As slow as this year started, it has come to end even faster than I could have imagined. And although this year was tough for many different reasons, I imagine we are all hoping for a better 2021 - and with that comes the traditional new year’s resolutions.

I don’t believe in new years resolutions. People use the new year as a way to make promises to themselves that they usually don’t keep. And to be fair, it isn’t our fault – the idea of creating very elaborate, long-term, and unattainable resolutions sets us up for failure almost immediately. The notion that the start of a new year (which btw is purely symbolic) is when we should suddenly change our behavior is actually damaging to how we see ourselves and the progress we are making.

While I don’t believe in setting new year’s resolutions, I do believe in setting attainable, achievable, and specific goals for ourselves. As a career and communication coach, I always work on creating overarching goals and then breaking each of them down into specifics. If that happens to be at the new year – great! If not, that’s okay too. We should set goals when we want to make a change within ourselves, and not based on the calendar year.

So to help you take the first step, here are our 5 tips for setting goals in the new year and beyond:

1. Write them down

Psychologically speaking, writing things down creates a greater sense of power. There is something about physically seeing your goals on a piece of paper that makes it more real and profound. Not to mention, you always have something to look back on.

You can write down your goals on a piece of paper, in a notebook, in a file on your laptop, in your phone, or on a vision board. Pick a place where you can easily access your goals and make changes or add to them as you go.

First, you should start by creating high-level goals (specifics to come at point 2). Your high-level goals should include a few criteria, including: the goal itself (as specific as possible) and when you want to achieve it by. Here are a few examples of some descriptive goals:

• Save $1000 by June 2021

• Find a new job by Nov 2021

• Run a marathon by Dec 2021

2. Break it down

Now that you have written down detailed and time-specific goals, you need to take each goal and break them down into milestones, specifically into days, weeks or months. You are much more likely to achieve a larger goal if you have smaller milestones attached to it. This way you can actually see your progress and, psychologically speaking, you will feel the gratification from the smaller milestones and not get burned out.

Let’s use the goals from point 1 and break them down into smaller milestones here:

• Goal: Save $1000 by June 2021

o Milestone: save $167 each month

If your goal is to save $1000 by July, the easiest way to do this is break this up into months, or even weeks (if you receive a paycheck bi-weekly). That way, the milestones are attached to your salary and you can easily set aside that amount as soon as you receive your monthly or bi-weekly salary. You will see the money increasing each month and you getting closer and closer to your goal.

• Goal: Find a new job by Nov 2021

o Milestone: Update resume by January 31st 2021

o Milestone: apply to 2 new jobs per week (spend 30 minutes per day looking online)

o Milestone: attend 2 job fairs by May 2021

For this goal I created 3 different milestones, each with a different purpose. Updating a resume is key for applying to jobs, so that should be the first on the list (pro tip: update your LinkedIn as well for maximum visibility). After you have your resume, you can start applying to jobs. You don’t want to overwhelm yourself and frantically apply for 100 jobs in the first week – this is a slow and steady race. Make a goal of 2 per week. Set aside 30 minutes every day to look for jobs and apply to the ones you think fit your criteria and experience. This way, you have a set time each day to work on this, rather than feeling overwhelmed with having to apply to many jobs all at once.

• Goal: Run a marathon by Dec 2021

o Milestone: run 3x per week

o Milestone:

• January: run 2 miles

• February: run 4 miles

• March: run 6 miles

• April: run 8 miles

• May: run 10 miles

• June: run 12 miles

• July: run 14 miles

• August: run 16 miles

• September: run 18 miles

• October: run 20 miles

• November: run 22 miles

• December: run 24 miles

First decide how many times per week you want to run. Then, set the goal of how many miles you want to run each month. That way, you will know the frequency of the runs, and also each month what you want to achieve to reach your goal.

3. Reward yourself

I’m a big believer in rewarding yourself after milestones – especially when you have a big goal (anything longer than 4 months). It is important that we praise ourselves for the small milestones, because it will help us keep our eyes on the prize, or rather the end goal. Rewards can come in a variety of forms, but they should definitely fit the goal! Here are some examples of rewards, tailored to our examples:

• Goal: Save $1000 by July 2021

o Reward: After each quarter, take a vacation day from work and do something you love, like going to the beach, going on a hike, seeing a movie, or spending the day with your best friend.

• Goal: Find a new job by Nov 2021

o Reward: After you have successfully applied for 2 jobs per week for 2 months, treat yourself to a nice dinner, buy yourself a small item you love (candle, bath bomb), or take one day on the weekend to relax and not look at any jobs.

• Goal: Run a marathon by Dec 2021

o Reward: after each month of achieving your new mile goal, go get a massage, have a cheat day, or take 2 days off from running completely.

The rewards should be tailored to the goal (not derail it), but also be something you love and enjoy that will make you happy! Remember, the idea with the reward is to keep you motivated and continuing working to achieve your goal.

4. Regular check-ins

Even though your milestones should be broken up, it is imperative that you have regular check-ins with yourself and write down your progress. Some people prefer to do this weekly, others daily – whatever your preference is, make sure you are checking in with yourself. That means going back to your written down goals and re-reading them. Ask yourself, have you checked off the milestones? Are you rewarding yourself? How do they make you feel?

Make sure your motivation is still there and that you are keeping tabs on where you are. Some people find it helpful to have someone else keep them accountable for their goals.

Whatever works for you, ensure regular check-ins and continuously write down your milestones, achievements, and rewards.

5. Getting off track is okay

If this year has taught us anything, it is that shit happens and no one is perfect. Having long-term goals means that there is a chance you will slip up or get off track – and that is okay. You do not have to always be perfect – the ultimate objective is that you achieve your long-term goal – regardless of some difficulties in getting there. If you have a bad week or even month, then allow yourself time to cool off. Really contemplate why you wanted to achieve that goal in the first place and if it still brings you joy. Taking a break can actually allow for rest and rejuvenation and increased motivation for that goal. But just like with goals, ensure the break has a timeline so you know when you need to get back to your goal and continue achieving your milestones. Take time to find your purpose again and recharge your batteries. You will thank yourself later.

For 1-1 career or communication coaching, support with goal-setting, or accountability, email us here or at doubletake.lifestyle.com.