Volume #8: A Guide to Setting Fail-Proof Goals

📅 Hello, 2024! And hello, beautiful, hopeful you.

It’s that time again. We say goodbye to the previous year, look forward to what’s coming, and ride that aspirational, “fresh start” wave... right into the sunset of our failing hopes and resolutions for the new year…?

Hold up! That is definitely not the plan. 

Truth be told, though, the disappointment that follows the New Year buzz is inevitable - unless, that is, you set actionable goals and have a good follow-through system.

Whatever your aims are for 2024 (seriously though, how are you starting off the new year? Share in our poll👇🏾), we’re here with holistic productivity tips to to help you set sail for the year to come.

And don’t miss our ✨ NEW ✨ monthly newsletter feature, Real Life #ProductivityGoals. It’s a personal (and occasionally confessional) story published in the first newsletter of each month from our very own experiences practicing mindful productivity, paired with a goal based on what we learn along the way.

Happy New Year from everyone at Simplish! 🎉

Table of Contents

• The Flow State New Years Poll

• Get the Simplish App!

• #ProductivityGoals: Hello, Performance Anxiety

• How to Make (and Keep) Your New Years Resolutions

🎉 The Flow State New Years Poll 🎉

We want to hear from you! Tell us what you’re up to as we say goodbye to 2023 and open the door for the new year. All answers are 100% anonymous, so don’t be shy 😉

Download the Simplish Day-Planning App

Set your agenda for 2024 with our beautiful day planning app! Download Simplish to boost your productivity and help you feel good while doing it. Already a user? Open Simplish from your phone by clicking the link below.

Real Life #ProductivityGoals: Hello, Performance Anxiety

#ProductivityGoal: Recognize when anxiety is enabling you to avoid vulnerable communication

Let me invite you into the moment where I set myself up for a disappointing outcome for my New Years Resolutions. I recently found myself in a meeting reassuring everyone (myself included) that “time-tracking is actually one of my New Years Resolutions!” when discussing how to prioritize time spent on a number of demanding projects.

Now, this isn’t un-true.

Careful time-tracking is an important ingredient in the recipe for getting things done, especially when working in groups. I have found time-blocking to be the best “all in one” time tracking and planning method for my life (I like that you can set it up with your existing calendar and share it with others in visual format).

Yes, I’m totally pro-time tracking (I swear!!).

But what did I really want to say in that meeting? Something more along the lines of:

“I want to make sure we agree on priorities and expectations.”

😬

The truth is this: I avoided a moment to get pretty real by filling the pause with an affirmation that nobody could argue with.

Is it just me feeling the pressure to rank productive performance above the slow, vulnerable and uncertain process of improving communication?

(I don’t think so).

Hello, situational anxiety!

#ProductivityGoal: Recognize when anxiety is enabling you to avoid vulnerable communication

How to Make (and Keep) Your New Year’s Resolutions

Many people set New Year's resolutions to kickstart positive changes in their lives.

So you may wonder: Why do so many fail at sticking to their aspirations at the start of the year? Here are our tips for making resolutions, and making sure you stick to them 👍🏽

1. Be As Specific As Possible

One of the biggest reasons most people fail at their attempts to make a change in their lives is because they set goals that are too generic and aren't specific to their circumstances. It's far too easy to neglect, ignore, or overlook a resolution that is too vague.

Try instead to set a more specific goal. Signing up for a local 5k fun run or setting a monthly goal of a predetermined weight loss amount is a far better way to motivate yourself to stick at it.

Assigning a timeframe to your resolution is also very helpful as you can set yourself mini-goals to achieve an overall bigger goal. Short-, mid-, and long-term goals are a great way to keep yourself on track and will keep you motivated.

3. Frame Goals Around “Dos” Instead of “Don’ts”

One mistake that many resolvers tend to make is setting their resolutions in a negative frame.

New Year's resolutions often sound something like this:

❌ Stop eating junk food

❌ Don’t waste time on social media

❌ Avoid political arguments with family

While we’re big fans of making a well-written not-to-do list to keep your head clear, it’s essential that you frame your resolutions in terms of what you’re going to actually do. Using this principle, this list above becomes:

✅ Snack on celery and carrots with peanut butter when I'm hungry between meals

✅ Replace 30 minutes of social media with reading books every day

✅ Plan family cooking nights once a week and focus on creating new recipes together

4. Keep Them Simple

Another big New Year's resolution no-no is to set complicated aspirations. The average person has so many other priorities, that making resolutions that require too much commitment or take up too much time is doomed to fail from the outset.

5. Track Your Progress

Charting and tracking progress is another great strategy for success. This can be done in any manner you see fit, whether it's a to-do list, vision board, or diary.

And if you dare to, share your goals with your friends, family, or social media. This will bring in an element of accountability and help motivate you to stay on track!

Use #simplishlife and tag @simplish.life on your preferred social media platform to connect with our community.