Please note that as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included on this page. You can read my disclosure policy here.

Types of Goals

Most of us have had the experience of setting goals only to abandon them three weeks or even three days later. That’s usually because we didn’t follow a fairly simple structure of goal-setting that includes three primary types of goals.

Vision or meta-goal

Your vision or meta-goal is your big picture of what you want to achieve¹. It ultimately helps to define the why behind your actions and should always be stated in positive or affirming language. An example could be, “I want to be comfortable and feel good as I live a long and active life.” Compare that to the “I want to lose weight” that many people start with, and it’s fairly easy to see the difference.

Sub-goals

Sub-goals are where many of us tend to start when setting goals, but, in fact, they are really mid-level. They’re more tangible and specific and help us to get more focused on how we’re actually going to achieve our overall vision or meta-goal. You’ll probably have at least several sub-goals. Examples could be, “to develop healthy eating habits and routines” and “to add more movement throughout the day.”

Micro-goals

These are the consistent habits or actions that will allow you to achieve your sub-goals. In other words, they answer the question of “how” you’re going to achieve your sub-goal. An example for our sub-goal of developing lifelong healthy eating habits could be to eat vegetables at every meal.

How to Determine Your Vision

To determine your vision or meta-goal, think about the why behind what you currently believe is your ultimate goal. Let’s face it, for most of us, saying, “I want to increase the amount of strength training that I do,” isn’t going to get us very far. Why not? Because very few people would actually get ^out of bed at 6am on a rainy Monday morning because they want to increase the amount of strength training that they do. It doesn’t give us a true reason or motivation for doing the hard stuff.

On the flip side, thinking about wanting to be comfortable and to feel good as you live a long and active life would probably help to get you out of bed to go do your strength-training. In other words, your vision helps to guide the daily decisions and choices that you make.

How to Set Sub-Goals

For some people, determining sub-goals is easy. For others, brainstorming is needed to come up with the goals that will lead to achieving the meta-goal. You can list these out and then prioritize them to decide which one you want to start with. Some goal-setting experts tend to skip over this level of goals, but I’ve found that this structure is easy to understand and seems to be the most straightforward.

How to Set Micro-Goals

When you’re determining micro-goals, you’re thinking about the actions that will help you achieve your sub-goals. Just like with sub-goals, you need to develop a list of these and then determine which you’re going to achieve first.

If you’re in education or in the business world, you may have heard of SMART goals. This means that goals have to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Rewarding, and Time-based. The micro-goal level is where these come into play. If making sure that your goals fit into this framework makes sense to you, then this is what you should use.

Since I come from a journalism background, I tend to relate better to my adaptation of Bauer and Liou’s² simpler alternative of identifying “what, how, and when.”

What?

The what is your goal. It is what you are saying you want to do or achieve.

How?

My version of “How” has several components to consider.

1. Make your goal public. You can do this by announcing it to yourself and others. Many people use social media for this, while others simply announce it to their spouse or family.
2. Build in a reward system. This should be something that offers extrinsic motivation. An example could be buying a new yoga top after exercising for five days a week for a month.
3. Measurable. This means that you can measure your progress toward your micro-goals in a quantifiable way. Instead of just saying “I’m going to walk every day,” say “I’m going to walk for at least 30 minutes every day.” Another way that you can measure your progress is by using a goal tracker (paid link). They are available in a physical form and can be placed where you spend the most time or you can use an app.
4. Adjustable. What is the Plan B if something happens to alter Plan A? If you’re trying to walk for 30 minutes every morning before work and it’s pouring outside one morning, what will you do instead?
5. Realistic. You need to make sure that your goal actually makes sense and is achievable. It should also be something that is truly within your control.

When?

The last step for setting micro-goals is to think about by when are they going to be achieved. If your micro-goal is to exercise for 30 minutes every day and you currently aren’t exercising at all, you’ll need to allow time to gradually add it in. Your when could be that you have built up to exercising every day after a month.

Since our overarching goal with all of this is to create lasting, sustainable change, the hope is that your micro-goals will turn into habits that you will continue as part of your healthy lifestyle. As you achieve one, you can add in another until you feel like the sub-goals that you’ve been working toward aren’t goals anymore but are a regular part of your life.

Lean on Your Community

If you have questions about any of this or need support in achieving your healthy lifestyle goals, feel free to message me @peppermintteahealth on Instagram or through Facebook. You can also email me Robyn@peppermint-tea.com.

Sources

1. Goal-Focused Coaching: Theory and Practice. Yossi Ives and Elaine Cox. 2012.
2. Nutrition Counseling & Education Skill Development. Kathleen D. Bauer and Doreen Liou. 2012

The post How to Set Goals and Achieve Them appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Do you scoff at the thought of making New Year’s resolutions or do you embrace the idea of setting expectations for yourself for the year to come? Whether we call them resolutions or goals, I absolutely fall into the latter category. I am a firm believer in the benefits of setting goals, and I want to share with you my top 5 reasons for why setting them is an inspiring way to start the year or for hitting reset at any time when it comes to your health and overall wellbeing. 

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.

What are Goals?

Before we get into the benefits of setting goals, it’s important to understand what they are in the first place. While there are many useful definitions and systems out there that go into this more in-depth, the way that I look at goals is that they are specific and measurable milestones that help you to work toward your overall vision for your life. In other words, goals are statements of what you want to achieve. 

The Benefits of Setting Goals

While recognizing that everyone’s definition of achievement is different, here are my top 5 reasons for why setting goals is useful. 

1. Setting goals helps you to identify what it is that you want and what is important to you

Acclaimed author, speaker and businessman Stephen Covey offers sage advice on this with the second habit in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Affiliate link). He suggests that we “Begin with the end in mind.” If done intentionally and thoughtfully, identifying your goals helps you to become crystal clear on what it is that you want. This is true for what I call your big Want, as in your overall vision for your life, as well as for your little wants or aspirations that will help you get there. I truly believe that you can’t get to where you want to go AND enjoy the journey along the way if you don’t have at least some idea of what your destination is.

2. Setting goals helps you to accomplish the things that you want to achieve

We can all come up with grand ideas of what we want to achieve. Unless you happen to be very lucky, the only way to turn those ideas into reality is by setting realistic goals and then following through on the steps needed to achieve them. 

3. Setting goals helps to keep you focused

One of the primary benefits of setting goals is that it helps to keep you on track and focused. It helps you to prioritize your time and energy. As Stephen Covey says, to begin with the end in mind “means to know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.”  While we certainly don’t have to be “on task” every minute of every day, goals help us to make sure that we’re spending our time in a way that reflects what is important to us.  

4. Setting goals helps to give you purpose

We can all recognize that individual actions or tasks can sometimes seem mundane or meaningless. If you know though that they’re working toward a larger goal, it gives them meaning and helps you to feel an overall sense of purpose. If I would rather sleep 30 more minutes than get up and exercise, it may be hard to get motivated and do what I know is good for my body if I don’t have a goal in mind. On the other hand, having a goal of strengthening my body and increasing my endurance so that I can take part in and enjoy an upcoming hiking trip with my family is something that will have me out of bed and exercising with very few thoughts of protest. 

5. Achieving goals gives you a sense of satisfaction

As I mentioned before, a goal is a measurable milestone. According to Merriam-Webster, a milestone is a significant point in development. That means that it has never happened before, at least not in the same way. Since a goal is something that you’ve never accomplished before, then actually following through and doing it, will give you a tremendous sense of satisfaction. I remember the feeling that I had when I crossed the finish line after running my marathon. The only thing that has ever come close was giving birth. It was a feeling of “I have just done something that was so much bigger than anything that I thought I would ever do.” Now that’s a sense of satisfaction. 

Recommended Resources

As you think more about the possible benefits of setting goals and how to achieve them, I highly recommend the following resources.  

• 9 Types of Goals to get Your Life Moving in the Right Direction is a great article written by Leon Ho, the founder and CEO of Lifehack. It explains the different types of goals as well as how to put them in perspective using the S.M.A.R.T. Framework. 
• The Lifebook Online Program created by entrepreneurs Jon and Missy Butcher and offered through Mindvalley is a FREE program that walks you through the process of identifying your vision and goals in what they’ve identified as the primary 12 categories of life. The 6-week program requires 3-6 hours a week and costs $500 at the outset to ensure that you finish it. Once you’ve completed it, you can get 100 percent of your money back with no questions asked, but you will lose access to the program. If you want to retain access to all of the online resources, then you let them keep your payment. It’s important to note that I am not an affiliate of the program. After having taken it and having gotten my full payment back with no problem, I was simply so impressed by their entire process that I wanted to recommend it to you. 

Bottom Line on the Benefits of Setting Goals

The bottom line on the benefits of setting goals is that while having dreams and more concretely, a vision for your life are good, the catch is that in order to achieve them, you have to have goals. If you don’t like the idea of setting resolutions, then simply think about your goals for the year. Coming up with these gives you a set amount of time to get 1-3 milestones met that will work toward creating the life that you want. 

Lean on Your Community

Do you usually set resolutions or goals at the beginning of each year? Let us know in the comments either way about why you do or don’t. 

The post The Benefits of Setting Goals appeared first on Peppermint Tea.

Frustrated, frazzled, overwhelmed, stressed, adrift, easily distracted, and scattered. If any or all of these describe how you’re feeling even some of the time, then it may be time for you to re-think or develop for the first time a daily schedule. I know that I recently realized that I was feeling all of these things more times than not. No matter what I was doing, I always felt like I should be doing something else. That’s when I realized that my daily schedule needed an overhaul. 

If you’re in the same boat, this is definitely no way to live. The constant state of stress it creates is incredibly harmful to our physical and mental wellbeing. That’s why we’re taking a look at what exactly a daily schedule is and how planning your day lets you live with a sense of abundance instead of lack. 

Please Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made through some of the links included in this post. You can read my disclosure policy here.

What is a Daily Schedule?

A daily schedule is a detailed plan for your day or week that aligns with the various roles and goals that you have. If one of your goals is to be healthy but you can’t find a minute to exercise, you probably need to adjust the time that you’re devoting to other activities so that your plan for your day does a better job of reflecting your overall goals. 

A daily schedule not only reflects what needs to be done, but when it’s going to be done. The key word there is when. I’m notorious for filling up a “to do list” with everything that my brain spews out and then getting frustrated when I don’t get it all done. The problem with this approach is that on most days, there would be no realistic way to get everything I have on my list done. Having a general plan for when things are going to get done lets me see what is realistic to expect from myself and the time available in my day. 

Why is a Daily Schedule Important?

A daily schedule is important because it allows us to live with a sense of abundance instead of lack when it comes to our time. Letting my unrealistic expectations carry over from day to day fills me with an ever-present sense of lack because I never feel like I have enough time. Jory Mackay writes for RescueTime that “Knowing what you’re meant to be doing (and when) creates a sense of purpose, meaning and focus. It helps you avoid procrastination, stay motivated and properly manage your time.” In other words, it lets you live in abundance or feel like you do have the time that you need to not just get by but to thrive. 

I look at a daily schedule as a budget  for my time. It’s a blueprint that lets me have more control over how I spend my time as opposed to letting the days just slip by with no real meaning or direction. That’s not to say that a hefty “to do list” gives our lives meaning. But it is to say that if we don’t have at least a general plan for our days, we run the risk of not using our time in an efficient or meaningful way for achieving our goals and for successfully filling our various roles.

My schedule also assures me that I am doing what I should be doing for that time. If I’m watching TV at 8pm, I don’t need to feel like I should be doing something else because that’s the time marked as “relax” on my schedule. No guilt, no distraction; nothing but relaxing. 

General Strategies to Help You Create a Daily Schedule

Here are some general strategies to help you create a daily schedule. Please note that I said general because one size definitely does not fit all. At the same time, there’s no sense in feeling like you have to reinvent the wheel because these are tried and true strategies that can serve as a good place to start. 

Sync your weekly and daily schedule with your menstrual cycle

Read In the Flo by Alisa Vitti to find out why and how to do this. Every day is not created equal for women. The sooner you learn to adapt your schedule to your cycle, the happier and more productive you’ll be. 

List the categories of your life into buckets

1. This could include work, self-care, family activities, volunteer work, home projects, relaxation, etc. It’s much easier and effective to do this if you have a clear vision of what your goals and priorities are. That way, you can make sure that your buckets align with those. You’ll notice that I included self-care, time to relax and time with kids or spouse as separate buckets. These are critical areas of your life that deserve a place on your schedule. If you just have them on a “to do list” but don’t have a specific time indicating when you’ll do them, these are the things that are easiest to forgo if you feel like time is getting tight. 
2. Determine whether any of your buckets have to have specific time slots allotted to them every day or at specific regular times during the week and block off those times. 
3. Determine how much time you need for the other buckets and where you can devote time to those. Todoist suggests that it’s best to follow the time blocking method where you have a chunk of time devoted to each bucket. At its most basic, that could look something like this.

*** Be sure and allow time for travel from place to place if necessary for activities or commuting to and from work. 

Determine what your regular wake up and bed time will be

The most important component of determining what your regular wakeup and bed times will be is figuring out how much sleep you need to be at your best. Use that and your list of specific time slot buckets to figure out your usual time for waking up and going to bed. This may change every now and then depending on what you have going on, but for the most part, these should be about the same time every day and night. 

Put all of your buckets into a schedule for the week and see how they fit

Putting all of your buckets into a schedule lets you see how realistic your expectations for each day and week are. If you’re finding that you simply can’t fit it all in, it may be time to re-evaluate your goals and priorities for that specific time in your life. Entrepreneur and Business Coach Jenny Melrose advises ranking tasks on a scale of 1-5 (with 1 being the most important) for how they align with what your goals and vision are. Remember, do not plan to sacrifice sleep to make room for other things. 

Plan out your week every weekend

I try to plan out my week every Sunday afternoon. Since I run my own business, I include both work and personal time because if I’m not intentional about it, work would take over all available time. 

I take my basic time blocked schedule and start fitting in the time specific activities, meetings and appointments that I know I’ll have into the blocks for each priority bucket. If it’s something that doesn’t fit into one of my buckets, I need to think carefully about whether it belongs in my schedule. Then, I go through and fill in the other tasks that I know I need or want to do for the week and fit those into the appropriate buckets. 

While the end result is a detailed plan for the week, I know that I have to allow flexibility for things to come up because they will. That’s just a fact of life. I also have a general idea for where I can move things around if needed. The goal of a daily schedule is not to restrict our lives; it’s to make it more expansive by making sure that we’re doing the things that work toward our vision and goals. 

Revisit Your Daily Schedule Multiple Times a Year

If you find that life feels like it’s getting out of control or that your schedule just isn’t working for you, revisit it. You’ll probably have to do this several times a year with the change in seasons, school and work schedules. Life is not stagnant, and your schedule shouldn’t be either. 

Tools and Resources

• In the Flo by Alisa Vitti
• LifeBook. I can’t recommend this FREE resource by Jon and Missy Butcher highly enough. It is a fantastic tool for figuring out what you want out of what they call the 12 key dimensions of your life and how to achieve it. While they don’t talk specifically about daily schedules, they do talk about how to allot your time and energy to achieving the life you want to live. Afterall, that’s ultimately what a daily schedule is for. 
• The best paper planners. 
• The best planner apps. I love todoist and then use Google Calendar for my master calendar.

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