Have you ever set goals, thinking “this is going to be the year” and then fallen flat three weeks later? Life as a mom is especially unpredictable, and even the best-laid plans sometimes go awry.
So, how do you set goals and plan for the unexpected?
Goals and routines are great tools to help keep your life (even when it gets crazy) going in the right direction.
Setting realistic goals is a great starting point, but how do you know what a realistic goal is? And what happens if you have more than one goal?
If you’re a mom, you probably have goals for your family, like reading to your kids daily or having a weekly date night with your husband. But that doesn’t mean that your personal goals have to suffer.
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How to Set Personal Goals
The past few years, I’ve handled my goals a little differently. After years of struggling to set realistic, attainable goals that I actually wanted to work toward, I finally figured out that there’s more to setting goals that just setting some pie in the sky, unattainable dream.
Instead of setting some ridiculous goal that I could never reach pre-kids, let alone with kids, I’ve started to set multiple goals based on my priorities. These are small goals that could be achieved within a year (or less). I then break those goals down even further into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks or habits.
Set goals based on your current priorities
These are the typical goal categories that you might want to focus on this year. As you’re breaking them down, make sure to spend some time actually writing them out. There are goal pages included in the Organized Motherhood Planner so you can follow along and brainstorm your goals, break them down, and create a plan to achieve each one.
Family
Family is a pretty broad category. I use “Family” as an umbrella for setting goals to spend time with my husband, kids, immediate, and extended family.
Think about who you want or need to spend time with and the amount of time that you have to spend with them. Be realistic, though. While having a weekly dinner with your parents might sound like a good idea, if you’re also trying to balance spending time with your in-laws, friends, and still have an occasional date night, you may need to scale it back.
Once you’ve decided who is a priority and how much time you have, think about how you’ll spend that time. For example, I want to spend quality time with my kids every day, in addition to the mundane/non-quality time. I set a goal to read/snuggle with my kids for 30 minutes every night. We use this time after bath to read, snuggle, talk about our days, and have the occasional movie night complete with a popcorn party.
Personal
Self-care and personal time are so important for busy moms, but they’re often one of the first things that we cut when we’re busy (which is all the time).
Think of things that you could do to prioritize your self-care. Do you want to spend some time reading every night before bed to help relax you? Could you work on going to bed 15 minutes earlier to get better sleep? Or maybe you could create a morning routine that would help you start the day off on a calm, peaceful note.
As you think about how to make self-care a priority and goals that you could set, try to think of goals that would help energize you and boost your overall health.
These self-care resources can also help you figure out exactly what you can do (and how to do it) if you struggle to find time or motivation for self-care:
Related Reading on Organized Motherhood:
How to Make Time for Self-Care Without Neglecting Your Kids
How to Make Self-Care a Priority
Unique Ways to Reward Yourself
Home
Especially if you have kids, clutter can easily overtake your home. Cleaning may seem like an overwhelming and fruitless task (seriously, how did the kids smash Cheerios on every surface in the kitchen?).
Set some goals that would help you enjoy your home more.
Maybe it’s finally decluttering the garage so that you actually have a place to park in the winter.
Or maybe it’s clearing off a couple shelves in your family room so that you have less to dust each week.
Even something as simple as reorganizing your kitchen or moving a chair so that you’re no longer tempted to use it as a “catch-all” for the mail, kids’ backpacks, etc. is a great, manageable goal.
If you’re struggling to know which goals to even set in your home, check out these home management resources from The Ultimate Productivity Bundle.
Related Reading on Organized Motherhood:
The Best Decluttering Books for Your Home and Life
7 Simple Ways to Create an Inviting Home
Simple Ways to Deep Clean Your Home
Financial
Even if you feel like you have your budget under control or if you have systems, like automatically contributing to your retirement, think about your financial goals.
Periodically review your financial goals, especially your large goals like retirement. Don’t forget to spend some time creating smaller goals and plans, like setting up a vacation budget, too. If you include fun things in your budget, you’ll be more likely to stick to it and continue working toward it.
Related Reading on Organized Motherhood:
How to Start Creating Your Dream Budget
Practical Steps to Start a Family Budget
Self-development
Whether you work outside the home and have to take professional courses for your job or if you want to pursue something at home, think about taking courses or reading books to improve your skills.
For example, I’m a terrible cook, so I signed up for a Craftsy course to learn how to cook some healthy Mediterranean dishes. I’ve also taken photography courses to take better pictures of my kids and even a cake decorating course to satisfy my own sweet tooth. 😉
Anything from reading books outside of your typical cheesy-romance genre to taking self-development courses can be a great way to keep your brain working and feel connected to the world.
As you’re setting your annual New Year’s resolution or creating a 90-day plan for yourself, include some self-development goals.
Social
It might feel a little odd including “social” goals, but sometimes that’s the only way you can make time for friends and community.
As you’re setting goals to connect with your mommy group, think about fun ways to connect. Maybe you want to set up a monthly (or even quarterly) craft night or plan an annual girls’ night out. Set a goal so that you can plan ahead and make sure everyone’s schedules align.
Break your goals into regular habits and tasks
Once you’ve set goals based on your priorities, create a plan to achieve them.
Instead of creating some huge goal, think about little things you can do to achieve your goal. Each year, choose just three goals in each of your categories. Then, think about ways to break those goals down into monthly, weekly, or even daily habits.
Also, try making a mind map to brainstorm your goals based on your priorities. For example, add a family branch, and then create branches for your spouse, kids, and extended family. For each of those branches, think of goals that will help you connect more, like reading to your kids for 30 minutes a day or going on a monthly date night with your spouse.
Breaking your goals into sections based on your current life’s priorities will help you set realistic goals that you’ll not only want to achieve but actually work toward on a regular basis.
Feel free to share what you’re working on, the challenges that are cropping up, and how you’re overcoming them!