Setting loveable goals is something that I have pursued over the years of being a VA and single mother.
As a result, I was trying SUPER HARD to do it right so that I could make sure that I was on top of my professional game and progressing while raising my son.
Of course, I made sure I read all the books on goals. Everything Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins and many other male leadership figures. Adding to this was everything on creating Atomic Habits, building Leadership Skills, Getting Things Done and other books that had me overanalyzing every 5 minutes of my day. I often would start off motivated and inspired, planner and highlighters in hand (eventually Trello, then Asana as my virtual planner), and then my son would be sick for a week and half, home from school, or I would deal with relationship issues that would throw me into a mental tailspin unable to focus or re-invigorate myself to work on a plan that now felt like a todal wave of tasks drowning me in their urgency.
No more.
Above all, no more goals that make me want to freaking die when I catch a glimpse of my planner. I am now committed to setting LOVEABLE goals.
I decided after going through some important soul-searching programs, that I had let my values go by the wayside in favor of pure productivity. That was NOT a healthy thing for me. Some people may feel better having those hard deadlines. For me in my own personal goals, I needed freedom to navigate the waves of life as a parent of two (one homeschooling, one a recently-turned two-year-old). In other words, I needed to do this while adjusting goals as needed, and finally not feel guilty about that.
Don’t get me wrong – I have always and probably will always use the heck out of my paper and virtual planners to keep track of everything – from appointments for myself and the kids, to planning groceries, diaper runs, workouts, skills trainings, business goals and of course, all of my client tasks.
However, NOW, I make sure that I’m creating realistic deadlines for myself and that my goals are specific to the life I want to create for myself.
These include:
- Daily meditation
- Cardio/muscle toning
- Batch day tasks (social media graphics/social media copy/admin/website)
- Time with my boys
Other tasks throughout the week include, groceries, laundry, house clean up, meal prep, bills, doctor/dentist appointments/birthdays etc.
Undeniably, your life may and probably does look very different from mine. HOWEVER … having your life planned can help you develop a sense of mental/financial security that feels positive and helpful for you. It can give you freedom to take hours or days off without feeling anxious about ‘being productive.’
Make SURE to give yourself free time to choose what you’d like to do in the moment, whether it’s to:
- read at a cafe
- go get a bite to eat
- browse a bookstore or the library
- be creative in your own unique way (art/music),
- exercise
- learn something new etc.
Sometimes it feels amazing to just have *anything* planned so that you have the freedom to decide in the moment.
Below is a daily planner that you can download and print for your own daily use to help you in setting loveable goals of your own.
Love you!
