Goals

While I’m not one for resolutions, necessarily, I do like to draft yearly goals and post them in my home office. I only list a few, and I keep them broad. I don’t get in the weeds with details, and I don’t list everything I’d like to do this year. I only list those goals that are very high priorities.

For example, one of my goals for 2024 is to finish and publish my book, which is already in process. There are many steps that must be taken to accomplish this goal, but I find that if I just stick to listing the overall goal, it feels less overwhelming. I use a paper planner to list out the steps I need to accomplish for each goal and spread them out over time. I personally prefer planning my days/weeks/months on paper because I already have so much eye fatigue from staring at a computer screen and phone screen all day; the change to paper for planning is a welcome relief.

Each month I look at my list and think about how I’m doing. Sometimes I even cross a goal off. I did that last year. I realized something I thought was really important to me wasn’t. I knew I only had a certain amount of bandwidth, and I needed to conserve it for what really mattered.

This might all sound way too basic and obvious to you, but I find that we tend to overcomplicate most things in life. One of my three life principles is “Keep It Simple,” and I think this principle applies well to goal planning.

May your 2024 be productive and prioritized!