getting started (part 1): deciding what to change

What areas of your life need work? What are your goals for 2008?

If you’re going to work on more than one area of your life, then the first step is to identify the different areas. Think of it as your long-range goal.
Brainstorm a list: try to make them as specific as possible.

Not “organization” (too general), but “make home liveable” or “re-do office.”

Not “weight loss,” but “lose 20 pounds.”

Not “exercise regularly,” but “by the end of the year, I want to be running a 5K and exercising four times a week.”

Once you have identified a number of goals/areas to work on, tweak your list. What’s most important? You can’t change every area 100% in one year. Manageable goals are likelier to be met.

What steps will you take to meet those goals?

Next, you need to consider what kinds of steps might lead to each goal.

It may be impossible to know what all of the needed steps would be to take you from where you are now, closer to your goal for the year.

Brainstorm a list of steps which might help you reach the goal.

If your goal is to “run a 5K and exercise 4x a week for 45 minutes,” then you probably aren’t exercising regularly now. Think about where you are, and jot down some intermediate steps. For example:

• get new walking shoes
• start walking 4x a week for ten minutes
• walk 4x a week for 20 minutes
• walk 4x a week for 30 minutes
• exercise 4x a week: walk for 5 minutes, jog very slowly for 5 minutes, then walk for 20 minutes more

(Research may help you decide on appropriate steps. So will how you feel. This is just an example.)

Be flexible

The only step you should have decided on for sure is the first one in each goal area. Once you’re working on your first tweak, you will ask yourself these questions:

• Is this helping me meet my goal?
• Is it too difficult? Too easy?
• Is there something I should have done first?

Because flexibility is needed, don’t spend too much time deciding on your areas/goals or your steps. You should expect them to change as you go.

Just identify at least one goal and one step for the first week.