How to Set Goals and Make Them Happen This Time for REAL

How to Set Goals and Make Them Happen This Time for REAL

As usual, the start of a new year is the perfect time to set goals for the next phase. It is the same as the first of September or your birthday — or any other time, actually :). But it is in human nature to start thinking about life’s improvements on the above dates.

I prefer New Year's Eve as a starting point. I like that plans and goals are" wrapped” in a year. There is also a cosy atmosphere and some slowness around. It's a great time for thinking.

This time, it was in perfect sync with the changes in my life, and I was fully ready to set new goals. In this post, I’ll explain the process that works. Let’s go!

Ready? [Analyse]

Before jumping straight into setting goals, creating impossible-to-complete plans, and forgetting about resolutions next week, I start with self-reflection — Do I like who I am? What I’m doing, how I’m looking? What are my dreams? Who do I want to be? Etc.

To organise the process, I use the Wheel of Life tool [1]. It helps analyse and visualise one's current state of life, covering all areas (such as family and relationships, career, finances, health, etc.). For each category, I ask myself a set of questions. Answers help to set a core from 1 to 10 for each category and get the resulting picture like this:

The Art of Life Balance: Unraveling the Secrets of the Wheel of Life

The image is from the article “The Art of Life Balance: Unraveling the Secrets of the Wheel of Life,” check it out!

I use Google Sheets to score each category and build a wheel as a Google Sheets chart, but predefined tools are available online, or you can use pen and paper.

Once I see the picture, I’m moving to the next step — translating these reflections into concrete goals and creating a plan to rebalance the wheel where needed.

Steady? [Plan]

For every category, I identify what is missed and what could improve the score. Then, I convert each gap into a goal and list them in the Notion. I found Notion helpful in cases where I need structure (a template for each goal) and the possibility to review data on different levels (per category, goal details) and views (boards view, timeline view, etc.).

Once I list goals, I ensure they are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Following these criteria helps me set realistic goals, action items, timelines, and priorities. These allow me to plan the week and identify what I should work on the following week.

This plan is called the PDPPersonal Development Plan. [2]

Also, PDP stands for Personal Development Planning [3]:

A structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan for their personal, educational and career development. (QAA, 2001, 2009)

GO! [Action]

In the article “An overview of the development of Personal Development Planning (PDP) and e-Portfolio practice in UK higher education,” I found this line [3]:

PDP is a verb not a noun.

And it was so life-changing for me at that time! I mentioned in the previous section that PDP is plan and planning, but this quote for me means this:

💡
Do not leave your dreams and goals on paper. Be active, work on them, and complete them. Own your life, be in motion, and act!

Any plan can be conquered by simply planning what can be achieved next week from the goals and action items and reviewing what was completed at the end.

I recommend reviewing the short video on the Personal Development Planning process by The Open University, where they describe in detail the method I mentioned above [2]:

Following these simple yet powerful instructions can help you complete any goal. ;) Have a productive and successful year, folks!


Resources

  1. The Art of Life Balance: Unraveling the Secrets of the Wheel of Life” by Ernst Jansen.

  2. Personal development plan (PDP)“ by The Open University.

  3. An overview of the development of Personal Development Planning (PDP) and e-Portfolio practice in UK higher education” by Janet Strivens and Rob Ward Centre.