We have arrived at the third and final installment of the goal setting series. If you haven’t already, check out the first two blogs about The 10 Steps to Goal Setting and the Goal Setting: Mindset.

At this point, we have a pretty firm grasp on the overall process and what it takes to set simple, aligned goals as well as the mindset behind those goals that will support you throughout your journey.

Before we dive in, I want to share with you a secret weapon that I have been using for awhile now. I like to refer to it as the “brain dump”. This is where I get a pen and blank paper(ideally unlined) and literally write anything and everything that comes to mind. I use this approach at the beginning of a new month and every new week, but it also applies and works like a charm for goal setting.

Before we can identify which goals are right for us, what it is that our heart truly desires, we need to level the playing filed and sift through all of the things that maybe we think we “should” go after or something that we wanted a year ago, but perhaps it no longer resonates as a worthy ambition. In this case, the brain dump will serve as your first line of defense to decide which goals will serve you in the present tense.

After you have done a proper brain dump and feel satisfied that your mind is clear (relatively speaking) you can dig into the how-to’s. I love a good step by step breakdown. So, here are the final 5 steps in the goal setting process that will help you to move the needle forward everyday in the direction of your big picture dreams.

1. Prioritize and Clarify. Look at your brain dump and either circle or hi light the things you wrote that spark something inside of you when you read it. Continue to go through the list and decide which goals you want to prioritize this year.

   Personally, when I was going through this process, my initial goals looked more like general intentions, the bigger picture of what I want to accomplish, and then as I worked my way through the steps I was able to clarify and distill them each down even more.

   For example: One of my intentions for 2019 is to work my way through my master declutter list for my home.

   *Remember that a Simply Big Goal” is Specific and Aligned. So, making sure that the starting point has a definite direction as well as a way to measure the progress. Then also aligning these initial goals and intentions with who you are as a person, your values and what is truly important to you.

   This is a good time to mention that I tend to break life into 3 categories when talking about goals, habits, routines etc. Those three are Home, Work and Personal. As you go through your brain dump, you will likely find that your goals will fall into one of these 3 areas of life.

2. Keep it simple. I don’t necessarily want to give you rules to follow or a specific number of goals to set, the beauty of this method is that you can tailor it at any point to work for you and your family. Keeping in mind that the ultimate mission is to curate peace. Setting goals that feel stressful or forced is not helping anyone, most of all you.

   I divide the year into 4 Seasons. This is the way that the Simply Big Life Planner is designed, and it is a helpful way to break the year up to decide what you will focus on for that particular season. The beauty of this is that we can look at the 3 months ahead and take into consideration what our physical environment will be at that time, how our mental and physical energy is, and many other factors that could potentially effect our goals.

3. Break it down. Take each separate large goal or intention and list the smaller, mini goals that lie within the big one.

   Continuing with my decluttering example: My big goal is to declutter the house, so one of my smaller goals is to declutter the kids’ art supplies. I will most likely set this as a goal for one month. Again, make this your own. Play around with how big or small you make your goals. Realistic, tangible goals that you can accomplish in a reasonable time frame are excellent for gaining and keeping momentum when you have a particularly large goal.

4. Take Action. The beauty of this process is that it gets more simple as you move through it. When you start with your big goals and intentions for the year, you then move into a seasonal frame of mind. From there it goes even further and the goal gets smaller- i.e. bite sized and doable chunks- for the month. As you can imagine, when you enter into the weekly view and eventually land on your daily priorities (most valuable tasks) and you will automatically have more clarity and peace of mind because you know exactly what needs to be done and what the next step is to move closer to your big goals.

5. Check in. Finally, it is beyond helpful to consistently check in with your progress. When you reassess both what your goals are and how far you have come, you will be better able to determine if you are on the right track. Do the goals you set in the beginning of the year still align with who you are and where you are heading? I suggest doing a check in weekly if you are ambitious, and definitely every month! This way you can stay ahead of the curve and feel that sense of peace and productivity at the end of every day that comes from doing the important things first.

There you have it. Thanks so much for reading and following along! Talking about goal setting, simplifying, dreaming big, and productivity is my jam! Any time I can combine all of the above I am a happy girl. I can’t wait for you to try out this method and hear about all the amazing goals you are crushing!

I am so excited that the Simply Big Life Planner I have been working on for months is very close to being released! If you would like to be the first to know when you can get your copy and apply this goal setting method for yourself, simply click here to subscribe via email I would absolutely love to connect and to keep you in the loop!

XO Sarah