2021 Goal Setting

The new year is upon us and given the whole pandemic situation, you may be wondering how to set goals for 2021? Maybe you are feeling burnt out and the last thing you want to do is set goals, especially when there is so much uncertainty.

We are not going into a new year as with previous years, but I am here to remind you that goal setting is a good way to inspire yourself, think about your vision and how you want to live life going forward. For many of us, 2020 has seen a shift in our thinking and how we want to live our life, so it is actually a great time to set goals.

Also, a reminder that if you are feeling burnt out, you don’t have to set your goals right now. You can set goals anytime! Revisit your goals as the year goes on and things become more clear. You can also adapt and pivot to change them as circumstances change.

Write down a 2020 accomplishments and a gratitude list.

Start by writing down the things you accomplished and are grateful for in 2020 – you may be reading this and thinking “what, I spent most of 2020 indoors”, well that is an accomplishment in itself, it shows resilience and that you can handle hurdles!

Perhaps, with all the extra time inside you did home improvements, learned a new skill, developed a hobby that could turn into a viable side hustle in 2021. Really sit down and think about everything you did in 2020 and before you know it you will have a great list.

Showing gratitude will improve your mood and energy. In fact, something I started to do a month ago was to write down 10 things I’m grateful for, before going to sleep every night, and I’ve noticed a positive difference in my thoughts and mood. Try it!

Goal Setting begins…

Now once you’ve done the above you can start on your goals for 2021. We can’t control external situations which can affect goals such as wanting to travel more, attending more face-to-face conferences, running a marathon but this just means we need to adapt our thinking e.g. you can look at attending more webinars rather than face-to-face, do more training for a marathon but not selecting one in the first half of 2021, utilizing social media more to grow your business, etc.

A reminder that goals don’t have to be career based they can include self-care. Perhaps 2021 is a year you are going to recover from the happenings of 2020, so write it down and plan how you will achieve this e.g eating healthy, reducing negative social media consumption, reading more, home workouts in the morning, meditation, growing plants, gardening, all count as goals!

Maybe you just want to be more present in 2021, learn how to paint, learn a new language, start a podcast – again these are goals and ones you can do from home.

You could also have a newfound hobby in 2020 that you want to turn into a viable side hustle – you can learn more about how to do this, from home, thanks to the internet.

Flexibility is key.

Be informed – how soon we can go back to normal living depends on how soon the world gets vaccinated etc. When you set your goals for 2021 have this in mind. Be flexible and adjust your goals as and when circumstances get better and we can do more in-person activities.

Goals do not have to be set in stone, you can change them! Check in on them from time to time and adjust accordingly.

Have fun!

To make goal-setting even more fun, try creating a vision board or get a notepad and colour code your goals, use imagery so anytime you refer to them you feel excited. The Little Sassy Journal is a sassy journal to add your goals too especially if you want to use a mixture of imagery and writing!

And finally, focus on what you can control and don’t judge yourself if you don’t achieve your goals as quickly as you want. The key is to feel positive and inspired.