4 small actions to take every month to achieve your goals
The Importance of Regular Check-Ins on Your Goals
Setting goals is a vital part of personal and professional development, but the journey towards achieving those aims requires more than just initial enthusiasm. Regularly checking in on your progress is crucial to maintaining momentum and ensuring that you remain aligned with your objectives.
Assessing What Works and What Doesn’t
Regular check-ins provide an opportunity to evaluate your strategies and actions. By looking into what is currently working, you can identify the methods, habits, or resources that contribute most to your progress. Equally important is recognizing what isn’t working. This honest assessment allows you to pivot or adjust your approach rather than pursuing unproductive paths.
2. Making Necessary Adjustments
Life is dynamic, and so are your goals. Regular evaluations help you to stay flexible and responsive to changes in your surrounding environment, or within your own circumstances. If certain tactics are yielding disappointing results, a check-in offers the chance to brainstorm new strategies or refine existing ones. This iterative process fuels growth and fosters better outcomes.
3. Celebrating Progress
A significant aspect of regularly revisiting your goals is the opportunity to celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small. Acknowledgment of your progress boosts morale and reinforces your commitment to your goals. Celebrating milestones can serve as motivation to continue pushing forward and can help to instill a positive mindset toward your journey.
4. Honest Self-Reflection
Self-reflection is integral to personal growth. Regular check-ins encourage an honest dialogue with yourself about any obstacles that may be hindering progress. It creates a space for you to confront fears, doubts, or external factors that may be standing in your way. By recognizing these barriers, you can strategize ways to overcome them and move closer to achieving your goals.
My January Check-In
In the beginning of the year I set two large intents for the year:
Look Good, Feel Good
Low buy year to align my spending with my personal goals and vision
Look Good, Feel Good
I built a consistent workout habit by committing to a challenge of 100 days of daily activity. Using the Peloton app to track my progress, I embraced a variety of workouts including walking, running, spinning, stretching, meditation, and strength training—essentially any activity I could log. So far, I’ve maintained a 100% success rate. Some days, I choose to engage in lighter activities like stretching or a simple walk instead of more intense workouts. This flexibility has been key, as the focus is on consistency over intensity. By prioritizing the act of showing up every day, I am effectively building a sustainable habit that supports my overall well-being.
I have had mixed results with my healthy eating habits. While I prioritize preparing healthy, homemade meals packed with fresh produce, I often find myself indulging in the delicious pasta dishes and wine that my husband makes, which can lead to moments of excess. Additionally, choosing the healthiest options when dining out proves to be a challenge, with tempting menu items often swaying my choices. Thankfully, we limit our dining out to once or twice a week, but I recognize this as an area where I would like to improve and make more mindful decisions.
Low buy year challenge
In 2024, I made significant progress during my low buy year, focusing my spending on essential categories while minimizing unnecessary purchases. The move to a new house required some furnishings and adjustments, yet I remained mindful of my overall budget. In January I started to consciously shift my spending away from frivolous items, recognizing that they do not support my vision of financial independence.
While I haven’t been perfect in January, I made meaningful progress.
Last year I spent 37% of my budget on Home & Garden. While a lot of the expenses where due to a move, I’m happy to say I have been more conscious about items I purchase for the house, including decorations, cleaning supplies. etc. I had plans to buy some decorations but after declaring the low buy challenge I decided that I don’t truly need more decor that would only clutter the house. The main expense was getting a custom frame for a wedding photo (completely worth it after so many years!!), while the rest were for house maintenance.
The biggest win for me is reducing the shopping category. While I went over my shopping budget by ~$350, I still drastically reduced the overall spending, which went from 23% to 10% of my spend. Knowing that shopping was the largest and most difficult challenge for me, I will celebrate progress over perfection. I will continue to be more mindful and monitor my spending in the upcoming months to make further improvement.
January 2024 Spending Summary
Conclusion
In summary, regular check-ins on your progress toward your goals are essential for assessing effectiveness, making necessary adjustments, celebrating achievements, and facilitating honest self-reflection. By committing to this practice, you maintain clarity and focus on your journey, empowering yourself to reach your aspirations with confidence. Prioritize these check-ins and watch how they enhance not only your productivity but also your overall satisfaction in the pursuit of your goals.
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