How to Set Achievable Goals not New Year's Resolutions

Updated December 2021.

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Good morning, lovely dreamers, and welcome to another life hacks article here on the Dreaming of Butterflies blog! Today we're taking things on a slightly different journey, and sharing with you something that we think might be an unpopular opinion: that New Year's resolutions suck.

When it comes to starting a new year, most people (including us!) try to make up for what they missed or should have done in the year that just passed. It's like we, humans, always try to make up for lost time, lost experiences, and missing out on doing more of what you got to do.  

So... Why not New Year's Resolutions?

The problem with New Years Resolutions is that you won't keep them, once the confetti is all cleaned up and the party is over. After a while, you'll remember them, and start to feel guilty, and try to do them all in one day (and fuck up!).

We know, because this was us, for me 11 years ago, when I just hit my 20's mark, and for Andy a couple of years later. I was making promises to myself and the Universe, and forgetting all about them the next day.

But since those moments, we've been through hell and back, and we've learned our share of life lessons which we just love to share with all of you.

On the list for today's life lessons is the battle between the New Year's Resolutions and the goals you could set - and how you can actually achieve them. We're trying to help you solve a problem that has been on our minds for quite a while now, and are delighted to share with you what worked for us, and what didn't.

And yes, we know this article is long long long overdue, (like last year's problem!) but what can we do when our laptop just decided to stop functioning in the middle of writing this article, two weeks ago? We couldn't just let it go to waste now, could we? Oh, well...

Related:

5+ Secrets of Making your Vision Board Actually Work

How to live NORMALLY with a rare genetic disorder

How to live your life, while paying debts in your 20s

But enough with the chit-chatting! Let's get to it!

What to do when New Year's resolutions don't work for you: Set Achievable Goals

The not so secret "secret" of making this wonderful adult life work, and having the lifestyle you want and deserve is to simply dream and of course, plan ahead. When you see where you have to go, it's easier to set the journey.

1. Dream big, but Start small

Like everyone in young adulthood, it's perfectly normal to dream, and dream big.

It's fine not to settle for small wins like learning how to properly fry eggs, but to want to cook a whole dinner for yourself and loved ones, or for upgrading your career from a simple worker in your field to supervisor, or even go for the manager position. (Why the hell not?)

Yes! You should think of evolving, growing, being MORE. But at the same time, it's absolutely crucial that you start small and go step by step. You need to create the foundation and then build it up, one day at a time.

This will help you avoid overwhelm, stress and funny enough, if not beat, at least postpone your need to procrastinate.

If you don't know where to go for ideas, Pinterest and (shockingly) TikTok are the best places for you to find some inspiration for a better lifestyle. From home decor and organisation, finance, travel, health and beauty and anything in between. You just have to know what you're looking for.

2. Create a map and keep track of your journey

We came up with a super simple solution for that, the Canva editable Vision Board. It's specifically designed to hit every important aspect of your life that can be improved, AND it has special sections for you to write the "battle steps" and points that you need to hit to get to the finish line. Grab your free copy today!

This is absolutely crucial! why? Pretty simple. You need to have a clear idea of where you are when you're starting and where you need to be when you reach the goal that you've set for yourself.

Having a clear idea of where you stand on your journey, at any time between the start point and achievement, helps you keep your focus, and have a clearer view of everything. Also, it's easier to have mini-goals set here and there, to keep your spirits up if you feel that your journey might be too long.

That's why we like to keep updating our Vision Board as we go.

Also, don't forget to be consistent in your journey, and work at achieving your goals every single day. Some days you'll make more steps towards the finish line, some days you'll make just one. But the important thing is to never give up.

3. Reward yourself

When we're thinking of rewards, we're not talking about financial stuff. Not necessarily.

We're talking about doing something for yourself that makes you feel happy - dance, eat a piece of chocolate, make yourself a smoothie, do yoga, put a peeling mask on your face and watch funny stuff on youtube and try not to laugh (there's a challenge for you!).

Rewarding your small victories is as important as achieving them - keeps you interested and wanting more.

4. Have an accountability partner

Let's face a fact.

No matter how perfect your system might be, with maps of your progress, bullet journals and all that madness, eventually, you'll end up procrastinating, and spending way more of your free time watching everything on YouTube and Netflix, reading, playing games or doing anything else but what you're supposed to, that would get you closer to your goals.

Having someone you can trust like a life partner or a best friend to check up on you regularly helps A TON in this situation.

Yes, for the lazy kid in you they might seem like the bad guy for a second, but you'll learn soon that all they are doing is helping you.

An accountability partner will also help encourage you when you feel down or stuck. All you need to do is to be open and honest.

5. Don't forget: Relax!

No matter how much you want to reach that goal, there's one thing you must never forget - breathe and relax. Overworking yourself leads to burnout, and that leads to procrastination then disappointment.

We've been there, throughout our entrepreneurial journey. The key is to find your balance. Nobody can tell you how much you should work in a day, or when. We, for example, are more creative at night, so we sleep in late(ish), and work until the morning sometimes, but we always take breaks when we feel tired or like something's not going well.

Some FREE fun ways to relax include:

• Watching something on Youtube - it's the perfect space to learn a new skill, while being entertained, marvel in what crazy stuff you can buy online, or just have a laugh about any topic you can think of.

• Reading a good book - wether is escaping this reality and diving into fantasy, or improving some part of your life, like your financial IQ, reading can help your mind relax and refocus.

• Cooking something good - if you too are a lover of all things homemade, and have some skills in the kitchen ( hey, you don't have to be an expert!) just cook something you like, or try a new recipe. It can be quite therapeutic. Also, involving your partner in this activity will help bring you closer.

• Moving your body - do yoga, dance around the house, go for a walk, run, have amazing sex! Dealer's choice. But whatever you do, keep that body of yours moving.

• Sleep - sometimes all you need is a good sleep, especially on a rainy day in any season. Even though this might sound crazy, listen to your body. Especially since Covid hit, you should pay closer atention to yourself and your needs.

Our BIG Goals for the next year

Blog:

1. To launch our Printable bundles (make sure to have a look in our Resource Library for them - you already have some freebies available there)
2. To reach earnings from our blog of 5K$ per month by the time December ends

Personal:

3. To shoot more photos of us together

And that's all for today, lovely dreamers! We hope you enjoyed our article on our 5 ways to set achievable goals and why not New Year's Resolutions. If you did like it, don't forget to share it, pin it, tweet it!

QOTD: What are your big goals for this new year?