Tuesday, December 10, 2013

2013 GOALS LIST: Checking It Twice - Naughty? or Nice?

The year is coming to a close and if you're like me, you've begun to reflect upon the past eleven months asking, "Have I accomplished the things that I set out to do this year?"

I'm always writing out my plans and have been in the practice of setting goals every year. Almost along the lines of new year's resolutions, but I have a lot of them. In fact, I try to address every area such as spiritual goals, health, financial, education, my business goals, and my short-, mid- and long-term goals. My family has even gotten into the practice and we make it a point to share our goals so that we can be mindful to support one another. It's funny how my daughter cleverly shares with us her lists of goals to alert us of things she wants us to buy.

Habakkuk 2:2-3 instructs us to, "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay."

I noticed a long time ago that when I write down my dreams, visions and goals, that they seem to come to past. So not only do I write them down, but I began to be more specific and I make them S.M.A.R.T- you know, Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound.

I organize my life and business with "to-do-lists". For me, when I have it down on a list and out of my head, I can rest easy and just refer to my list when needed.

So for 2013, I set out to drink more water and work out. And to make them S.M.A.R.T, I wrote down how I would accomplish them, by drinking 8 glasses a day, which actually ended up being two 16.9 bottles of water everyday. And I surprised myself by sticking to the 10-15 minute workout in the mornings doing quick toning exercises (I do not like to sweat.)  I also set goals to spend more time with my family: named each person and the various activities we would do to intentionally have that quality time. For my business, I set out to create specialized services for my existing client's, get new clients, and increase my sales, of course. And I accomplished all of them.

Going over my lists, I found that I was on target for reaching the majority of my S.M.A.R.T goals, like my savings goal, home improvements, eating healthier and getting my daughter into college, helping my son to improve his grades, and a few more.

One of my goals was to give more. Though I did not make it S.M.A.R.T, I'm pretty sure that I gave more, but I just don't know how much. Next year, I want to be more intentional in my giving, to give a specific amount and to specific causes.

Sadly, one goal I didn't reach was a vacation to the Virgin Islands this year. I'm guessing it's because it was not S.M.A.R.T! I didn't give myself any parameters to make sure it happened. But, for 2014 I will be more specific:

  • Specific Goal: Fund vacation and travel with $3000 for trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica 
  • Measurable: Plan 4 months out from the deadline and fund trip in 4 installments  
  • Attainable: Contact travel agent this month to setup travel arrangements
  • Realistic: Limit extra spending over the next quarter to focus on trip
  • Time-bound: Take trip spring break 2014
- make it happen!

For a free S.M.A.R.T Goals template S.M.A.R.T Goals

Erica Hall Wealth Advisors, LLC., provides client-centered planning services including, Retirement Planning, College Planning, Wealth Transfer Strategies, Portfolio Management, Cash Flow Management and Life Insurance Planning. We specialize in working with individuals seeking to build wealth and protect their assets. Visit my website at www.ehwealthadvisors.com.