this week is the time that I update my life goals. sounds like a lot and if I let myself I can make it way more of a task than it needs to be...which I'm currently doing this time around. so why do I put this task on my plate every 12ish weeks if it can feel overwhelming?
decreasing anxiety, sleeping better, living with less unfinished projects and overall feeling like a boss are a few things that keep me coming back to this planning system. if I want these impactful things in my life why do I feel overwhelmed and procrastinate? two main reasons.
first reason...decisions. setting intentional goals requires quiet time, brain power and ultimately a commitment to say yes to something and no to other things. it's deep work [ps: good book] that isn't readily visible making it easy to push aside. especially when there are so many other things in life that make themselves be known.
second reason...un-learning. even though I've been using my 12 week year planner for a couple of years I'm still in the practice of unlearning annual goal setting. I haven't solidified that my goals need to be super specific and focused and that I only need to work on them for 12 short weeks. I'm still over here trying to detail out what I want to do when I'm 72 years old and that's just not needed right now.
I know this update needs to happen because I haven't used my dashboards in the last two weeks and the three weeks before that was a pitiful attempt. I haven't updated my menu plan in months so we're basically starving. but the key indicators that it's time for a refresh are that I've been feeling like a puppy in an open field; running all over the place, doing all the things, feeling worn out yet wondering what the heck I'm doing. enter anxiety and poor sleep.
a few things that help me narrow in on my next 12 week year:
NO GOALS
as much as I can I try to say focus instead of goal. probably just a me thing but a goal sounds so black or white. either the goal is reach or its not. success or failure. when I use the term focus I feel there's more opportunities for progress, similar to a sliding scale. it helps me put more energy into the action instead of the results.
TIMER
whenever I have hard things to do setting a timer helps to remind me I don't have to spend all day working on it. I can go into the task knowing there is an end in sight. having a timer allows me to be fully focused because I'm not pulling away from the task to check the time. if I can get more done of a hard task, in less time, I'm all about that.
BRAIN DUMP
getting all my ideas, wants, dreams and priorities on paper helps to clear my mind. plus the actual process of writing, feeling the pen glide across the paper, is very calming for me. I write for about 15-30 mins on the things I want to work towards without any other real structure. the main focus is to give myself the time and space to get my thoughts in physical form.
SORT
once my thoughts are down in physical form I can sort them easier. I'll read back through and highlight things that fit my authentic code + priorities + needs. this tends to be a good combination for me that will naturally instill me to have more energy as I work on things.
REFINE
after I sort them it's helpful if I quit. walking away and doing something else allows me to get clarity. then I'll give them a second look to see if I can get even more specific, direct and focused. sometimes physically refining helps me by moving the sorted stuff to a new page.
CONNECT WHY
pretty simple in that I write out why the focus area is important to me. linking it to my authentic code helps remind me how I'll not only grow but thrive when I put energy towards it.
SET MEASUREMENTS
measurements for me are typically the hours I will put towards a task or number of times I will do something. this is the hardest part for me. I think there's something missing in my brain that allows me to process, plan and deal with time effectively. for me this is the logistics part of the planning and I'm regularly way off in my estimations. I'm learning that I'll need to adjust my allotted measurements during the first couple of weeks. still working on this one.
MAKE IT CUTE
if I'm wanting to look at this daily it's got to be cute. just something I know about myself, when things look good it's easier for me to look at. when I re-write my focuses to make them cute it's less confusion and takes less time to review/remind myself of what I'm working towards. so I guess cute is also effective.
CREATE DASHBOARD
the dashboard is what I use each week to help organize my schedule and see where I've put my energy and how I can adjust. I've started calling it a dashboard instead of tracker and that feels good to me, less judgement. I used to make a new dashboard each week and that helped me refresh what my focuses were. doing it weekly was also one more hurdle which sometimes helped me skip it altogether. this past 12 week year I tried making all the weekly dashboards upfront. although that was timing consuming in the beginning I stayed more consistent because it was already done at the start of each week.
I think one day it would be fun to do this in a small group format. like a working study hall where everyone is working on the same thing but of their own version. it would be another way to look forward to this kinda harder task and also to get inspired by others working towards their dreams. if this sounds intriguing to you I'm trying it out here.
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