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I never really get over how fast time flies from week to month to year. It seems like as soon as you get into the groove of a 90 day span, another quarter rolls around to take its place. For this reason, being intentional about your goals, staying consistent, and building good habits are necessary to success.
I personally like to separate my goals into four areas:
Career / Hobby / Personal / Charity
Setting goals this way gives me that special rhythm and reminder to show each of these areas some special attention. For I will always say this: Our work and our personal lives are both intertwined. This is why we have to find a way to love both of them.
Now let’s prep for the new quarter, shall we?
Set a realistic number of actionable goals – Pick between 2-5 goals that follow the S.M.A.R.T. Goal concept and make sure they are well defined.
List the objectives and tasks for each goal – Ask yourself some key questions, namely HOW you will be achieving the goals, which to prioritize, and how you will measure success.
Embrace Accountability – Define some real guidelines by which you will use to hold yourself accountable. Otherwise, you won’t be serious about it. Having friends to help is always a great option.
Conduct a weekly review – Use at least one hour per week to make sure you are staying on track with your goals. Journaling is a great way to assess your mindset and can help gain perspective around your thoughts and actions.
Once you’ve established some concrete goals, it’s time to spread love to other areas of your life.
WARDROBE:
Depending upon where you live, a new season also means weather changes. So pack up some of those pieces you’ll be no longer wearing and store them in a bin. I personally love the storage bins from Sterilite (and have far too many lol) because they are roomy and durable. They stack very nicely in my storage closet and I can always find things because of the transparency.
Use this time to take out wardrobe items suited to the season and have them dry cleaned.
FRIEND’S LIST:
By the end of the quarter, you’ve probable amassed quite a following on social media and even on your email list. Trust me, there comes a time when you realize certain people aren’t a good fit in your life. What may have been funny is now annoying to you. You may have outgrown certain public figures. Or there’s a pesky marketer flooding your inbox. Take this time to unfollow those who aren’t contributing to your personal or professional growth.
There are a few apps that can help with this process without it being too unbearable. One is UnRoll.me. I absolutely love it for unsubscribing to email lists that don’t align with my purpose. Think about all the ‘friends’ you’ve made on social media. Think about some who are just taking up space on your timeline. It’s hard to let go, but your development is important.
EVALUATE YOUR CONTENT, SOCIAL & MARKETING STRATEGY:
If you are a blogger, journalist, an author, or simply a website content creator, you know that keeping up with an editorial calendar (amidst ongoing brainstorming of ideas) is not always easy. Some businesses and more distinguished entrepreneurs have a team of people with their own respective role. But like so many content creators, we are our own writer, editor, proofreader, graphic designer, SEO coder, and publisher. So having a process and systems to manage the madness is essential.
Consult the analytics on your WordPress/Squarespace dashboard to see what pieces of content have been performing well. Recall any promotion or marketing tactics you used to aid in boosting that content. Take note of content that wasn’t as popular with your audience. Remember to check both the macro (blog) and micro (social) copy on your platforms.
CLEAN YOUR SURROUNDINGS:
Entering the new quarter with a freshly cleaned and organized home is the best feeling ever. Many can relate to letting the busy life their discipline in other areas. As a result, people come home to messy desks, piles of laundry, expired food, and a buildup of dust. Take a weekend to get your house in order. If you can spare the expense, hiring a cleaning service for less than $100 is the best money you’ll ever spend. It can save you a bit of time to do other things. Either way, prepare your space for new beginnings.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.
How do you prep for the new quarter?
What do you think?