Resolutions Coming True 

Reasonable and Attainable Goals

We are half way through January, and it is a great time to check in with those New Years Resolutions.  We are bombarded with everyone telling us to "Start the new year off right", "Lose those holiday pounds in days" or "Why wait, start NOW"!  I am amazed that once we can finally breath from the holidays passing that the first thing we do is set life changing goals for our self.  There are still left over holiday items to put away, children to get back to school, taxes to think about filing, days that make you want to snuggle inside, and yet we convince our self that now is the time to act!  So how do you accomplish these goals?  How do you accomplish everything you put on your list and more?  The only way is to make sure that the goals you set are reasonable and attainable.  If they are then you can set yourself up for success!  As they say; "Its not to late to start now!"
 

Accomplishing your goals:
First:  Reasonable and attainable goals! When I first meet a client I ask what their time line is, what would they like to see accomplished in that time line, and what are their goals for their space.  I ask this because I want to know their vision, and if their vision is attainable.  If you showed me a room with 40 boxes of paper and said you wanted to spend 3 hours together and go through all 40 boxes of paper in this time, I would tell you that this is not reasonable.  Each realm of paper holds 500 sheets, and each box holds 6 reams of paper on average.  In other words each box holds about 3,000 sheets.  If you had 40 boxes... well you can imagine.  For each one of these pieces of paper you have to make a conscious decision to keep or toss.  No matter what your goals are, they must be able to be reached.  Without this you are setting yourself up for failure, so just don't do it!! 

Second:  Ask for help!  When you have decided on your New Year's Resolutions then decided who can help you.  If you are hoping to lose weight do you have a trainer? A gym? Physical activity limitations?  Figure out what you need to attain your reasonable goals, and ask for it!  There is nothing more rewarding then accomplishing your goals, and celebrating it with the people who helped you get there.  Do not be ashamed or distressed; help is not a sign of weakness!  Help is a sign of knowing what you want and how to get there!  Many times my clients will try to hide their organizing help from their family, spouses, peers, coworkers etc.  When they actually finish the job they will finally admit they had help.  Every time they were told by their people; what a great idea and how they wish they had thought to do that.  So ask for help, if your goals are that important then make sure that you are treating them as such, don't hide them away! 

Third: Accountability partners are amazing! If you have set a goal and it is reasonable and attainable and you don't really need help then please still follow this tip.  Find a person that you can have a good working relationship with and give them your plan.  Tell them that you will have accomplished X by ____ date and that you need them to check in with you about this.  This is giving you a person that you need to report to.  We are most successful when we have someone else looking at us to accomplish the task.  You can have this person call once a day, once a week, twice a month; it doesn't matter so long as you have them keeping you on track! 

Tips for Success:
My favorite anagram for goal setting is SMART.  Its easy to remember, and really fun to say, "Make sure your goals are SMART!"

S - Specific and Written
M - Measurable in Progress and Completion
A - Achievable Outcome
R - Realistic in Time and Skill
T - Time-Based

Remember when setting goals that there are other things to think about then what you wish would happen.  If you stick to what is attainable - you WILL succeed! 

Just Remember:
Its okay to set goals after New Years.  I look at my business at the end of each week and see if I am on track to accomplish my monthly goals, weekly goals and yearly goals.  If I set something to low or to high I will adjust it so that I can succeed and be the best Queen B I can be! If you haven't set any goals yet, its not to late to start!  Start with: "I will have my goals in place by ___ date" and see how it feels.  You will be one step closer to being one of the small percentage of people that actual completes their New Years Resolutions.