We are not huge fans of the ideas of New Year’s resolutions - it’s so easy to lose focus after a few weeks and give up completely! While we definitely don’t have a new year, new you philosophy, at the same time, we do love goal and intention setting, and we both tend to do it a few times a year - sometimes at more symbolic dates, at the start of a new season, or when we feel like need to refocus on what we truly want. If you have a dream like writing a book or taking a cool trip or learning how to needlepoint, this can be a fun time of year to think about how to make that happen.

There are so many ways to go about the process!

Our favorite ideas:

1. Make a list of 22 Goals for 2022. They should be big and small and both more serious and more fun (one of mine (Dinah) is to save a certain amount of $, another is to visit two friends that I miss!). This gives you the opportunity for small wins, the reward of crossing off a goal that you truly enjoy and motivation to focus on the big ones throughout the year!

2. Pick a few areas of your life that you want to work on (Finances, Health, Friendships, etc) and make a goal in each category! I love making a big annual goal in each category, and then breaking it down into smaller steps throughout the months. For example, if you want to find love, that is your big picture goal, and then you make smaller, less daunting sub goals, like going on a certain number of dates a month or dedicating certain time to swiping on apps each week, or trying a new bar in a new neighborhood once a week. Atomic Habits by James Clear has some great suggestion for breaking down larger goals into daily habits and routines.

3. Pick a book or an online program to follow! You can go with a classic book like The Happiness Project or The Artist’s Way if you want to focus on more creative projects,  The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation if you want to learn to meditate, etc. I also love this online Vision Setting Workbook by Camille Styles, or committing to a guided program on an app so that you don’t have to think about it.

4. Find a friend who is aligned with your intentions! It’s so nice to have someone to do a weekly check in with you on your goals, especially if there is a specific one that you need accountability for. Having someone to meet up with to walk or sew or to swap recipes with makes it more fun and more likely that you’ll actually show up for it and not quit.

5. Create a mantra. After about 18 months where it felt like my (Dinah’s) life was on hold, because of Covid and other unrelated things, I started 2021 with a few goals but also the mantra “A lot can happen in a year.” I said it to myself every day, especially when it felt like I wasn’t making progress, and it helped give me perspective. It made me feel like change was always possible and reminded me that something life changing could be right around the corner. I ended up going through several career transitions that resulted in a fabulous job that I love, and I met a wonderful man who is moving in with me. A lot TRULY happened in a year in part because I never stopped trying to make that mantra come true.

Our favorite tools:

1. Write your goals down! Whether it’s a list on your wall, a planner, or a note in your phone, having the visual to check in on always helps. I love this cute gingham planner, any Simplified planner, and this striped daily planner. For me (Eloise), if something is written down on my daily to do list, I will get it done, so I have a monthly white board calendar above my desk and if I want to focus on a goal, I’ll write down daily or weekly to do’s for that goal for the month to remind me to make progress on it in little steps. One of my silly goals this year to is get manicures once a month, so I put that on my calendar plus my daily goal to write for 20 minutes. The thrill of checking an item off the list is so good! I (Dinah) got a new planner and wrote down my 22 goals for the year inside the front cover so that I can refer to them all year when I break them down to smaller goals!

2. Trackers! Whether it’s your running mileage, a list of books you read in your Kindle, or setting a goal for meditation in the Calm app, it’s easier than ever to see the progress you are making and get little digital rewards for it. I get a boost when I look at a tracker and am ahead, and I get motivated when I look at one and I’m behind.

3. Short and long-term rewards. For example, we set a very specific smaller mutual goal (that is part of a larger goal for each of us), and if we reach it by the time we go on a trip later this year, we get to buy ourselves something fabulous during our travels.