My name is Kyla, and I’m an over planner.

It should come as no surprise that I love goals, lists, plans and filling binders with ideas for any project I set my sights on. I came thisclose to a career in stage management after all (think air traffic control for the entertainment industry).

I mean, I’m such a keener that I have an online course about designing your own day planner.

The appeal of setting big goals at the start of the year is visible everywhere. What’s not to like about dreaming big and turning over a new leaf?

The problem is the flip side to our accomplishment buzz is often a results hangover.

Expectation Hangover® is how Christine Hassler talks about this in her work, and it perfectly sums up my feelings about how I usually live out goal setting. Everything starts out fun, but in the end I’m disoriented and need to calm myself with a combination of breakfast foods and picturing the ocean.

Now you might have this all worked out, in which case, how dare you.

For the rest of us, deadlines and details and planning are tough stuff! Each year is filled with surprises of all sizes that knock us every direction.

So a few weeks after creating your goals, if you’re exceptional enough to still committed to them (give yourself credit, most people won’t be!) it’s normal that your results will start to disconnect from your ideas about how the year should be going.

You might feel disengaged from your original vision, discouraged about how far away it feels, hazy about your next action or start trash talking yourself. I don’t know about you, but navigating this is never in the plans I make in January.

Watching your goals veer away from your life is like throwing a grappling hook, climbing a few stories up the side of a building and then realizing that the rope has gone slack and you’re falling.

In late December I read a post by my alarmingly intelligent friend Breanne Dyck about her experience of being an over planner, and I saw myself in it. Very clearly.

I’m deeply committed to delivering more, playing big, and being more profoundly helpful than ever with my blog and my business. But I know how I’ve been getting there until now won’t cut it.

No matter what your goals are, you aren’t going to accomplish them using old systems that you already know don’t deliver.

This year I’ve set up my business and blogging goals for myself in a completely different, radically simple way than I have before and I’m challenging you to join me.

If you’ve already made plans for the year, great! You can use this as another tool that keeps you moving toward your goals.

Goal Setting for an Action Packed Creative Life

Decide on your one, biggest goal for your creative work this year. It’s what the incredible Tara Gentile, calls a chief initiative, and it’s what will guide your action over the year.

Choose a handful of complementary goals that are also important to your creative work this year. Simplicity is your friend, so don’t add more than a few you can really deliver on. These might be related to the different hats you wear in your work (Content creation, PR & Networking…) or could be the areas of your business plan.

Decide on which steps toward those goals you would like to have taken at the end of this coming season. Think three months out, and no more! You already have your big over arching themes – so stay grounded by focusing on what you can do now. What would be challenging? What would you feel really proud of? What’s reasonable, given the time you have and what your life looks like? Make sure your steps are actionable and necessary. If you can simplify, you should.

Sort those small steps into three categories: this month, next month & following month. This should help you have a sense of how realistic your plan is. If that feels too big, just focus on this month and next month.

Reassess & plot your next steps at the end of each season. Your new goals will have a direct line in on where your life and work have taken you, and you can celebrate everything you’ve accomplished without worrying about the free fall.

You get all the action packed goodness of a solid plan, moving toward a big picture you love, and with practice – no hangover.

Ready? Now it’s your turn.

To help you get started, I’ve made you a few quick worksheets that you can use to get your first season of your life, blogging or business planned – quickly.

 

Start Your Action Packed Year Today! Free planning worksheets from KylaRoma.com for freelancers, bloggers, coaches and creatives.

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What is your big goal this year? Does short term, seasonal planning appeal to you more than an annual plan?