Setting simple goals, intentions and plans
Every year the cycle begins again. We make resolutions...or we shun resolutions for goals...or we ditch them altogether for fear of not achieving them.
So here's the question. What exactly are resolutions, goals, intentions and plans? And the real question...how can we stick with them and achieve them?
To start this new year, I thought it may be helpful to share my own attempt to make sense of these concepts and apply "essentialist" thinking around them.
Goals
Goals help us articulate what we want - forcing us to get specific about dreams and vague ideas by writing down what we actually want to achieve. This gives us a sense of purpose and points to a destination we want to get to. I believe it’s very important to have goals (big and small) to work toward as a guiding beacon in a busy world and life.
But it's important to really dive deep to understand the underlying motivation for your goals. That's important so that you can continually come back to it when your resolve inevitably starts to fade. Here's the trick: keep asking "why" until you come to something meaningful.
Example: My goal is to have a clutter-free home.
Why do I want a clutter-free home?
Because I feel stressed and anxious in my home now.Why do I feel stressed and anxious?
Because I feel like I’m cleaning and tidying all the time or I feel guilty when I don’t.Why does cleaning make me stressed?
Because I’d rather be spending the time on things I want to do.What do I want to do?
Spend more time with my friends, take up a hobby, learn something new.
So you can see that the decluttering goal is a short-term solution to the problem of not living the way I want to. My true desire is to live to my values and be more intentional and productive, and that will only happen by prioritizing my time and energy and attention. So my goal will actually become to spend time intentionally doing what I want and the plan to help get there is to declutter my home, freeing up time do things other than clean. This helps keep the larger motivation in mind when I set to work on the decluttering process.
Action step 1: Set your goals for the coming year
Write in your journal what your goals for the year will be. Ask ‘why’ lots of times until you get to your true motivation.
Write out these goals so that they’re a constant reminder for you, and so you become crystal clear on what you’re working toward.
But be careful.
Goal setting is important in motivating and directing you, but it can take you out of the moment and create an emphasis on what you don't have. You must be aware that you are setting a goal because you know you will achieve it and will enjoy working toward it. Don't set a goal and focus on the fact that you don't have it yet. Don't turn upstream and struggle against the lack of having your goal at this time. Instead, turn downstream into the achieving of the goal; move toward it and enjoy aligning your energy with the abundance of having it. The good feelings and high energy that comes with working toward your goal will help you gain momentum and achieve it faster.
When you enjoy the effort you're putting out, you'll be less likely to fall into this thought trap: failing = being a failure. Because that's absolutely not true. It's the positive energy spent that makes you successful. Failing only means that you've eliminated one possible route. The energy you've been putting out by being focused on your goal will continue to multiply and you'll gain more and more momentum, and more and more success, no matter which way get there.
Intentions
As discussed above, goals are important, but they’re also future-focused, and the more time we spend fixating on the end result, the more distracted we are from the journey. The real key to purpose and intention in life (and therefore simplicity and peace) is in the journey.
That’s where intentions come in. Intentions are focused on present actions. I think they're more like resolutions - the purpose is to be, to act, rather than to arrive. They're in the present and will help you take action in daily life on the things that will get you toward your goals.
An intention is a commitment. It’s much like a resolution, in that you’re resolving to feel and act in a certain way to get the outcome you’ve decided you want.
Intentions bring meaning into our lives now. They're powerful tools that we can use to direct our focus and raise our emotional energy, which in turn raises our physical energy.
Action Step 2: Write down weekly intentions.
You’ve decided on and written down your goals for the year and month. Now, write out your intentions for the coming week. These should be things that will work on in the moment, in the now, the actions you will take on a daily basis that are aligned with your goals.
Examples:
If your goal is to start your own business, you could set an intention of researching more about it every day for the coming week. It might only be 15 minutes a day, but your intention will be to move the needle by learning more and getting closer to your goal each day. This will help you become passionate about the process and build momentum and clarity on the steps you need to continue with as you build your business.
If your goal is to get healthier, your daily intention could be to get outdoors to walk or run and feel the movement and the air on your face and let it increase your energy. Doing this helps you build the habit of movement and will help you feel healthier and fitter right now.
Plans
I firmly believe that focusing on the essentials, as Greg McKeown tells us in his brilliant book Essentialism, is key to living a meaningful life and meeting your goals. Essentialism is something we can incorporate into our whole lives - at home, at work, and in our own personal time planner. Once you’ve set goals and intentions, you’ll need to plan your time and your actions so that your daily and weekly schedule aligns with them. Essentializing your calendar will help you get and stay on track to a highly productive yet less busy life.
A plan is defining your process as you work toward your goal.
As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” A simple, efficient and essentialist plan can help us have more deliberate days and navigate through busyness and uncertainty.
For example:
To find more peace and calm (goal), I will sit still and breathe deeply (intention), for five minutes every day at 8am for the next month (plan).
To get the promotion I want (goal), I will learn more and build my network by having a coffee meeting with one colleague in my industry each week (plan).
To be healthier (goal), I will begin a couch-5k running program today and follow the program for 6 weeks (plan).
Again, just be careful…planning can be its own form of procrastination. We can spend all day planning without actually doing anything, because it feels productive. This is how we end up being super busy without getting any closer to our goals. To avoid this, plans must be specific, simple and clearly align with goals and intentions.
One of the best parts about becoming an Essentialist is that you take the time to figure out what activities you've been "busy" with that don't align with your vision and goals. Those things - things that seem urgent but are not truly important in your overall life - are the ones that are not essential activities for living the life you want. Drop them, for they will not bring you the happiness you desire.
The point of scheduling and planning isn't to be rigid or perfect. And the point of essentializing isn't to accomplish less or be less ambitious. They're tools to make your unique life more effective and enjoyable, and allow you better flow and focus so that you can achieve your goals and feel at peace.
Action Step 3: Fill in a weekly planner and time block your calendar
Get in the habit of spending 10 minutes on the same day and time every week to fill in a weekly planner with your essential activities for the coming week. I like to just use my journal and bullet point my coming week. (It’s the same journal I’ve written my goals in for the year, so I’m always reminded and stay on track).
You should also use an online or a physical calendar/daytimer that you can block hour by hour to make the most of your time. Keep it with you throughout the week. I simply use Google Calendar - it works well for collaborating on meetings with others, and it's always with me on my phone and laptop. Your calendar is an important tool for blocking detailed time for the essentials you planned - right down to walking breaks, meditation time, specific client meetings, conference calls, and laundry. If it's not scheduled, it's way easier to blow off or forget those commitments.
Tips:
Make sure that you plan first and foremost for health essentials, including adequate sleep, exercise, meals and quiet time in order to maintain the wellness and energy you need to thrive.
Block out full days or half days for essential tasks - things that are essential to growth but that often get pushed out by urgent but less important activities like email or unproductive meetings.
You'll need to take a serious look at your schedule and find the things that are sucking your time but not contributing to accomplishing your goals (or your family goals). These things may seem urgent (to you? to others? to what society says is normal?), but they are not essentials. If you find your week is too full to spend time on essentials, you know you need to cut back on the things that aren't.
Take action in 2023
With all these pieces in place, all there is left to do is take the first step. With each step, we begin to live a life of intention and purpose. And each step gives us a new experience that builds into our goals and plans as we go. It's a cycle that can be very gratifying if we let it be. It may not be exactly easy, but it's simple. And can bring peace and contentment in life.
Good luck!
