Category

Goal Setting

February 17, 2021

Intentional Pivoting: the Superpower of the Growth Mindset

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Last week, we talked about how to set solid quarterly goals, and then use them to get back on track.

But, if you’re like most people, the one question that tends to trip you up in your intentional living aspirations is this:

What if I set epic goals, but then things change?

We can totally relate to this.

In fact, just yesterday, Shelby realized that TWO of the THREE goals she set for the quarter no longer fully made sense to pursue.

It’s really easy to look at a situation like that and throw in the towel, claiming that there’s no value in long-term planning whatsoever. But that’s simply not true. Because Shelby set those three goals at the beginning of the quarter, she was able to make significant progress on both of the goals before they needed to be de-prioritized. Even though she didn’t reach the point in either one where her motivating vision was 100% fulfilled, the progress she did make gave her a lot of hope that the vision could truly be realized in the future. The work that she did in skill-building and mentally organizing around those two goals would not be wasted—in the future when she turned her attention back to those goals, she’ll have a framework of positive experience in place and ready to build upon.

This kind of a perspective is vital to the development of a healthy growth mindset.​

Taking into account the realities of changing circumstances—and then responding by intentionally pivoting on your goals in order to increase fruitfulness—is not the same as just neglecting or giving up on your goals. With the superpower of intentional pivoting, you’re able to stay in the driver’s seat (where you belong), even if Providence changes the terrain, the layout of the roads, or the direction you’re driving altogether.

How to Intentionally Pivot

These prompts will help you pivot intentionally in the wake of any major life transition. Transition periods can be as purposeful and fruitful as non-transition periods, even if in a totally different way. Think through these prompts as you go about your day, and then journal through them in your planner!

  1. Describe the change and its implications for your 3 main goals for this quarter.
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  2. Which of my quarterly goals need to be de-prioritized so that I can show up focused, strong, and enthusiastic for this transition?
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  3. What was my motivating “why” behind the goals I realize need to be de-prioritized? Can I fulfill the essence of my “why” in other ways? Will I naturally get back to these goals, or should I time-anchor my intentions by tacking a note to myself on a future month in my Annual so I’ll remember to consider reprioritizing that goal in an upcoming quarter?
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  4. What goal(s) do I need to keep pursuing, even in the midst of this transition? What are the most essential (20%) tasks / attitudes I should focus on until things start to settle down after the transition?
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  5. What is my vision for graciously going through this transition? What goal(s) do I need to set in order to facilitate that vision?

A strong and intentional pivot will enable you to approach the rest of the quarter with hope, energy and motivation – even if in an entirely different way than how you imagined you would at the start of January.

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Our quarterly subscription box of Monthly booklets will open to new subscribers in just a few days! Join the waitlist to be among the first to know. Don’t miss the chance to build a strong planning (& pivoting) habit that will carry you through 2021 with intention towards the things that matter most to you.

February 10, 2021

How to Get Back on Track with Quarterly Goals

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No matter how skilled we may be at developing solid rhythms, we all know what it’s like for life to get a little bit “off track.”

Whatever has thrown us off, we could all benefit from one key tip: set three focus goals for the rest of the quarter.

How exactly do quarterly goals help to get us back on track?

Imagine writing down your three main goals first thing in the morning, and then connecting with your motivating “why” for each one. You’ve just set up an accountability mechanism for yourself. You’ll start to become acutely aware of when you’re spending your time on non-essential things.

Then you’ll have a choice. Will you waste your discretionary time on every little distraction that comes your way? Or will you invest your time? In those quiet moments while the kids are still eating lunch, you could be making imperfect progress towards the completion of your essential focus goals. In that afternoon slump, you could be resting and recharging for your goals through meditation, prayer, journaling, playing, or exercise.

​Studies show that we’re on average spending 8+ years of our lives just watching TV, and 6+ years of our lives on social media. But you don’t have to let 6-14 of the most productive, amazing years of your life slip away while you’re binging screens.

That’s a pretty motivating thought, isn’t it?

Here are three things to keep in mind when it comes to setting quarterly goals:

  • Make your 3 focus goals realistic. What are three things you can realistically do in the rest of this quarter? What do we mean by realistically? Well, if you had the goal to start your 5am habit when you’re just 6 weeks postpartum, you probably should reconsider and bench that during a season that needs rest. Chart out goals that are contextualized for the season you are in.
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  • Make your 3 focus goals exciting. What things will REALLY move the needle forward in your life? What goals will really feel like they were worth the effort to craft an intentional lifestyle around making them happen? They don’t have to be exciting to anyone else but you. For instance, two of Shelby’s seasonal goals have to do with major home organization projects. Someone else might feel their eyes cross in boredom at the very thought of that. But Shelby has visualized what her life would be like if she mastered those areas of home organization. Her “why” for getting her digital and physical information organized is to replace the hours of time and frustration she spends every week hunting for files with writing peacefully with a cup of coffee in hand. Her “why” for getting her healthy kitchen streamlined is to cultivate an atmosphere of feasting and plenty at the family table. ​
  • Make your 3 focus goals easy to remember. The aim here is that these three overarching goals for the rest of your quarter will pop into your mind the moment you sit down to waste time on the mindless scroll. So you’ve got to make them super memorable. If your goal is to save $336.67 for a trip to the beach, round that puppy up to $340. Then when the thought, “save $340 by the end of the quarter” pops into your mind, you can take a few minutes to do some budgeting instead of spacing out and scrolling Facebook. If you have a benchmark for your business, make it really concrete so you know how you’re doing (i.e. instead of, “replace 3 days worth of income per week,”—bc, honestly, who can do financial math like that on the fly?!—say, “enroll 20 new students”). Then when you pull up Instagram, you can spend the next 20 minutes engaging with your ideal customer instead of stalking the cousin of that friend from high school.

​Writing down your quarterly goals with bite-sized action steps below them on a weekly basis is a game-changer. (The flex space on our week spread is an amazing place to do this.) And our day spread has a research-based section for writing down your seasonal goals every single morning, and then connecting them to your “why.”

World Class leaders and influencers constantly trace their abilities to successfully execute high-level intentions to their daily ritual of revisiting their goals. This is pro-level stuff, guys.​

A key to change is knowing what you want to do with those 6-14 amazing years you have hiding in the nooks and crannies of your day.​

Envision your potential. Keep top of mind three quarterly goals that align with your core calling. Adopt a progress-over-perfection mindset about it all.

…then pull out that planner and make space to thrive.

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Are you on Instagram? Don’t miss our lovely Galentines Giveaway happening this weekend on Instagram! We will be giving away the full Evergreen Planner system to one lucky winner! That includes one of our genuine leather Covers and a Getting Started Kit. You won’t want to miss this!

January 6, 2021

How R.O.O.T.E.D. Goals Can Help You Thrive in 2021

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I (Shelby) recently asked a very creative, capable, hard-working woman how traditional goal-setting methods had failed her in the past.

She answered and said that traditional goal setting methods failed to help her make a bridge between the accomplishment of her most important goals and the life she was actually living in the present.

I could completely relate to those feelings.

Last week we told the story of how I plowed through stacks of time-management books, articles, and podcasts a few years ago when I found myself absolutely overwhelmed with the demands of working full-time hours from home, first-time motherhood, and chronic illness.

I learned so much from the top gurus in the time-management, goal-setting and personal growth habits space. But one thing I started to notice was that many of the tips and strategies assumed something that I couldn’t relate to—they assumed that I’d be able get away to a kid-free office for eight hours per day and take twenty minutes before or after work to think, strategize, and walk through my goal-setting rituals. I began to realize something important. If I had any hope of truly taking action on anything I was learning, I would have to transpose all of these amazing CEO strategies into my real life context—toddler-crowded, macaroni-stained, cartoon-clanging kitchen “office” and all.​

I also learned something extremely important after doing one particularly invigorating goal-setting exercise that fell flat in about three weeks. As good as I was at dreaming big and reverse-engineering my goals from A-to-Z, I couldn’t set arbitrary goals and hope to have the stamina to meet them. Unless I found a way to integrate my long-term goals with my family’s daily good, my goals were shot. I just couldn’t stand to poke my head up from my goal-executing-scramble and see my little family starving for my time and attention.

The verdict was in. If it was going to be a contest between my paper goals, and my real, living, breathing heart goals (which were represented by my closest relationships, the atmosphere in my home, and the unexpected needs of others in my local community)—the paper goals were going to lose every time.

But I knew that I was called to more than just reacting and responding to the urgent expectations, requests, and whims of the people in my life. I was called to be proactive, to initiate, to solve big problems, and to make space for the important things. I could envision ways to cultivate abundance in the gaps of life where no one else could. I was put here for a purpose, and I wanted to keep growing into that God-given potential.

I knew that goal-setting could help me level-up from the realm of wishful thinking and begin to make the changes (big and small) that would empower me and my family to truly thrive. But I also knew from experience that S.M.A.R.T. goals weren’t going to cut it.

The deepest currents of our lives that needed my proactive and steady nurture in order to be routed into something that gave us life (instead of drowning us in the overwhelm of it all) propelled me far past the bare mechanics of goal execution. I needed to cut back the layers of excuses and get to the heart of my “why” for living intentionally and setting significant goals for personal and familial progress. The bridge I built between my future goals and my current life context needed to be suspended by the things that were actually essential to a life well-lived.

This deep dive into my core values resulted in the development of a completely new approach to goal-setting. Instead of inadvertently introducing a contest between my goals and the “obstacles” of my life, I crafted the lifestyle that I and my family craved THROUGH the goals I set and accomplished. In turn, our new lifestyle made so much space for personal growth and productivity that it’s actually begun to fuel some of the most challenging and life-giving goals that I’ve ever dared to imagine. 

​And here’s the key: Sustainable, Game-Changing, Life-Giving Goals are…​