My Goal Setting Practice

You might not be a personality "A type" who colour coordinates their cookbooks or a Virgo who is obsessed with star charts, but you can participate in functional goal setting. I, for one, have never successfully made my bed for more than 5 consecutive days. And yet, I have developed an effective goal-setting practice that has now stood the test of time through the most chaotic chapter of my twenties and continues to be reliable now that I am a working mother running her own business.

This process has no fancy "life shortcuts", nor does it involve spending copious amounts of money on stationary and gym equipment. It is simple, and memorable, and over time it can enable you to change your life however you see fit. Now I sound like an over-promising and under-delivering cult leader, so let me explain.

The way that I set goals is as follows: I set annual goals that I want to attain over a whole year. They must be measurable, reasonable, and diverse (I will explain). Then, I break each of those goals into quarterly goals. The small chunks of the big goal are also measurable, reasonable, and diverse. Each goal has action steps and each goal (or even each action step as well) has a reward.

2024 Annual Goals
Personal Growth Goal:
Career Goal:
Financial Goal:
Silly Goal:

Above is an example list of the types of goals I will set for the year. As a recovering workaholic it is easy for me to only set work-related goals and then feel overwhelmed a month in by all the work I have to get done. For this reason, I like to ensure I have diverse goals, that enable me to pivot from each area of my life with a focus for each. I always do at least one silly goal that is a little more frivolous, eg "Wear at least 6 different hats this year." (note how this goal remains measurable and reasonable). The silly goal invites me to have fun and inspires a more light-hearted nature to goal setting, something easily forgotten when it becomes a to-do list.

Once I have 4-5 annual goals, I will then write about 3 action steps for each. For example, if the annual goal is "Save $5000" then my action steps might be "1. Request a pay rise from employer. 2. Create a sustainable side hustle that brings in a 2nd income stream. 3. Sell 90% of the boxes of clothes in the spare room." These action steps are to be achieved within the year and offer different approaches to the proposed target. You may want to do a brainstorm for all the possible action steps you could take, and then select 3 that you feel you can reasonably achieve this year (maybe other ideas can be implemented in the following year).

Then, I choose a reward that I will gift myself upon completion of this annual goal. This part might feel odd, but rewards are a great way to tangibly celebrate something that often feels like an intangible constant. It is best to minimise rewards that involve spending money, especially if one of your goals is to save money. A nice reward for "Save $5000" might be to allocate a whole day to at-home self-pampering, or to reward yourself by visiting a good friend. The reward can be anything that sparks joy and doesn't mean that you can't self-pamper or visit said friend before achieving your goal, it just means that when you do achieve it, you have a pre-prescribed ritual or process to reward yourself with and to look forward to when challenges occur.

Once you have action steps and rewards for each annual goal, you take each goal and create your 1st Quarter Goal. For example, if my Personal Growth Goal for the year is "Make one new friend" then the 1st Quarter Goal for that might be "Join the local pottery club and attend three times". Then naturally, this 1st Quarter Goal needs at least 3 action steps. These might be "research how to join the pottery club" and "set aside the $50 joining fee from next week's pay" for example. Then, set your 1st Quarter Reward, eg "pick myself a bunch of flowers."

Once each annual goal has a 1st quarter goal, each with action steps and a reward, you can then put your list of goals somewhere where you can see them regularly. For years, I kept my list of goals on my wardrobe so I would see them as a gentle reminder of what my priorities are each time I got dressed. I also like to share at least one or two goals with a trusted friend who, even if they forget my goals the moment I've said them, will make me feel additionally motivated to do them now that someone other than me knows they exist.

After 3 months, the end of the 1st quarter, I review my goals. Depending on what I have or haven't achieved I will then use the reflection process to set the 2nd quarter goals. Every goal should have at least 3 action steps and 1 reward.  Each time I make progress on a goal, I complete the allocated reward to celebrate. This is usually at the completion of a goal, but if an action step is particularly challenging, I may implement an intermediary reward too - it is up to you!

I do this goal process for each quarter of the year and then reflect on the annual goals after 12 months. The cycle repeats itself and over the years you can look back on all the things you thought would be hard or even impossible and yet now you have achieved them.

Remember: this process isnt about creating weapons to beat ourselves with over the year for not being "better", but instead is an opportunity to align the actions and routines in our life with our core values that make us who we are and who we want to be. If I didn't make any progress with a goal, I might reward myself half a star out of five stars and if I did really well I will reward myself six stars out of five stars. It doesn't have to be black or white and I avoid using the word "fail" because life isn't a linear journey. The word "fail" can be demoralizing and unmotivating. Half a star shows us we can do better but we are still at least on the chart.

Here is an example of an annual goal with each step of the process:

Jan 1st, 2024:
Financial Goal for 2024: Set up a side hustle that aligns with my values of community engagement.
Action steps: 1. Find ways to be helpful within my community. 2. For each helpful task do a cost/gain analysis to ensure there will be a profit. 3. Maintain clear boundaries and communication with those whom I work with so that the side hustle remains sustainable.
Reward: Get a tattoo!

1st quarter of side hustle goal: Set up at least 1 ongoing community practice that is profitable.
Action steps: 1. Approach Mrs Kohunga next door to see if she would like help with her garden and exterior housekeeping. 2. Establish what needs to be done and how much this will cost so I can let her know what she would need to pay me (and see what she is willing to pay for). 3. Calander schedule at least 3 visits this quarter that work for both of us. After which Mrs Kohunga can let me know if she wants to continue and if so, at what frequency of visits.
Reward: take a leave day from my day job to enjoy a well-earned day of complete rest and self-pampering.

March 31st, 2024:
I am reviewing my 1st quarter side hustle goal as 5 stars out of 5 stars. Not only was Mrs Kohunga thrilled that I was able to help her with yard work, but she insisted I come more frequently than planned. I have spent 4 full days on her property doing some jobs which (after deducting the costs involved) has earned me $210. I will be back there the day after tomorrow for my 5th day. Tomorrow, I have taken the whole day off from my office job and I plan to make home-made face masks and relax.
2nd quarter side hustle goal:
Action steps: 1. Calander schedule 3 more visits to see Mrs Kohunga, 2. Suggest 1 or two more things I could do in her yard that have remained untouched so far, 3. Do some related online research on how to use power tools more effectively.
Reward: Bake cookies and share them with Mrs Kohunga (must be glutean-free)

June 31st, 2024:
I review my 2nd quarter side hustle goal as 2 stars out of 5 because due to cold and flu season and terrible weather,  out of 3 scheduled calendar visits I was only able to make 1 of them and the 2nd one I managed to cut my finger only 90 minutes into the work. Mrs Kohunga insisted I not work with a cut finger. I did bake cookies though, mostly to apologise for my absence! The cookies turned out great, however.
3rd quarter side hustle goal: Make up for missed visits and improve my approach
Action steps: 1. BUY GLOVES, 2. Download the MetService app on my phone so I can plan around weather changes more effectively. 3. Schedule 4 visits to make up for the missed one last time.
Reward: Take a day off from my day job for a well-earned day of rest and baking.

Sept 31st, 2024:
I review my 3rd quarter side hustle goal as 4 out of 5 stars. Mrs Kohunga's yard is looking great and is happy with it. We have taken to chatting on her porch before and after my work. Mostly about the weather. I only made 3 out of the 4 visits due to Mrs Kohunga having a family visit last month, but I am going to see her again tomorrow which is great because it is forecast to be overcast with no rain. The gloves work well! Next Monday I am not going to the office as it is my day of leave and I have planned to bake more glutean-free cookies but with a new recipe.
4th quarter side hustle goal: Keep up the momentum of visits and chat more with Mrs Kohunga.
Action steps: 1. Try a new method for weeding the garden that I saw on YouTube. 2. Arrive earlier in the day as the weather tends to get worse in the mid to late afternoon. 3. Offer Mrs Kohunga if I can work on her sister's yard 5 minutes away.
Reward: Buy a new gardening tool set.


Dec 26th, 2024:
I review my progress for the last quarter with 5 out of 5 stars and my progress for the overall year 6 stars! Not only have I continued even more regular visits to Mrs Kohunga but I have also done 3 visits to her sister who is loving the work having recently been diagnosed with an illness that affects her ability to do sustained physical labour. This work is paying well since I can use the same tools for both projects and both pay me for my time. It has also been fun getting to know both women: we went to the Climate Change March together last month, and Mrs Kohunga's sister invited us to her house for NYE. This goal has been physically, financially and emotionally rewarding. Not only have I purchased myself a new tool set but I recently got Squarespace to make a professional website for my business! My annual goal reward was to get a tattoo so I have booked myself in to get a tattoo of a tui on my arm because the tui is my favourite bird.

I have a Goal Setting post on my Instagram @lunatherapeutic if you want a succinct cheat sheet image of this format. I post there weekly and almost every day I reshare other content creators who inspire or educate me. Happy New Year! May all your goals be achieved and your rewards be joyful.