When the new year begins, many of us write down goals we’d like to achieve in the upcoming year. We make promises like, “I’m going to lose 40 pounds,” or “I’m going to quit smoking,” but how many of us actually follow through?

Two years ago, I began using my planner to begin a journey towards planning my life instead of just writing goals and hoping for the best.  That’s what I used to do. I’d write out list after list and become so overwhelmed with everything I’d written that I’d get nothing accomplished.

I learned that taking one step is better than wishing to run a marathon and getting discouraged when you don’t accomplish it.

Here are tips to achieve your goals one plan at a time:

1. Write down one goal and then write out all the steps you think you need to do to achieve that goal. This becomes your plan. For example, if your goal is to lose 40 pounds, your plan might look like this.  GOAL: Lose 40 lbs.  PLAN: walk for 30 minutes per day/ 4-5 times a week.  Eat smaller meals.  Eat less sugar and goodies (cake and candy.) Eat more greens and less bread.
2. Take one step of the plan and focus on that for one to two weeks. So, if your plan is to lose weight, work into your schedule walking for 30 minutes a day. After a week or two, it will become part of your routine and you’ll actually enjoy doing it because you know you can do it without any excuses of not having enough time or not feeling up to it.  Then add in the second part of the plan to eat smaller meals. I found the best way to do this is to use a smaller plate. The bigger the plate, the more you want to put on it.  Then after getting used to that, add onto the plan to eat less sugar, and so on.  The reason why this method will work is that you are not sacrificing too much at one time. You are slowly easing into changing your habits and making a plan will get you to your goal.
3. Keep your plans in plain sight as much as you can. Leave a copy on your refrigerator and look at it in the morning.  Put a copy on your desk or where ever you work.  Check it out several times a day.  But only work on one item from the plan per week.  Then move on to the next item on the plan.

Achieving goals makes us have more confidence, helps us to be happier, and have peace of mind.  We need to give ourselves a bit of grace and do what we can. We are busy in our lives and the last thing we need to beat up on ourselves for not accomplishing our goals.

Good luck! You can do it!