Preparing for The New Year | Tools for Planning & Organizing Your Goals & Dreams

With just under 2 weeks left in 2016, here I am again; Finding areas in which I want more, should have done more, and frankly need more.

I have grown fond of reading lately.  Not just blogs - not discounting the wealth of information I continue to gather from this source, but also online articles and books - real books!  The topic of interest has been Lifestyle Improvement.  You can say I've been spending some time in the self-help section.  What might have brought this on, you may be wondering.  I've had to deeply and intentionally assess my current lifestyle recently.  And in order to navigate, I did what I would do in any other situation, I researched - Such is my method.

Let me apply a bit of context.  If you've been along with me on this journey for a while, you may have caught a post I did at the beginning of the year discussing my goals.  Lifestyle Improvement was one of those goals, not in those exact words, but that was basically what

'Be the best person I can be by Maintaining a Natural and Healthy Lifestyle through LIFE (...the biggest cop out ever?)' 

was getting at.  This was the biggest Life Goal I had set for myself, and somehow it slipped through the cracks.  As the year began winding down I spent some time reflecting on my goals and what I had accomplished.  I realized that not much focus was given to this particular area, and as such, there was no progress or improvement that I was satisfied with to end the year.

The problem may have been in just stating '...through LIFE'.  It would appear even then that I knew more was needed - hence '...the biggest cop out ever?'  I knew it was a broad blanket goal.  It lacked a clear definition and specificity - as I outlined for the Diet and Exercise goals in the Eat & Move Series.  This is where I dropped the ball. The Eat & Move Series kept me accountable throughout the year via the monthly mini goals and review after each month.  The decision to share the diet and exercise journey with you was based on this area being a priority for me and, I believed this particular area is usually high for many of you as well.  But it would seem the 'Life' goal suffered in the process - If you're wondering about the other goals I set: Spirituality & Meditation, Travel & Cultural Experiences, I can report that I have made satisfactory progress on both.

This brings us to planning for next year.

In order to be successful, to be adequately prepared for the changes and challenges that may come, proper planning for the year ahead is necessary.  There must be accountability and consistency in order to achieve goals and dreams.

And so, I have decided to enlist two assistants, that you too might consider implementing to aid in your own planning and improve your lifestyle

1. A Vision Board - for a constant visual reminder of dreams and desires.  I haven't yet decided on whether it will be a physical or virtual space.  Which one works for you?
2. A Planner - to translate goals into Clearly Outlined Objectives and Set Intentions.  I haven't used a planner since keeping track of classes and study schedules in a diary in high school! What's good now? How have they improved? I'm vetting options on different styles and formats, so if you have any suggestions I'm open.  I'm looking for something that allows a monthly and weekly overview, and still breaks it down to the day! Yet isn't bulky, and of course, is cute ('cause I'm carrying it everywhere with me).

In my recent research, I've found that employing the use of either of these are very beneficial in planning, maintaining accountability, staying focused, and successfully achieving desired outcomes/goals.
I hope these keep things simple and streamlined, provides structure, and are easy to keep up long term.

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My broad goals remain the same as outlined for 2016 and as we get even closer to 2017 I'll be happy to share how I'm further defining each (mini goals), my plan of accomplishment (using my planner), and how they tie into my dreams and desires (vision board).

Do you currently use a planner or vision board to plan and organize? 

~ Josie Jo ~