A New Year's Resolution Part 3: Accomplishing Goals in 2011

The New Year is almost a week in and I am already in awe. 2010 was amazing and 2011 certainly has a lot to live up to, but I am optimistic about the things that are going to happen and all of the exciting changes! It can be daunting to keep your fresh goals and perspectives for the New Year active in your day-to-day life. The secret is to keep yourself motivated and excited about achieving your dreams. I am certainly no professional, but I wanted to share some tips that I have found extremely helpful in accomplishing goals & keeping motivated. ♥♥♥♥

Quiet World Creative

1. Go on a Date with Yourself: Set up a date for yourself at a favorite coffee shop or cozy corner to really spend time reflecting and getting excited about the things you would like to accomplish. Bring a favorite journal and pen to begin sketching out a list and your thoughts. See my blog post about journaling & art journaling here for more ideas!

2. Keep Your Goals an Exciting Custom for You: Your goals can be ANYTHING, so really take the time to figure out the unique things you would like to accomplish. Do not feel like you need to add things to your list that everyone else adds. What excites you? What are you passionate about? Choosing things that light a fire in you will be a HUGE motivator.

3. Share: Once you begin to refine your list, share it with a couple of people that are close to you to help you decide if your goals are attainable or if you need help coming up with just a few more! Another benefit of sharing your goals is that it creates a type of accountability between yourself and what you have set out to accomplish.

4. Keep Your List Visible: Once you have completed your list, take time to put it somewhere that you will see it often and where it will serve as an inspiration to you daily. I usually keep all of my lists and ideas in my Moleskine journal and try to review my lists a couple of times a week. You could also make your list into artwork and put it up in your room or bathroom!

5. Schedule Your Goals: I usually like to take time each month to make lists of the things I would like to accomplish. I try and view each month as a "fresh start" so I can get motivated to accomplish new things. Along with your monthly to-do's, be sure to look over your list and begin breaking down your goals and scheduling them in for the month. Scheduling things can often make it a TON easier to accomplish something rather than just dreaming it up and setting it on a shelf.

6. Reward Yourself: Reward yourself along the way as you begin accomplishing your goals! Find people you can celebrate with and who are running after the same things you are in order to revel in the accomplishment. Maybe you reward yourself with a cute little purchase on Etsy if you have accomplished a set amount of goals. Get creative and set up a system that works for you!

7. Mind Over Matter: Last, but not certainly not least! Achieving your goals is about your mental state and self-motivation. Make your list attainable, exciting, and challenging. It will be easier to motivate yourself to accomplish things that excite you. Also, do not give up. If you go a couple of months and feel like you have not made a dent in your goals, it is ok to start fresh and adjust your accomplishments for the rest of the year. You do not have to live like you only have one shot (i.e. New Year's) in order to accomplish new things and keep yourself motivated. You can make any day and any month have a "New Year" attitude.

Melody of Wind

Check out the other parts of my series!
Part 1: Project ReStyle
Part 2: 22 Before 2012

Have a goal list for the year?? I would love to read up on it! Comment with a link!