Using Small Wins to Work Towards My Goals and Dreams
I think I’ve spoken about how I goal plan more times than I want to admit. I also discuss how I plan for my goals and even my frustrations over sometimes not being able to do all the things I want to do. One of my last blogs covered my frustration over being in my current stage of life - being at home with small kids when all my friends have older kids and seem to have more time on their hands for their hobbies and dreams. This is why we’re going to talk about small wins today.
When you initially design a goal, it usually comes in the form of an idea - a thought about something you want to have or achieve. I look at goals in three ways: dreams or long term goals (i.e. wanting to have a family vacation in Costa Rica when my kids are older), stretch goals (i.e. buying a new home in the next 5 - 7 years - this is do-able, but you need to have an actionable plan for it), and finally, maintenance goals. An example of this last type for me would be setting goals for the next month, taking care of my health by making regularly scheduled doctors and dentists appointments, etc…
When ideas for goals pass through your head, you might choose to discard one if you think it’s unrealistic (these should fit into your “dream goals” somewhere just in case). You never know when your circumstances might change, and it could become more realistic in the future. You also might choose to write down the idea in case it’s something you can think about for the future (waiting on time, more money, etc…) Then, there might be goals that you think you can start right now.
The goals that you can start right now are the ones I want to focus on today. These might be weekly or monthly goals - something that has a limited time frame and they can be broken down easily. An example for me would be my monthly planner setups. I have a number of them that I set up each and every month:
My budget book
My Cultivate What Matters (CWM) Goal Planner
My Franklin Monthly Setup
My Planner Perfect Month and Weekly Setup
With each of these, I have a designated date to set them up and I also do some of them in parts. For example, setting up my CWM goals consists of:
Brainstorming about what I want the next month to look like (I usually write out a brainstorm each month, so if there are tasks that I want to complete from there, I’ll just transfer them to the new list)
Writing out that months goals
Filming the goal video (this gets posted towards the end of the previous month)
Writing out my personal and family goals in my Franklin Planner
Writing out my business goals in my business planner.
Once these are completed, I get to celebrate. Truthfully though, I get intrinsic value or satisfaction out of the act itself. For me, having my goals or my planner set up for the next month is the ultimate feel good moment. I don’t necessarily need an external reward for this.
Another example of where I celebrate small wins is in my cleaning routine. Cleaning the bathrooms is probably my least favourite chore. I’ll try to time my bathroom cleaning day with when I get a subscription box in the mail. Even though I’m getting the subscription box anyway, I make myself clean the bathroom with the expectation that I can open the box once I’m done. (It’s especially relevant when I’ve already received the box, but I make myself wait to open it until I’m done my work). Again, even though I already know that I’m getting the box anyway, the act of being able to open it and look at the goodies inside is a small treat and makes me feel like I’m rewarding myself for a job well done.
Examples of other small wins where I might reward myself:
If I’m working in the morning, and I’m working on a video, or a small project, I’ll let myself have breakfast or a coffee once I’m done.
I’ll let myself have thirty minutes of reading time once I’m done my morning session of work.
I only get to plan for the next day in my planner once I’m done for the current day. (This doesn’t seem like a reward, but for me, again it’s a form of intrinsic motivation to get all my work done since I love planning and being organized). The other benefit of doing this is I’ll know what’s finished or not and I can carry incomplete tasks over to the next day.
Once I’m done working on a task or a small project, I’ll let myself have some time playing a game on my phone or a timed session of short video scrolling on Facebook or Instagram.
The way I celebrate might not be the same as how you celebrate and that’s ok. Tailor your experience to your life and your goals - do what you enjoy.
Another aspect of maintenance goals is that they are essentially daily or weekly habits. Maintenance goals can be broken down into smaller and smaller pieces until it seems ridiculous not to do them. An example of this might be cleaning your bookshelf. My bookshelf has four shelves. If I wanted to break down the work into manageable steps this is what I might do:
Empty off first shelf; dust & polish
Add books or planners back on
etc… (Completing the other three shelves)
It really depends on how much time and energy you have. One person might like smaller steps like I detailed above, and someone else might do it all in one shot. A question you might want to ask yourself is: “If I tackle this bookshelf in small steps over the course of a week, will I lose interest and forget about it?” If that’s true, you don’t want a permanent mess of stuff all over, so you might determine that doing it all in one shot is best. If for example you have low energy or are sick (and you still want to do it), you might break up the steps so it’s easier to accomplish. It really all comes down to you.
Another aspect of celebrating small wins is that, like me, you might be in a period of life where things aren’t moving that fast. You might have small kids, or you might feel like you’re stuck in a dead end job. Celebrating small wins helps make this time of your life a bit more manageable. It also makes you feel like you’re still accomplishing something, even when it doesn’t always feel like it. This is how I feel a lot of the time, especially when I’m cleaning up after my kids yet again!
Make sure to celebrate the small successes. These small positive affirmations will help you gain motivation, confidence and determination to keep moving forward to bigger and better things and work towards your dreams!
Sandra 🌼
