High-Five Goals in 365 Slices!

Even just a few days into the new year, many people are already realizing that New Year’s resolutions are great in theory. Often made with the fresh determination that comes with the start of a new calendar year, it’s easy to resolve to BE and DO better in specific areas of life that matter. We often reflect on our big priorities and set lofty goals for our bigger FUTURES about which we plan to be resolute. Yet, after just months or weeks, and for some resolutions, even after only a few days, many people abandon many of these meaningful resolutions. The year is just a dozen days old and already some resolutions have been broken. Why?

RESOLUTIONS ARE BIG DEALS!

It’s not in the timing of the resolutions that often sets us up for resolution failure. Nor does it stem from the resolutions themselves. Most resolutions are quite worthy of achieving. Take a look at this list from various top resolutions lists and you’ll quickly notice, each of these top 12 resolutions are REALLY BIG.

1. Enjoy life to the fullest

2. Lose weight and get fit through a healthier lifestyle

3. Spend more time with family and friends

4. Save more money, spend less money

5. Pay down or get out of debt

6. Quit smoking, drinking, other bad habits

7. Learn something new and different

8. Travel to new and exciting places

9. Be less stressed

10. Volunteer

11. Get organized

12. Fall in love, meet their soul mate

Are any of these resolutions on your list? Resolutions by their very nature are big undertakings. As a result, resolutions can be tough to parse into simple actionable items. To be achieved, even big resolutions need to be integrated into whatever you need to get done next Thursday, as it were. Just how does your to-do list for the coming week incorporate a potential desire to enjoy life to the fullest while spending more time with family and friends, learning something new in an exotic new place where you can lose weight, pay down your debt, reduce your stress and volunteer, all while being totally organized? With resolutions of this scale, of course many of us will abandon ship. As these top 12 resolutions show, it’s easy to make grand resolutions. As our track records show, it’s just as easy to consistently fall extremely short of our lofty goals when it comes time to actually implement them.

Two Reasons Why Resolutions Erode

Two factors enter into resolution erosion. First, we tend to set ourselves up with too many different big resolutions at once. Often, people realize greater success by thinking of resolutions as one would think of adding ingredients into a cake batter, one at a time. When it comes to adding the biggest ingredient, the flour, the batter has fewer lumps when you fold in flour gradually. Tackle one resolution at a time, working to master one resolution before moving onto the next. Even if your resolutions are pint-sized compared to these MEGAlutions, trying to accomplish even smaller multiple resolutions at once can be too much for a lot of us.

The second reason resolutions erode so quickly is not about WHEN we decide to work on them. It’s also not about WHAT the resolutions themselves may be about; if it matters to you, it is a worthwhile resolution. The second reason resolutions erode is because of HOW we tackle them. Would you ever attempt to eat an entire pizza in one bite? Hardly. Big goals need to be parsed into smaller, doable steps. By slicing big resolutions into smaller pieces, many of us will do a better job of integrating big goals into day-to-day life. Even smaller slices need to be actionable. For example, if you want to live a healthier life in 2020, many smaller actionable steps need to be part of this resolution, from cleaning out your pantry to replacing your running shoes.

365 Slices Mean 365 Fresh Starts

Using an approach like 365 Slices can help. 365 Slices is where you consider each new day a clean slate. Even when the day’s actions are a total bust when compared to longer-term goals, to quote Scarlett O’Hara, “Tomorrow is another day.”

It’s even more helpful to reaching your goals when your every-day actions and choices that fill our to-do lists align directly to your big priorities, the resolutions that matter most. Connecting the dots between the resolution (WHAT) and its implementation (HOW) helps you to achieve more. When you take even one action each day that brings you closer to the resolution you’re focusing on, you make actionable progress.

Each day, work to include even just one action that aligns to one of your big priorities for the year. For example, getting to the school concert for your children, no matter what is going on at work that day is an example of connecting dots on a resolution of Family First. Think of each day as a sort of Etch-a-Sketch, with the chance to erase the day that’s done and begin with a clean slate the next day. Each day is a new opportunity to get closer to and make progress on your big goals.

One High-Five Example

Many people categorize their resolutions into categories like Self, Family, Money, Business, and Future (our very favorite around here at FUTURES, for obvious reasons). As a goal-setter you could choose to focus on two different goals for one category like Family or Business. Another goal-setter might have 3 big goals related to Money like get out of debt by April 15, save $3000 by December 31st, and Sell the car by June 1.

Do whatever will work best for you in terms of number of goals per category, but keep your big goals to no more than five—to ensure you don’t create too many. If you can tick off your goals on one hand, you’ll be more likely to achieve them.

To Do or Not To Do?

Each day, make yourself a to-do list. Much will be tied directly to daily activities, of course, but by being mindful of your five big resolutions, you might be able to slip in an extra walk, plan ahead to get to the school event early, or simply plan a free night to be open to whatever family situation might be happening.

Most of us typically have more on our to-do lists than is feasible to complete in one day. Comparing all of the items on your list to your High-Five categories can help you to make better choices. By taking the extra few seconds to connect the dots between your daily to-dos and your big resolutions, you will be able to prioritize more effectively. Put a check or circle every daily action that actually helps to get you closer to your big goals. If a task doesn’t align to any of your big goals and is not urgent or required by others, ask yourself if it is a good investment of your time. Should Stan really wash the car today or should he finally try to sell those three extra pieces of furniture on a website instead? Which choice would be more closely aligned to a big goal of getting his house ready to sell?

This method of carefully comparing your High-Five big goals to what you really do each day can help you to reflect back on your progress on a weekly basis. When you notice days slipping by without being able to check or circle a “connect-the-dots” action that links a daily action to a bigger resolution, it’s a wake-up call. Take a look at this example worksheet to become inspired to create your own. You can create your list electronically or as a hard copy. What matters is that you make a list and connect your actions to your priorities.

Investing in Your Goals

FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Future™, is brimming with helpful information about investments. If any of your High-Five big goals for the coming year are financially-driven, the information in this FREE program could be a great place to start. Check out topics like:

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Fundamentals of Investing

Stocks

Mutual Funds

Bonds

Purchasing Investments

Portfolio Management

As you jump back into your first weeks back at school after Winter Break, connect-the-dots between your big resolutions and your day-to-day activities and must-do tasks. And remember, each new day is a fresh start!

Be a Big 3 Goalie!

Happy 2020. How’s your 2020 vision? As we ring in a fresh new year and a whole new decade, in fact, it’s important to take a step back to assess and reflect upon your progress during the past year. Try this from a personal and financial perspective. To create a new plan for a new year, you must first assess where you are.

Personal Goals

Are you excited to be embarking on a brand, new year? How was your 2019?  Are you pleased with your results? To assess how you did in 2019, ask yourself a few of these questions.

• What events, choices, changes, and decisions went well in 2019?

• What were my very best choices in 2019?

• What events, choices, changes, and decisions did not meet my expectations in 2019?

• What goals did I achieve?

• Where did my results fall short? Can I recognize any patterns?

• What new habit helped me in ways I didn’t expect?

• Did I form any poor habits in 2019 that I’d like to change in 2020?

• In what ways did I spend, save, and earn money wisely?

• What was my greatest success and biggest disappointment of 2019?

These are great questions to ask yourself as you begin to think about your new set of best practices for this new year. Who knows? You might even dream up some great new habits that will take you through this entire decade! First, though, you need to be clear about past your results and performance, understand new and current circumstances, and be ready and excited to take control of your FUTURE. Once you understand the past, are clear about your present, and positive about moving forward, it’s time to set your 3 Big Goals for 2020. JUST THREE.

Top Three Categories for Big Personal Goals

The top personal goals people set at the start of a new year typically fall into three big categories. We suggest that you begin your 2020 plan by creating and committing to one big goal in each category, hence our suggestion to create 3 big goals.

The first category is SELF. This includes goals around health, sleep, losing weight, getting more exercise, quitting a bad habit, and learning something new or reading more. These resolutions are often the most popular in January and are often become invisible shortly thereafter. Old habits are hard to break and new habits are equally hard to form. 

The second category is goals around FAMILY. These goals center around spending more time with family and friends, aligning your priorities to your time choices, more travel, cooking meals together, and living life to the fullest. These goals are usually longer term and as a result get a lot of discussion and not much action. It’s easy for life to eclipse goals in this category unless and until you make these goals into routines and everyone commits to them. How many books did you mean to read in 2019?

The third category is all about MONEY, saving money, saving up for special events or activities, investing wisely, being more organized and accurate in investments, paying more attention to personal finances and of course, setting and sticking to a monthly budget. Goals in this category are often the most concrete and of course the easiest to see. If you’re not organized, you could miss a lot of savings. Conversely, if you do become more organized,  you might discover a discount plan you’d have missed.

Goals Stand Alone and Work Together

As you set your big goals for 2020, thing about how all three of your goals will work together.

While each of these categories is separate, a goal in any of these three categories, self, family, and finances, falls into all three life categories. For example, career and job changes are often motivated by self (perhaps you’re not happy in your present job), family (perhaps you want to change jobs to have a shorter commute and get home to your family earlier each day) and finances (perhaps you want to earn more money). The financial benefits of changing jobs is often a motivator that helps both self and family; you might be able to travel more, you might be challenged in new ways, or taking a new job might help to reduce your debt. Each of these results will have an impact on you, your family, and your financial situation. As you can see from this scenario, your big goals will often overlap and benefit the various aspects of your life. As you craft your 2020 goals, consider how your three separate goals, one for self, another for family, and finally, a big financial goal will both stand alone and work together to help you have a wonderful and productive 2020.

Financial Goal Setting

As January unfolds, your 2019 end-of-year spending actions, personal financial reflections, and tax preparation activities can serve as helpful reminders of the value of setting smart financial goals for the new year.  Of course, as the incoming bills from holiday shopping make their way to your inbox and mailbox, they can provide a different sort of reality check and evidence that you want to approach 2020 with different and better financial goals.

While your 2019 financial performance is still fresh in your mind, now is an excellent time to plan to take a few crucial first-steps to help make 2020 an even better year. Because FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™ focuses on Personal Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and of course, Investing, it is a terrific (and FREE!) resource to keep at your fingertips as you begin to map out your 2020 financial plan. To help you get started, the FUTURES team has posed some questions and conducted some research to help you get started. Just download the program, today!

Look Back to Look Ahead

As you start to plan, use a rear-view mirror and look at the concrete results of your 2019 financial choices. Ask yourself:

• Did I create a 2019 budget?

• If so, did I stick to it all year?

• If not, how long was I able to maintain this smart habit?

• Did I pay your bills on time?

• Did I worry a lot about money?

• Was I able to save any money in 2019?

• Was I able to save the amount you had planned to save?

• Did I invest your money wisely?

• How did my investments and other financial decisions turn out?

• What kinds of financial choices didn’t work?

• How could my 2019 results help me to create even better and smarter financial goals for 2020?

• Can I identify any financial habits I’d like to change?

Biggest Financial Priorities

To assess and design the right financial goals for you and your family, you must first define your biggest financial priorities for the year and clearly assess the financial demands of these priorities.

• Do you want to save up for one big purchase like a car?

• Are any of your children getting close to starting college?

• Are you hoping to be able to save up enough to send your kids to a local camp this summer?

• Are you planning a big change like moving at any point in this year?

• Are you in school and planning to graduate during this year?

• What about your job or work? What changes might be coming on that horizon?

By answering these big change questions, you can begin to identify your biggest financial priorities for 2020. Beyond these situational financial priorities, you’ll also have ongoing financial priorities. The rent needs to get paid on time, medical bills come in, surprises happen, and so forth. Many people are facing similar financial challenges. Here are some of the top financial goals that people are setting for 2020:

• Save more money.

• Get out of debt.

• Create an emergency find for surprises.

• Improve credit scores.

• Earn more money.

• Get smarter about finances to make better decisions.

• Use technology more to save time and be more thorough.

• Build a budget and stick to it.

• Be more disciplined with spending.

SMART Goals Work!

Each of these goals is actually not even a goal! In fact, as these goals are described here by people, they are really just hopeful wishes. To be an achievable goal, a goal must be SMART, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely. To create a goal from “save more money” that meets the five parameters of a real goal, you must define it.

Falling Short is Better Than Nothing

Goals are best achieved one step at a time. It can be tough to hit all your big goals for a year, even when your goals are smart and you break them down into achievable segments and mini-goals. Some might say it’s nearly impossible. As a result of this all or nothing thinking, some people opt not to even try setting goals.

Falling short of a goal is not a good reason to avoid setting goals. What might happen if in the example above, you fell short of saving $3600 and only achieved 80% of your goal? Why, you would still have saved $3000! So, falling short shouldn’t stop you from setting goals. So long as you learn and correct your course along the way, you’re likely to make progress.

Goal setting in 2020 can help you shape a framework for what you want to experience and achieve in 2020. Big goals can help you envision your bigger FUTURE! By setting just three big goals and working incrementally to reach them, big goals can make a positive difference and help you to understand the full scope of work and commitment needed to create your bigger FUTURE. Remember to adjust and set new interim mini-goals that may be more realistic. Big goals for the year are important metrics and guides as you move from month to month.

Not all big goals will require a full year to accomplish. Some big goals may be short-term and achievable in just a couple months. Other big goals, like saving money to put your fourth grader through college, will likely take years to accomplish. It’s important to not become discouraged if you’re not quite meeting your big goals right away. Take a step back, reassess, and then try a new approach. It takes time, energy, smart habits, commitment, and tenacity to meet big goals. By choosing the 3 big goals that are right for you, you’ll be on your way to shaping a brighter, bigger FUTURE for your family, your class, and yourself.

Whatever your big goals may be for 2020, you’ll benefit from understanding more about Personal Finance, Economics, Entrepreneurship, and Investing so begin by investing a bit of time to discover what you can learn from FUTURES: Financially Literate Kids for a Financially Literate Society™. The price is free and the learning is priceless!

Join us in a few days for our next blog post called 365 Slices that focuses on how to align your biggest life priorities to the littlest actions you take every single day. Until then, Become a Big 3 Goalie!