Give Your Goals Your Time

We’re about a month into the new year, and I always get excited about new goals and a new start.   December always means reflecting on how my year went and then sincerely thinking about some areas in my life where I want to make stronger habits.  I am an obsessive list maker, so my normal January list had no less than ten items to work on with subpoints.  While it was good to think about who I want to be over time, I realized I have to take it in smaller chunks.  I remember going on a run with Stuart one morning when we were visiting his family in Texas.  I asked him to explain why he does his goals the way he does, and it was helpful to me setting more realistic expectations of myself.  These basic principles have really helped me:

1. Stick with 3 goals that are focused and easy to remember.  If you can’t keep the list in your head all the time, you probably have too much going on.
2. Goals must be measurable.  I am really good at general, ambiguous goals like “learn Chinese,” but that is pretty hard to checkmark.  There needs to be some parameters that mean success or need for improvement.  
3. Keep those larger general goals in mind as you drill down and then choose the specific goals you will work on as a baby step toward a larger aim.  

In the end, all goals are striving to take a habit or behavior and incorporate it into your being so that it becomes who you are.  Last year I read “How Will You Measure Your Life” by Clayton Christensen and it was so inspiring to read the last chapter and figure out after some prayerful thought what I wanted my likeness or sketch of my life in total, to look like.  That was a helpful exercise and helped me search my soul in a meaningful way to think about who I want to be and what I want to be known for.  All of my goals, every single one I set now, is tied to that list I have made.  

And more than that, I always think about how you become what you spend your time doing.  If I want to accomplish anything I better give my time to that effort.  And for me, I have to carve it out.  I made this dorky schedule chart that maps out an “ideal week schedule” for me, with the small times here and there where I can do things I want to focus on.  I don’t think of it as a constraint of what I MUST do, but it keeps me aware of what a day would look like if I didn’t waste time on useless things and made sure the important stuff was there.  I put hour blocks in there, but if I essentially can give a task even fifteen focused minutes, I am amazed at how much the Lord helps me to get done.

Setting goals each year, helps me start over with a new focus, and gives me a new lens to place over my life and how I spend my time. I am so grateful for that opportunity because I know the Lord loves beginners , and is eager to accept our renewed efforts.  Yay for New Year’s Resolutions and habits that stick.