If you’ve been reading See Jane Write even for a short period of time you know that I am a girl obsessed with goals. I set goals for the year, goals for each season, goals for each month, and even goals for each week and day.

While I accomplished a lot in 2018, I didn’t reach any of my writing or blogging goals and if I’m going to make 2019 a success I have to get honest with myself about why.

Related Reading: 2018 Year in Review: TED Talks, Depression, and Magazine Dreams

Last year I realized that I often failed to accomplish my monthly goals simply because I forgot about them! I was getting so caught up with all the day-to-day things I have to do for my teaching job, my blog, my business, and my home that I wasn’t making time or even mental space for the bigger picture.

So I decided to start keeping my monthly goals in plain sight – literally – by posting in various places.

Related Reading: Are you committed to your success or just interested?

But that was not enough. And I knew it wasn’t enough because I’m the first person to whip out the quote “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

I must also include specific tasks related to my goals on every daily to-do list. It all starts on Sunday with what I call The Sunday Slay. That’s my name for the hour that I spend each Sunday meticulously planning the week ahead and it’s one of the ways I manage to juggle a full-time teaching schedule with writing for several publications, running See Jane Write, exercising, and trying to have a social life.

Related Reading: How I Plan My Week

First, I write out all I have to do and want to do in all areas life for the upcoming week. Next, I break out my Day Designer* and assign each task to a day of the week. Thirdly, I schedule when I will do each of Monday’s tasks using the daily planning pages of the Day Designer. Monday night I will schedule when I will do each of Tuesday’s tasks and so on. But when I’m making these lists – both my list for the week and the list for each day – I must be sure to include tasks that will bring me closer to accomplishing my goals for the month, which should be carefully selected so that they will bring me closer to achieving my goals for the year.

But wait! There’s more!

Related Reading: My Word for 2019

Another valuable lesson learned in 2018 is that mindset matters. If I don’t actually believe I will accomplish my goals, I won’t. Period. I’ve learned this the hard way. For a lot of the writing, blogging, business, and personal goals that I have yet to accomplish I know that I haven’t achieved them because I haven’t believed that I can.

So, this year I plan to accomplish my writing, blogging, business, and personal goals by committing to doing the following:

  • I will keep my goals in plain sight – literally.
  • I will do one small thing related to each goal each day.
  • I will believe I can achieve any goal I’ve set for myself.

What are you doing to accomplish your 2019 goals?

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