Goal Setting

Where do you want to be in a day, week, month, 6 months or a year?

This is probably one of the most daunting questions for an disorganised person. Why? Because they have to take stock of where they are and where they want to be.

For me, my initial goal was to never move house with 5, 90L containers of paper clutter EVER AGAIN! When I first realised my life was out of control and that I had no idea of what I owned or what we owed, I was a mental wreck. Friends wouldn't visit me, I didn't want to be home to face the mess and my 2 very young children really needed a safe environment to grow up in. 

So I set myself the goal of finding a system that would teach me how to get organised and learn to love myself and Love my family through my actions. For 2 years off and on, I used the FLYLADY method. It was a great starting point, BUT I felt like I could get overwhelmed quite easily and that I was always working on "cleaning house". Needless to say I did improve my ways and my family were the ones most surprised. When they would come to visit, they used to dread what they would find, until I set goals and stuck to them. Today they love to visit and see I am more relaxed.

Ok time to set goals, from the longest to the shortest.

A Year

Where do you want to be from a year from now? My guess is that because you are reading my blog, you want to get organised, have less stress and feel comfortable having people over, because you know the toilet is clean, the kitchen is tidy and Mt Washmore isn't taking over the house. Well those were my goals. I wanted to be able to buy a home and know that our finances were in order and could feel comfortable to invite someone over at the drop of a hat.

6 Months

By the 6 month mark, having good regular routines in place and getting the right amount of rest were my goals. I knew that if my routines were in place and the house was decluttered, that I could feel more rested, plan, make and eat better and more regular meals and even know what I was going to be wearing tomorrow.

A Month

By the end of a month, our goal is to see a change in our homes and our own attitudes. Others may start to notice a shift in you by the 1 month mark. Routines will be starting to fall in place. Even if it is just a small one, like taking the dirty laundry to be sorted every night. Each month we can extend ourselves a little further. The common theory is that it takes 21 days to form a habit. Disorganised people tend to take 28 to 31 days, continuous effort in a habit to keep it for a lifetime. This is where I am going to tell you one thing. DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP IF YOU FAIL THE FIRST TIME. It took me 3 or 4 go's on some routines to make them a habit. Others I am still working on.

A Week

What do you want to see happen by the end of the week? In my first week, I discovered my sink could be shiny and stay clean. By doing the dishes every night and clearing and wiping the bench, we started to win the battle against some yucky household pests (German Cockroaches). My kitchen was my very first goal. I cleaned it from top to bottom. Although it did take me 2 weeks to completely clean it. I did it with one constant thing, my timer. I worked on my kitchen for 15 minutes twice a day. Once my kitchen was clean, the Cleaning bug got me. Each week I wrote a to do list and set about ticking off each item as I achieved it. P.S. I LOVE TO DO LISTS!

1 Day

This may be the most important goal. You see, very can have all the long term vision we like, but if we don't plan to succeed, one day at a time, we won't succeed. This is the reason my blog is called One Day at a time. Planning to keep it simple and set manageable goals, one day at a time, we don't bur out and fall back into our old ways. Trust me, I have learned from experience.

Conclusion

So now that you have seen how I break down goals, I challenge you to sit down with a piece of paper, a cuppa and set your goals. Remember that we are starting our challenge on January 1st. A good diary or daily planner will help you heaps with planning and goal setting. I have tried many different types over the years and have now settled on one that works for me. GO on have fun with it and don't over set goals. Keep them simple and remember to be nice to yourself in the process.

Til next time,

God Bless

Rivkah