The heart of Day Designer is to help you create and live a well-designed life. We want to be more than just a planner system – we want to be a tool that enables you to live and love well. An essential component of creating that well-designed life is intentional and meaningful goal-setting that starts with creating a plan to accomplish goals!
While a lot of people talk about SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Sensitive), we like to think of goal-setting in a balanced and holistic way, encompassing every area of our lives. That’s where the idea of HEART goal-setting comes in.
HEART goal-setting divides goals into five categories…
– Help yourself
– Everyone else
– Attitude + Academics
– Resources (Time + Energy + Money)
– Trade + Business
While the order of SMART goals is rather arbitrary, HEART goals are meant to be done in a specific order. Helping yourself first allows you to help everyone else, like we mentioned in our post on self care. After you’ve taken care of yourself and your people, it’s time to focus on your attitude and academics. Never stop learning, reading, and exploring! After that comes setting goals for your resources…time, energy, and money. Stewarding these things well means that you can then move on to the last HEART goals category: trade and/or business.
So, once you’ve set them, how do you stick to a plan and actually accomplish goals?
1. Write your goals down. Each Day Designer Flagship planner has a section at the beginning to guide you through the HEART goals process. The physical act of writing helps us not only process our goals, but also remember them. For extra intention, put your written goals in a place you will see them multiple times a day.
2. Make a plan. Take your goals and break them down into smaller, more actionable steps. Take those small steps and write them into your planner. For example: if you have a goal of reading 12 books this year, create a plan that will set you up for success. This would include making a list of 12 books you want to read, finding out if your local library carries those books or ordering them online, and then blocking off time in your planner every day or week so that you can sit down and read.
3. Track your progress. Checking things off of your to-do list can be an exhilarating feeling! Our brains actually get a little kick of dopamine every time we check off an accomplishment. Make sure that you’re tracking your progress and celebrating your achievements as you accomplish goals!
RESOURCE: You can read more about HEART goals here. Check out our FREE Goal Tracker Printable here!
Do you know someone who could help keep you accountable to make your goals happen? We’d love for you to share this post with them!