INTENTIONALLY Setting Goals

So, this is the post where I tell you about my goals, for 2012.

Well, sort of.

I already shared my word of 2012 last week with all of you.

Shortly after that, I read that Layla would be holding a Word of the Year party,

so I was inspired to expand on this a little more.

I want to share with you what I am doing with this word and maybe it can be helpful to you as well.

Like so many of us, when I started this blog, I had no idea what to expect or what it would be.

But I did have two goals for my blog, to hold my self focused and accountable to finally have my first home sale. And I did.

The second goal, for some reason, I really hate saying out loud and I am not really sure why, is for my work to someday be published.

When I would get frustrated, I would stop and ask myself if what I was doing was working towards one of my goals or not. This really did work on keeping me focused.

Somewhere along the way, something shifted and I began to realize that I actually was enjoying the blogging side of things as well.

And, the “sale” side of my business was a bumpy road, but towards the end of the year, a lot of clarity was gained.

So, with the mindset of truly being INTENTIONAL in 2012, I sat down last week and started this

I stated writing down a bunch of stuff and then began drawing a bunch of lines. A lot of things were crossing over and it was getting confusing.

And then, I realized something – once again, although different, I only have two goals for 2012.

So, I turned over the poster board and started again.

When I was in college I took a business class that spent the whole semester studying symptoms versus problems in a business. For example, sales are low would seem like the problem. Usually, however, low sales are a symptom of some other problem. We would then do case studies and qualify what the real problem was.

I used a similar method here, except I worked on determining what is a goal versus a method for reaching it.

So, I finalized myself down to my two goals and then figured out, how am I going to get there. I found there were five main methods for reaching my goals. I then broke those methods down into action points, some even down two levels.

And then, I took it one step forward and broke everything down on a year calendar, backed everything up and made action plans by month.

So, now let me stop here for a moment. It seems very “un-blog-like” to treat this in such a business like matter.

But, here is what I believe to be the truth, if you don’t write it down, plan it, it may very well happen anyway, but this sure does help the process along.

I started Finding Home long before I started my blog, so the reality it is my business and it is something I do want to be successful with, and for the first time I am hoping for my blog to be part of my financial goals as well.

But this is also all about me being INTENTIONAL. Having a plan, so I am not scurrying at the last minute to pull something together. To try to get ahead, at least sometimes, on my blog posts and to find a way to at least try to establish some balance in what I am doing. We all know as bloggers how life, work and our blog all intersect at every angle.

If I have a monthly plan, then I can break it down weekly, and then I can break it down daily – at least that is the plan!

So, my suggestion to you, is to look at what your goals are and determine what is really your goals, what are really trying to achieve, and what methods are you going to use to get there.

Oh, and another interesting point – when you make that list, it can be just as telling what you leave off. I was all done and realized that client design projects didn’t even make the list! I have known for sometime that I am moving away from this part of my business. I will continue to take projects that fit and are interesting to me, but I found it very interesting that it wasn’t even on my radar!

And my hope for 2012, and beyond for that matter, is to be INTENTIONAL not just in my business plans, but with myself.

I hope to be INTENTIONAL with…

…the time I have away from work and always putting work behind my family

…really paying attention to my daughters and what they are going through and what they need from me.

…the time I have with friends and family, to be really present when I am with them and when I am talking with them.

…what I eat and not beat myself up when it is not perfect.

…taking care of my health, making exercise a more important priority to me – plan it in my very planned days ;). And I am hoping to try and enjoy it again.

…trying to go to bed earlier (this one will be hard for me!).

…the choices that I make and remembering that I do have a choice.

…making, forming and growing relationships in the blog community, whether it be readers or fellow bloggers.

The last few days my mind has been a busy traffic zone. I am feeling frustrated balancing the planning and the doing. But,I realize it is just this way for the first few weeks. Once I lay the new groundwork for my plans things should go a lot more smoothly. At least that is the plan.

I can’t help but think about that saying “We make plans and God laughs!”

As always, thank you for reading and taking the time to be part of our journey.