We are one week into the New Year, and unfortunately many people have already forgotten about their New Year’s Resolutions. You may find that I have been talking about goals A LOT lately, but that is just one of my tactics for staying focused on my goals this year. If we are talking about them and have them in the forefront of our minds, it’s less likely we will fall off track.
Today I thought I would share some tips for getting organized to achieve your goals. This doesn’t just apply to New Year’s goals; they can be used any time of year! (Also, we should be setting goals and/or reevaluating our goals all year long!)
1. Develop a system to keep track of your progress
Depending on what your goals are, you may need a way to keep track of your progress. There are many ways to do this, but the key is to have it in a place that is easily accessible to you.
This year I am all about excel spreadsheets. I developed a mileage tracking form where I also tack my miles walked and push-ups. I have a separate form for managing my budget. I am using OneDrive for business to store these worksheets so I can see them from any device, but you could also use something like google docs for this purpose.
A handwritten tracking system can also work well, and many may find this more personal. Either way, find something that will work for you!
2. Make sure you keep your goals in sight
For now I have been adding reminders on my calendar for certain things that I may forget about. This also works well for things like workouts- write them on your calendar!
Once we have our office set up I hope to hang up my goals somewhere in there. You just want to make sure that you see the things you are working towards so you don’t forget about them as the year goes on!
As I have said before it also really helped me last year to do monthly check-ins. I added a reminder on my blogging calendar to do a monthly update around the 1st of each month, so that helped to hold me accountable over a shorter period of time.
3. Look for support from others
If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember that you don’t have to do everything alone. In the days of the internet there are always ways to find people who are working towards the same goals as you. Seek out tips from others who have been successful at what you are trying to do.
It can also be helpful to seek support from family and friends, whether it’s just emotional support or actually asking them to do things that will help to move you in the direction of achieving your goal.
You can also consider hiring a coach in an area where you need support. Maybe look into a health coach or a running coach if those are goal areas for you!
4. Have a plan and adjust as needed
Every goal needs a plan, but goals and plans should be flexible too. Write down how you are going to work towards your goal, but don’t be afraid to make adjustments if your initial plan isn’t working. It’s better to stick to your goal and take longer to get there than to give up all-together!
5. Fine-tune your problem-solving skills
When working towards a daunting goal, we are bound to run into challenges. Don’t let them deter you from your plans; stop, assess, and figure out a way around it. Get used to this because I am sure it will happen all the time if you have a big, long-term goal!
By planning ahead and staying organized you will be more likely to stay on track towards your goals. It’s all about focus and maintaining motivation!
Download my free goal planning worksheet!
What are your tips for staying organized when working towards a goal?
What do you think will be the most challenging goal for you to achieve this year?
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I think that’s the key – adjusting as needed. A lot of people see their goals as black and white and then think they failed if something doesn’t go according to plan, not realizing they can make adjustments.
Yes, exactly! It’s so easy to give up on a goal when you feel like you have “failed” but it could just be a matter of reframing.
You’re my go to for getting organized! I could use some help for sure – I don’t write everything down and don’t have real systems in place, I always put off setting these things up in the first place! I’ll have to bookmark this because I have a few goals I need to get serious about!
Honestly excel is amazing for keeping track of stuff and staying organized! (Depending on what kind of stuff you are organizing). But its definitely helped me both at work and with personal stuff.
I really need to get better about having a system. Having systems 🙂 for everything in my world from mothering to goal achieving.
I really think it’s the key to being productive!
For me I think tracking is key. Exercise is a well ingrained habit for me but food is a different story. Once I stop tracking, I stop doing.
Its so good that you know that about yourself! And I find its usually easier to stick with a new habit when there is some kind of tracking.
Knowing that it is a ok to adjust and improvise is such a big component, but you have to have something to adjust from the beginning!
Very true! I think we all have some sort of goals, whether or not we have defined them in that way. But there is a point where you may need to take some extra steps if you really want to work towards something!
I just ordered a new Believe training journal – it should arrive today actually. Looking forward to filling in the blank pages! I also have a spreadsheet where I keep track of my training and then I have Garmin Connect synced with TrainingPeaks. I sometimes wonder if this is actually overkill keeping my numbers in so many places, but I like that each one gives me different information. I would stop using the spreadsheet but that’s the only place that I track weather + running stats. I like being able to see how the weather impacts my pacing.
I hope you like the journal! And I track my runs in a million places too- they all serve different purposes to me:)
Awesome tips – I’d add simply that recognizing sometimes the need to reprioritize and rebalance the goals you set can be a good thing as well. Better to get partway than not there at all!
Good point! Being willing to reprioritize is so important.
Love these tips! I always write goals down. Creating sub-goals by weekly, monthly, and quarterly helps me stay focused and organized as well.
Yes! I thought about that too, but it seemed to overwhelming for now. I think as the year goes on it may be something I consider with some of my bigger goals.
Adjusting is key. I have a tentative plan for my spring 10k but nothing’s in stone. I’m prepping as much as i can with stretching, yoga, icing, chiro visits and sound therapy. I’ll see where I am when I need to start building.
That definitely sounds like you are doing everything you can right now to work towards your goal!
i like the make sure your goals are in sight point. its so easy to write them down one time but then you could forget about them and not reach your goal. great reminder for me…because i need to do that!
Exactly! I made sure to leave my training journal out in my living room so I see it every day.
Organization has never really been a strong suit of mine, but I can’t survive without having my planner! My old one was finished by the end of December and I’m waiting for my new one to arrive, so the last two days at work have felt chaotic because I don’t have my planner in front of me to cross things off my list! It’s funny though, I’m really organized at home and HATE clutter, but am the complete opposite at work!
I feel like such a mess when I am not organized! But I have been trying to switch over to an electronic calendar lately and it’s a tough transition!
Great tips! My goal has been to eat veggies every day, and it’s been 6 whole long entire days straight now! Ha ha. There would be months, MONTHS that would go by where I’d never eat a single vegetable. I’m dead serious. Anyway, the thing that helps me achieve this goal is planning ahead. Buying veggies ahead of time, chopping them up, putting them in bags, etc. And then I usually try and “get the veggies over with” early on in the day so that I can check it off my list and carry on eating my usual ketchup chips and chocolate bars. 😛
You are doing so great with eating veggies!! But what are ketchup chips?!
Ketchup chips are a Canadian thing. It’s the only thing we have that you guys don’t! Otherwise you guys have EVERYTHING.
OK well ketchup is like my absolute favorite condiment and I put it on everything so I really need to get my hands on those one of these days!
Great tips. Excel is awesome. I have tried various forms of organization but the one that sticks is a combo of my mac/iphone calendar for appointments and a paper daily planner for to-do lists and workout planning/tracking. I am a little lazy about tracking my workouts – i just put “spin” or “5.5” (meaning miles run) in the margins – since every week is pretty similar and I have all my runs tracked on my Garmin. I NEED the little planner to write down my detailed to-do list every day though, I forget those things so easily and it feels so great to cross them off as I go through my day.
Glad you found a system that works for you!
These are good tips, Lisa. I love having a PLAN for my goals. I mean, what’s the use of a goal if you don’t have a set path to achieve it?
Exactly! I think that is why sometimes goals can feel SO overwhelming.
Great tips… I have a hand written list, but maybe I should add to learn how to use Excel to my resolutions 😉
It’s definitely worth reviewing them every month to make sure you stay on track..
I love handwritten lists but I feel like I never have a good place to keep them! So for now the excel thing works, but its been a bit of an adjustment to get used to that:)
at tips! I am old school and just write my mileage down on a calender. Creating spreadsheets would be too advanced for me….haha. kudos to you!
Calendars work well too! As long as you have a system:)
I like that excel spreadsheet for keeping track of miles. I use daily mile now but it there’s not an easy way to show cummulative miles over a week on one spread like that does!
That’s why I like being able to create my own spreadsheet! I can track everything in a way that makes sense to me:)
My goals this year are all about organization! I am always working on new projects and fun challenges but get so stressed because of how unorganized I am, so this year it is all about organization! Thanks for all the amazing tips <3
You’re welcome! I usually start out the year pretty organized, so hoping I can keep up with it this year:)
I think adjusting as needed is key like you said. Sometimes goals are meant to be adapted instead of taking an all or nothing approach. Even if you didn’t quite meet your goal, there is still progress and growth in the process!
Exactly! I think it’s just important that we keep moving in the right direction.
Ah, I love a good organization post. I have never used Excel for keeping track of training, but it seems like a quick, easy way to calculate numbers at any point in time. I use the Believe Training Journal and love it. I like how it is broken up into weeks, information, reflections, and check-ins.
The support component of reaching our goals is often underestimated. There is no way I would achieve 90% of my goals without the support of my family and friends. This year my big goal is to train for an Ironman. I wouldn’t be able to do so without support. It really does take an army!
I love the Believe Journal too! The excel sheet is good for tracking numbers but the journal is way more inspirational.
Your goal this year sounds so exciting! I’m sure that support will be a huge component to get there.
Flexibility is key! If you are too strict with your plans it’ll cause you stress when things come up.
So true! And alot of people give up quickly when things aren’t going well.
Adjusting your goals as need is key! Great tips
Exactly! We need to allow ourselves some level of flexibility with our goals.
I am HUGE on planning, almost to a fault! I’m so excited to have a blog planner and a Kate Spade planner since life + blogging always seems to have so much going on individually!
I can tell that you are really well organized! I love having lots of organizational systems too.
Great tips Lisa! For me tracking is the key – I have that same running journal and find it so helpful!
I agree! I feel like if Im not keeping track than I can’t even remember if I did what I was supposed to do and then I have no idea if I am making progress towards my goal:)
I’ve come up with a plan for tracking progress. More so than I’ve ever done in the past. Wish me luck 🙂
Thanks for your support and sharing with the new link-up! xoxo
I am sure you will do great with your new plan! Good luck and thanks for hosting the link-up!
I love tracking on paper, but that spreadsheet looks awesome. I’m totally clueless when it comes to excel!
It’s taken me awhile to get the hang of it but excel is pretty cool! There are so many thing I still don’t know how to do but it works well enough for what I need it for now.
So cool to see how your organize your goals. I love your point about reviewing your goals periodically. When I first started writing down my goals years ago, it was months before I would even look back at them and I had even forgotten some of the goals that I set! Now I do review them regularly and it’s working much better 🙂