Functional #PlanWithMe – 2022 Goal Setting

Have you started thinking about what you want to do / achieve in 2022 yet? How do you feel at the end of 2021? Was there any improvement in any area over the previous year?

My Year in Review – 2021

Resources I Used: Ink and Volt Planning Series – 2022 Goal Planning | Power Sheets | LindseyScribbles. I kept my review really simple and answered the questions below:-

• Best thing that happened to you – making new friends, re-connecting with old ones & getting closer to more of my extended family members
• What goals did you achieve this year – exercise consistently
• What accomplishment were you the most proud of – losing 30 pounds
• Time you had the most fun – trip to Jamaica
• What would you have improved upon – energy level

Usually my least favorite thing to do is look back. I have not been very successful at achieving yearly goals in the recent past. But 2020 was such a dumpster fire of a year that on my birthday in December I just had to figure out a way to get unstuck. I decided for the next year to focus on ONE goal and do that thing even if it meant dropping the ball elsewhere. My ONE thing was becoming consistent at working out – and this consistency was to be achieved by the END of 2021.

I have no idea why it stuck this year – but I can tell you my headspace coming into the year was really bad. How I approached the year was:-

1. Having ONE goal where I had to do something almost every day – so it was always in my mind.
2. Setting EASILY ACHIEVABLE mini goals – daily and weekly – where I just had to push myself only just a little bit to win. It may seem like “cheating” but this helped build my confidence, and encouraged me to keep going.
3. CELEBRATING every single small win. To do that I needed to feel like I had a WIN EVERY DAY. Every day that I did SOMETHING / ANYTHING was a win for me and I celebrated in my head like a freaking rockstar. If I got on the bike for 10 minutes (which is all I could do at first) – I was victorious and kept reminding myself of it throughout the rest of the day. When I moved from 10 minutes to 15 minutes – another celebration. If I walked a mile – you did it girl!
4. Having a TRIBE. This is so cliche and as a loner, I never thought I could have a group to help push me. But my brother really stepped up and talked to me EVERY DAY after a workout. I joined a beginner’s run/walk group in the Spring and met some awesome people there who I still run with. And I joined a few online Facebook groups for running and cycling which are super supportive.

So at the end of 2021 – I can say I achieved my one goal – to exercise consistently, which helped me lose some of that Covid weight (I was at my heaviest ever), gain more energy and start living an active lifestyle once again.

One Word 2022

I wasn’t going to do a “One Word of the Year” – I usually forget mine, but as I was doing this planning session, one word kept coming back to me – one area I think I could have improved upon in 2021 – Preparation. That touches so many things – personal and work. Preparation to me means thinking ahead, planning in advance and having the right “tools” to get things done. In practical terms, for me, that means – packing the night before a trip, not at 4AM; charging electronics at night; drinking enough water & taking my supplements for example.

Goal Setting and Action Planning for 2022

My one word is not a goal though – more like a theme for the year. I looked through the GXO GOALS worksheet and set 4 goals for myself this year.

1. Maintain the exercise consistency from 2021
2. Better nutrition – meal plan & take my supplements all the time instead of sometimes
3. LEARN Spanish – this has been a goal for the last few years and I haven’t done much to get it going – learn something new every month. Learn about my hobbies, or how to do something I’m interested in, or do something better, or improve. Just keep learning.
4. Build better relationships

So after having 1 goal for all of 2021 – I now have 4 for the next year (a bit scary). To achieve these, I know I need to set routines for everything. The first one is to maintain the habits that I picked up in 2021. I have the tools that I need to do this already since I’ve worked on it for a year. My main challenge is a work schedule that takes me all over the country – so being flexible to change my activities to what is available to me instead of just skipping them.

The 2nd one is the part of the 2021 goal that I did not achieve – I still eat like shit and need to change that. To do this, I’m committed too meal planning on Saturday mornings (have a coffee after my run – which happens every Saturday morning at 7AM, plan meals and go shopping), and meal prep on Sundays. I’ll write the meals on our family calendar. My main challenge has always been now having a readily available meal and then making bad choices.

I probably should stop there – but picking up another language has been something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time, so I’m giving it a shot again this year. I’m committing at least 1 day during the week to learning, daily self-practice (even if it’s 5 minutes) and eventually weekly speaking practice with a tutor on either Verbling or Italki. My main learning will be on the weekend, and I’m still trying to figure out the timing for daily practice.

And finally, working on my relationships with others – staying in contact – is something I’m terrible at. I want to do better, and so I’m adding this in here. Sunday is my day to connect with extended family and friends who are all over the World. I made a “call list” which is an idea I saw somewhere online. It’s just a list of people that you want to stay in regular contact with and it stays in your planner. Is that weird to make a list?!

My plan is to incorporate these goals into everyday life so I don’t forget … these aren’t even really “goals” but more of the lifestyle that I want to live – where I’m active, eating right, staying in contact with friends and family … and fluent in more than one language. Have you set goals | intentions or resolutions for 2022? Do you use a planner? Do you journal?