Attention Procrastinators

If you haven't thought about goals for the year, it's not too late.

There's no due date for considering ways to live a more driven and focused life.

I'm one of those annoying people who sets goals every year and actually works to complete them.  But until this past year, I would set an unreasonable amount of goals (like a whole page...) and they were a mess of unmeasurable things ("get healthier") or unachievable ("finish ten writing projects this year") or so far in the future they were sorta irrelevant ("take the kids to Disney one day"). 

So what changed?

The first thing is I've learned a lot about goals and what makes a good goal from the battery of IEP meetings I've attended since having two kids diagnosed with Autism. Goals must be measurable and they must be a challenge but not so much so that it is unachievable.

The second change: I compartmentalized.

I work well with categories.  I'm whatever type personality that likes everything in the box it belongs.  I enjoy organizing...like as a sport.  Now don't mistake me for a clean freak; there's a pile of dishes in the sink but my bookshelf is sorted by topic.  So I figured, my goals should be, too.

We all wear many hats.  Nobody is just one person to this world.  So I broke goals down into areas of my life with category names like:

Personal/Spiritual

Wife

 Mom

 Homeschooler

Household CEO

 Writer

 Daughter/Sister/Family/Friend

 Church/Ministry

 

Then I made a 3-5 reasonable goals for each category (which cut me down to half a page, if you're wondering...).  I plan my weeks this way, too.  The idea is based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits and it has really helped me keep myself in check and balance where I spend my time.  There's no crazy formula behind it and it fluctuates week to week based on needs.  Overall, though, I am able to notice if say, my "wife" category has been empty a couple weeks and then plan to do something nice for my man. It's just a way that helps me be intentional. 

And if you didn't catch it, although each category is important in its own right, they are listed in order of priority.  That's a reminder for me visually of how my life should look and where most of my efforts should be going.  As moms, I know the plain demand of the day to day stuff tends to push motherhood to top priority, but that's unbalanced.  I am a Christian and a wife first and if those categories consistently get bumped to the side, I'll do a terrible job at all the rest. 

So I challenge you to set a goal...or eight...and plan to be intentional in your life this year.  Setting goals is good stewardship; just remember, God's known for throwing wrenches into things ;). That's not necessarily a bad thing; some of my favorite moments in life have been "wrenches" and I welcome Him to do it!