Now that things are opening back up, the kids are heading back to school, it’s the perfect time to put the last few months behind you, and look ahead to finishing the year with a bang.
Below is a guide to start reassessing your goals to help make 2020 your year! For many of us, 2020 begins now!
Rudders & Oars
This is not a new analogy for goal setting, but it’s an effective one! Think of goal setting as a row boat with a rudder and some oars. Your goals are the rudder of the boat, and the oars are processes and strategies you use to achieve it.
The rudder: the rudder of the boat sets the direction that the boat travels in. If you have one clear goal, you will be moving in one clear direction. However, if you have multiple goals that you ocellated between, you may find yourself heading in all sorts of directions and not getting very far.
The oars: the oars help move the boat in the towards the direction the rudder sends it. If your goal is the rudder, the oars are the processes and strategies you use to achieve it. The oars determine the progress and the pace at which you move.
With this is mind, it’s easy to see that every single one of your goals is made up of the overall direction and processes used to get there.
For example, if your goal is to lose weight, then your processes are exercise and diet. If your goal is to get a promotion, your processes will involve things like quality of work and networking.
Now, when a crazy event like COVID-19 happens, it can blow the boat back to shore, which means you have to reassess and re-adjust your goal.
And that’s okay!
Use this time to ‘service’ your boat, examine your oars (how can you improve your strategies and processes?), and re-orient your route!
So with that in mind, what’s the best way to go about readjusting your goals?
Top 5 Tips for Adjusting Your 2020 Goals
1. Cast a critical eye over your oars. Having a goal is fantastic, but the bigger determining factor in your success are the processes and strategies, or systems, you employ to get there. By re-evaluating your oars, you can see what systems are providing you optimal progress, and which need to be changed to help you travel to your goal, increasing your chances of achievement.
2. Refocus yourself ruthlessly. Your shortlist for 2020 goals may have started at 25, and you’d whittled them down to 5. Now it’s time to maybe go further, dropping any unrealistic goals or goals that no longer match your needs. Aim for keeping 3 out of your 5 original goals and focus on them intently. Remember achieving 3 out of 5 is way better than 0!
3. Take this opportunity to establish the routine you’ve always wanted. Didn’t have time for exercise before? As everything starts going back to normal, block off the time to exercise. It can be easier than you imagined to make good habits when the environment is changed. The silver lining to this pandemic is that NOTHING is the same. Seize this opportunity with both hands!
4. Remind yourself to let go of the myth of multitasking. It is absolutely true that humans are capable of doing more than one thing at once. It is possible to be on the phone while watching TV, or listen to a podcast while walking. But it isn’t humanly possible to concentrate on two things at once – your pre-frontal cortex insists on one thing at a time! You have a far higher chance of success if you approach the processes to achieve your goals one at a time.
5. Re-align your environment with your goals. Whether that’s through visual cues/reminders or something more elaborate, ensuring your home/work environment supports your goal drastically increases your chances of success. If your goal is to do more exercise, then either having your exercise gear packed and waiting at the front door the night before, or having your mat ready and set up in your lounge room, will make it more likely you’ll get it done!
If you’d like a personalised approach to your health and fitness goals, get in touch! We’re here to help you achieve your post COVID fitness goals.
