Quarter one of 2018 is almost over, with just a week left. With three months down in the books, there should be some progress on those yearly goals, right? Not if you’re me. Looking back at my goals for the first quarter, I definitely failed on those. Now, feeling like I’ve wasted three months of the year and I need to recalibrate to stay on track. But how do you readjust when you miss your goals?
How to Readjust When You Miss Your Goals
I write this post as I’m struggling with that realization that I think I accomplished two of my quarterly goals. Failing is never fun, but I’m trying to stay positive because a new quarter and a new month are almost here and I’m ready to get back to work.
1. Take a Look at Those Tasks You Failed
One of the goals I’ve had on my quarterly list is to finish updating all my blog posts from the past. Four years worth of blog posts take a long time to update and I’ll be honest, I haven’t done much updating. It’s something that needs to be done, but it’s not necessarily a top priority.
Except those things aren’t going to get done until I sit down and make them a priority.
2. Go ahead make some priorities
So this quarter, I’m going to get all those darn images done. It takes me about an hour to do a month’s worth of images if I stay focused. If being the keyword. I get so distracted, y’all, it’s not even funny.
But I need to make priorities based on what’s important. My writing career, finding a full-time job, my health. Balancing is hard and lately, I’ve majorly failed at it.
3. Focus on One Day at a Time, but Ask Yourself, “What’s taking so long?”
Why do I struggle with all my goals? Because I’ve been inefficient with my time. My phone is a major distraction and I often find myself uncomfortable at my desk (when I get a new job, I’ll probably get a shorter desk).
One way I’ve been trying to fight distractions is to use the Forest app. I’ve talked about it before in a blog post, but it’s essentially a timer on your phone where you grow a tree. If you leave the app, you kill the tree.
What happens when you don't get your goals quite right? Or totally fail? Let's talk about how to readjust when we miss. Click To TweetI wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as a tree hugger, but I’m also not a tree killer.
Why does it take me so long to get everything done? Because I’m too distracted by the world and I don’t have a lot of discipline.
4. Write Your Goals Down
Back in December, I wrote down all my 2018 goals in an Evernote note. I didn’t necessarily assign a timeline to any of those goals but I knew how long each goal would typically take. I still have that note, but I also have a monthly calendar I write goals down in. I took a look at what I had missed in the past three months, busted out some sticky notes and began tackling some goals I had for each month of this second quarter.
They’re there, on paper. I might print out a typed out copy and stick it on my wall next to my desk. Maybe I’ll keep one at my desk at work, too.
5. Check In
I have another bad habit of making habits and then not checking in on them until it’s time to see how I did. This quarter, I’m going to do a weekly check in on both my monthly and my quarterly goals to make sure I’m moving in the right direction.
I want 2018 to be my year, but so far it’s been…. kind of “meh.” That’s not a good sign and I want to correct course before it’s too late!
