This is the time of year where I start planning out my goals, intentions and business plan and steps toward helping myself succeed for the year. I know, you’re suppose to go into the year with this already, but to be honest, December is my craziest time of the year and when I am least focused and my brain is complete mush. So long ago, I decided that January would be my ‘get clear and focused’ month – setting myself up for success.

While making goals might be the “thing to do” during this season, don’t forget you can actually make them at anytime, I do it all the time. Another important thing to remember at the end of the year? Reflect on how far you’ve come! Too often, we get caught up in the goal that we didn’t accomplish or the goals we’ve yet to set … I do it all the time. I’ve learned how important it is to take a step back, reflect, congratulate myself and then reassess. Here are a few tips on how and why this is an important part of goal setting and some of my favorite tools to help me stay on track.

Look Back (But No Judgement Allowed!)

Remember that failure is success, a step closer to our goals and dreams. So take a look back and see what you accomplished or what you can do in a different way to get you one step closer to your goals. This is the time to see what worked and what didn’t, without judgement. Just an honest acknowledgment of what didn’t work and set about making adjustments to realign yourself to make it work in the future. Think of it as something new you learned about what you can do differently to achieve those goals in the future.

Get Clear on the Goals for Your Business

So clear that they are written down. Don’t be afraid to dream big here. Think of not only this year, but the next 5-10 years. Setting these goals and intentions will help you stay focused and in alignment with your everyday tasks. Do your goals (professionally and personally) align with the kind of life you want to live?

Make a list of your goals (I set goals for myself professionally, personally, financially, healthy and with relationships) … go ahead, write them down…all of them… big or small.

Remember you can reset and reassess goals at anytime, not just at the end of the year. Do your goals get you one step closer to the person you aspire to be?

Track Progress and Find the Tools to Help

There is no right way to track progress, it’s just what works best for you. I have even found that mine change on a regular basis, but visually seeing it and where I am on my path to my goal helps me to stay focused and motivated and helps remind me to celebrate how far I have come.

This year I will be using my sales tool system to track my goals with my overall annual revenue and my monthly goals for shoots. It has a little tracker that shows my progress for the year and each month. I started using it last year and I found it extremely awesome and helpful. Maybe your system has a goals function, but if not there are plenty of fun resources out there to track your progress. Find the best way that works for you. Consistency is the key here. Stay consistent.

Prep for the Lack of Progress

It happens, we don’t always hit our goals and progress as we desire. Life things happen, you get stuck, fear gets the best of you, you lose motivation, self-doubt takes a hit, and the list goes on. But this isn’t a time to get down and beat yourself up, it’s the time to take a look and see what isn’t working and how you can adjust to get even closer to your goals. Don’t get discouraged, learn from it.

If you find yourself starting to lose motivation, find that thing that brings you joy and will help energize you, support you and encourage you!

Take Care of Yourself

This is my big challenge. I put work first and skip my daily routines that keep me grounded, focused and in a ‘go-get-’em tiger’ mode. The moment that I stop one of my self-care routines, the self-doubt, lack of confidence and spiral start to take over. Stepping out of our comfort zone is challenging, but also how we grow, learn and expand. Having a hard time fitting in your self-care? Put it in your calendar as if it were a client meeting or business sale. Only you can decide what self-care looks like for you, but once you know it be sure to schedule for it, even when times are busy and schedules are full.

Celebrate Your Progress!

I think the most important thing we forget is to look back and see what we have accomplished and congratulate ourselves on this. It’s way too easy to be hard on ourselves. It takes a conscious effort to look back at all the things we actually accomplished. Chances are you have accomplished more than you think. I know there’s been a lot this year, but in the moment, I’ll admit that I forget. So sit down and take a few minutes to jot down at least 3 accomplishments you’ve had this year. Now … celebrate these and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done! Bonus tip: I do this daily as I journal. I write down 3 things I am proud of from the day before. This is a great way to not forget any of your accomplishments!

Here are some of my favorite tools that I use for goal setting and journaling:

1. Day Designer
2. Insight for meditation
3. Values Deck by Jaimi Brooks
4. For my daily journal, I use a blank yearly planner like this one and write down:
   • 5 gratitudes
   • My daily affirmations
   • What came up for me during meditation
5. You can also do the 5 minute journal

Let me know what you use to set-up for success! Leave a comment or tag me in your Instagram post! I can’t wait to hear some of your success stories!