Disclosure: I’m proud to be working with CVS Pharmacy to help spread the word about the CVS ExtraCare Rewards Program. All opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.
Here’s the thing about resolutions: we love to not keep them. Each year, you or someone you love makes a resolution for the new year. The excitement behind it is great, and for the first couple of weeks, we stick to them. Then, reality sets in. We didn’t plan correctly for these resolutions, so they end up hitting the back burner.
You know you’ve done this time and time again. So have I. But, I’ve finally learned the key to keeping resolutions: don’t make them. Instead make attainable goals, and use the right resources to keep them. Would you like to know how to set goals for the new year, the right way? Don’t worry, I’ll share my secrets.
Use Quadrants
Life and time works in quarters. In many parts of the world, we plan around 4 seasons. If we set our goals in quadrants and around those seasons, we’d be in great shape. The biggest thing we do is set so many goals that we immediately get overwhelmed. Here’s how to fix that. Create 4 quadrants that cover 4 important parts of your life. For example, in the next year, I plan to focus on Family, Health, Self and Faith. Simple, right? These are categories are somewhat broad, but still allow me to streamline my focus on my goals.
Break It Down
Now that you have your 4 quadrants, you can start listing your goals. Here’s the fun part: if a goal doesn’t align with one of the quadrants, you need to let it go for the year. Yup, I said it. You’ve already decided what your 4 main goals/categories are, so these smaller goals need to correlate with the bigger ones.
Be Selective
Take advantage of the fact that you wrote these quadrants on a piece of paper in your notebook. That piece of paper only has so much room it, so you don’t have the choice of writing 50 goals on it. Pick 3 to 4 goals for each quadrant. No more.
Implement Now
After you finish this little exercise, you’ll notice something extraordinary. You now have 12 to 16 focused goals, ready for action. You can take each goal and accomplish it monthly, or you can dedicated 3 months to one quadrant, and work on those goals simultaneously. You now have a year-long game plan, that you created just for you, that YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH EASILY. Isn’t that exciting?
Use Your Resources
The one thing about goals is keeping up with them. Whether they are easy or difficult, you’ll need resources to keep you going. Show your paper to friends and family, place it somewhere where you can find it, and think outside the box when it comes to physical resources to help. For example, to keep up with my health quadrant, I’m utilizing my CVS ExtraCare Rewards program. When I purchase health-related items, like all-natural oils and vitamins, CVS magically knows to send me coupons and alert me to sales that pertain to healthy items in the store. If self-care is an important part of my goals, and I purchase self-care items at CVS, I’ll get alerts to those deals as well. ExtraCare Rewards are magical!
There you have it. Your complete game plan to help you set goals for the new year, and actually accomplish them.
I LOVE Extra Care Bucks!! I’m starting this quadrant way of goals now. Seems like it will be so much easier.
Wonderful plan and strategy. I usually plan goals in my head but not on paper. Keep it simple.