and a few tips I've learned on how to realistically set goals in the new year. Not to mention, I find that sharing my goals online with this wonderful community instills a bit of accountability for me, which is always a good thing.
First things first, 2019 was a great year. It was my first full year of running EO Edits, I found a new job that I love in the interior design field, I made some changes to my health and habits that I'm really proud of, and I made so many great memories. We traveled to Greece for our honeymoon, celebrated tons with friends and family. and spent our first full year in Calgary and our new house. Of course 2019 had it's ups and downs too, but overall, I'm happy with the results and what I was able to accomplish. Speaking of, let's talk about what goals I had set for 2019.
2019
Tidy daily
Complete a 30 day yoga challenge
Meal Plan weekly
Drink 48 oz. of water a day
Read 20 books a year
Make a minimum of $1000 a month with EO Edits
Journal weekly
Go on monthly dates
Complete a 30 day relationship challenge
Wake up at 8:30 every week day
Complete a 30 day no spend
Have $15,000 in savings
bold = goal achieved
As you can see, I accomplished about 50% of the goals I set for myself. Not fantastic, but not terrible. Plus, I learned a lot about myself and goal setting this year.
WHAT WORKED & WHAT DIDN'T
Remind yourself of your goals daily
Just by having this list in my planner and looking at it on a regular basis, I was able to accomplish so much more, and truly commit to my goals. So that being said, that would be my first bit of advice. Have a list of your goals in a place that you're going to see it each and every single day. Some goals, even though I didn't accomplish, I was reminded of them and as a result was better than I would have been if I didn't have this list in my planner. I even added my top goals to a planner card so I could really focus in on what I was going to achieve. So, grab some paper, write your goals down and keep a copy in your planner. Go a step further and put your list up in your room, as your phone or desktop background, or display your beautiful vision board.
Set goals that are measurable and realistic
I realized over this year that I can't stick to goals that require me to do something every single day. Life isn't perfect and no one is perfect. Setting the expectation that you're not going to miss a day or have a bad day is unrealistic. The goals that had a specific number of days to stick to, or amount of money to save up or make, I was able to accomplish much easier. If possible, set a time frame for your goals, and break down your goals into steps if you have to.
Reward progress!
No, I didn't tidy up every single day. No, I didn't journal every week. I didn't drink 48 oz. of water a day... but I was so much more aware of these habits that I've deemed matter to me and because of that I did way better than I realized. I'm proud of myself for doing better than I would have if I hadn't set these goals for myself and I'm making progress to be better next year.
You You You
Set goals that YOU want to achieve. Just you. I realized that it's really quite hard to accomplish your goals when someone else has to be involved. For instance, my husband and I didn't go on monthly dates because our schedules didn't always work out and, not to mention, he was away for work almost half of the year! While I'll always think that working on our relationship is important, my goals and resolutions for the year shouldn't rely on him. A better goal, for example, would have been to challenge myself to do something for my husband once a month.
Use tools that you have
I found that if I was able to use things like habit trackers and my fitness tracker to measure my progress of a goal, I was way more likely to succeed. I'm a very visual person so seeing my progress as I filled out the trackers pushed me and motivated me more and more. Set yourself up for success by having trackers and tools ready to go from day 1.
So what have I changed when it comes to goal setting and what am I working on in 2020? Let's take a look.
2020
Maintain 5000 steps a month
Maintain an average of 48 oz. of water
Maintain an average of 3 workouts a week
Read 25 books
Journal once a week
Grow EO Edits to 8000 followers
Launch a new product every month
Can you tell what my word of the year is? MAINTAIN. I'm able to use my Fitbit tracker to see my averages for things like steps, workouts, and water intake. I'm hoping that by focusing on averages and being healthy most of the time rather than all of the time, I'll be much more successful.
I made a lot of progress last year, turning some goals into habits that I don't even have to think about anymore, I just do. However, the areas I still need to focus on are my health & fitness, hobbies/self care, and career. There's obviously other areas of my life, but this year I'm cutting back on how many goals I'm working towards compared to last year. To avoid being overwhelmed, remind yourself that you don't need to do it all. If you can, just focus on the areas in your life that you really want to improve upon because you're not going to achieve goals that aren't truly important to you.
Setting goals is an essential part towards building a life you're proud of. Whether you're trying to push yourself out of your comfort zone, get that promotion at work, or be a bit healthier, these goals are the stepping stones to your future. Take them seriously, set them with intention, and go out there and crush it!
What goals are you working towards in 2020? I'd love to know. What is your best tip for accomplishing your goals? Tell me in the comments below.
-Emilee