An Easy & Effective Process for 2020 Goal Setting

Every year at New Year’s Eve Breakfast, I take time out to set some personal and professional goals for the coming year, and I also stop and feel/acknowledge gratitude for the people and experiences of the year that just passed. I’m with family, so it’s a great time to be thankful—and set goals with important people in my life.

Until I told my colleagues—and got a few quizzical looks--I thought that everyone followed this type of year-end personal review. I learned that is not always the case. Some were interested in my approach, so I offer some suggests:

1. I review the goals of the year that’s ending, and I consider/discuss (where there are family goals) how we did against them. I take this seriously, but I have fun with it, too.

2. I finalize a list of last year's accomplishments and exciting events. 

 Because I’ve been doing this for years, we often go back 2-3 years and take a look at goals, achievements, and events, giving context and starting the process with a sense of gratitude.

3. Then we move to the current year--2020:

 We create goals in five categories:

• Health
• Family
• Spiritual/Mindfulness
• Financial/Business
• Relationships/Connections/Collaborations

 Daily meditation has been on my goals list for well…a decade. I FINALLY started to nail it in 2019. So, this year I’m looking for consecutive days – 365 days, as my stretch goal.

Final Tip – go for the small things. At the end of the day, they ultimately change your mindset and transform your life. For example, one of my 2020 goals is to text my granddaughter every day (144 characters once a day – it’s easy to be successful and it creates a daily connection). 

If you don't have a process for setting goals, feel free to use mine. And let me know how it goes.

 Here’s to a great 2020!