Goodbye July: 6 Tips on Accomplishing Your August Goals

August is just a few days away and as I am reflecting on my life in July, I realized that I haven’t accomplished all of my goals. How many times have you all set goals for yourself, but failed to accomplish them? If you are like me, you may sometimes start one thing, start another, and then another, until you finally forget about your original goal and never accomplish anything.

 By July, I wanted to accomplish the following:

 * Run my first 10K

* Become famous from a lifestyle/career blog that went viral

* Increase my social media presence

* Spend more time working on my personal brand

* Increase my professional network

* Finish reading the 4 books that I have partially read on my coffee table

* Figure out and start a new entrepreneur venture

* Spend more time with my family

* Learn how to perfectly cook an omelet

Looking back at the month of July, I realize now that I didn’t really organize my life and prioritize effectively – which is why I feel like I didn’t accomplish much.

Out of all my goals in July, I realized that while I didn’t completely meet all of my goals, I did make some type of stride towards them. In a couple of days, August will be here, and I want to fully accomplish the goals listed above plus more.

 In order to meet my goals for August, I will need to have more focus and discipline. Here are some helpful strategies that can help you be on the path to success (no matter what your goals are):

 1. Write it down

Writing down your goals on either a notepad or typing it on your computer will help you visually see what you want to accomplish. I personally love Microsoft Excel and creating spreadsheets to keep myself organized and to outline my plans. On the same note, I was recently introduced to Mindomo, and using this app has helped me stay organized.

 2. Be realistic

When you are listing goals for yourself, you want to make sure they are realistic, and that the time frame in which you are trying to accomplish them is realistic as well. There is no point in planning a billion goals for a short period, when only accomplishing a couple thousand of them is feasible.

 3. Set reminders

Now that you have all of your goals jotted down and you feel good about them, you have to make sure you remember them. Too many times, we become caught up in our own careers and relationships that we forget certain things – most importantly, we forget about ourselves. Set a reminder on your phone or computer to remind you of when a deadline is approaching. I recommend setting multiple reminders before the deadline arrives so that you can get your projects done.

 4. Spend time with friends and family

While I do believe in working hard, I also believe in maintaining relationships. Spending quality, fun time with family and friends will be helpful during the moments when accomplishing your goals become hard and you just need a break. My advice, make sure you just take a break (do not spend your month being unproductive with family and friends and fail to get any work done).

 5. Have some self-control

When I was younger, I was very small and rarely gained any weight. Well, once I entered my undergraduate college years, my metabolism definitely slowed down and I experienced unflattering weight gain. One of my goals this past Spring was to lose weight. In order to do this, I had to have self-control. As a self-proclaimed Pinterest chef, I love to cook, especially Southern comfort food. However, I had a weight-loss goal that I wanted to meet, so I disciplined myself, ate right, exercised and eventually lost my weight. The idea of self-control can be applicable to anything. Whether your goal is to increase sales in your small business, or to find a new job, you have to have self-control in doing what you need to do in order to take care of your business.

 6. JUST DO IT

This Nike mantra is known all over the world, and it is absolutely one of the best, motivating slogans ever. When you have a goal in mind, you have to stop sitting around, procrastinating, and you have to just make moves and do it. For example, when most people decide that they want to diet (or change their lifestyle), they always say, “I’ll start my diet on Monday.” I don’t know what it is about Mondays, but apparently people think it is the best day to start a new goal. I absolutely despise the idea of only starting something on a certain day. If you have goal, you do not have to wait until the start of a new week. You can start that same day, and I recommend that you do. Even if you are just in the brainstorming stage, by just starting and playing with ideas, you are accomplishing more than what you would have if you did nothing. My advice: JUST DO IT.

 I recommend raising the bar for yourself, work to impress yourself, and have faith and confidence that you can accomplish your goals. While it is ideal that you accomplish all of your goals, if you can at least accomplish one goal, you have succeeded.

 In the month of July, I did fully accomplish 2 goals. Here is a summary of what happened:

* Run my first 10K – I didn’t run a 10k, but I have run a couple of miles at least 2-3 times each week.

* Become famous from a lifestyle/career blog that went viral – I’m not famous yet, but I know this shall come. If you are not doing so already, check out my blog at www.brittanihunter.com 

* Increase my social media presence – I have increased my Twitter following, but I still have some ways to go. Follow me now at @brittanispeaks.

* Spend more time working on my personal brand – This is still a work in progress. I have been reading multiple blogs and books, and have attended several events that focused on personal branding.

* Increase my professional network – My LinkedIn connections have increased by the amount that I have desired, and I have had the opportunity to engage with many professionals. - Goal Accomplished!

* Finish reading the 4 books that I have partially read on my coffee table – Umm I still working on this. I will not be defeated in August!

* Figure out and start a new entrepreneur venture – I am currently working on a project now with a close friend, and we are in the market research stage. It is a very impressive business plan, and I cannot wait until it is ready to launch. Stay tuned!

* Spend more time with my family – I am a very family-oriented person, so my family is extremely important. I have spent more time with my family, and have become closer to them as well. – Goal Accomplished!

* Learn how to perfectly cook an omelet – While I am a self-proclaimed Pinterest chef, there are some things that I just cannot get right; cooking an omelet perfectly is one and making homemade desserts is another. My omelet-making skills are getting better, but I need to watch a few more YouTube tutorials before I can say that I am an expert.

What goals do you want to accomplish in August? Tweet them to @brittanilhunter! I would love to know.