If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you know that I’m a big fan of goal-setting. You also know that, for years, I’ve shared my weekly goals here and the progress I make each week. If so, you may have noticed that I stopped sharing weekly goals in March (here’s my last weekly goals post from the year, as far I could find from searching).
This wasn’t a big intentional or strategic move. It honestly just sort of happened. We said yes to fostering Baby D and my book launched that same week and I was living in survival mode for a good month as a result of those two things.
In the process, I took a break from setting goals… and then never got back to it!
As I was reflecting on 2021 and what worked and what didn’t work, I realized that not setting weekly goals from April through December definitely impacted my life in four specific ways:
1. I Wasn’t as Focused
Setting weekly goals keeps me focused on what’s important or what I want to prioritize that week. It’s also so good to sit down and review the week prior and make tweaks for the upcoming week. By not doing this, I felt like I just floundered some — without even being aware of it!
2. I Wasn’t as Motivated
It’s amazing how highly motivational goal-setting is for me! Now, let me be clear: I think there are seasons where you should pare down and simplify. For instance, I don’t think you should do much goal-setting when you’re in the midst of a big life chance (such as a move, a job change, having a baby, or bringing a new child into your home through foster care or adoption).
But, after the dust had settled and we had gotten into a good rhythm with Baby D, I never went back to weekly goal-setting. And I look back on this past year and see where it affected my motivation and productivity.
3. I Read Fewer Books
For sure, one of the reasons I read fewer books in 2021 was the result of not setting simple reading goals each week. I felt like I also started so many different books and struggled to finish them — and I think this was, in part, due to not having some specific goals set for reading.
(By the way, I did end up reading 50 books in 2021… but that’s significantly down from the past few years. And yes, stay tuned, because I have a post coming with my favorite reads from 2021!)
4. I Forgot About My 2021 Goals
Okay, so this is really embarrassing, but one of the biggest ways not setting weekly goals impacted my life is that I completely forgot that I actually had created a list of goals for 2021!!! For some reason, I went throughout the second half of this year thinking I hadn’t really set goals for 2021 other than launching my new book and coming up with the topic for my next book.
I was searching on my blog for something the other day and came across the post I had put together with my 2021 goals and my jaw dropped. I totally didn’t even remember about this post! This goes to show how the weekly practice of setting weekly goals and being reminded of your yearly goals and working on chipping away at those with your weekly goals really makes a difference! If anything, at least it means you actually remember that you set yearly goals!!
So there you have it. The surprising — or maybe not-so-surprising? — lessons learned from not setting weekly goals for 75% of a year! While it was totally unintentional, it was a great experiment and I’m so happy to know better what works for me and for my personality. And I’m really excited to be back to setting simple goals for each week!
Coming soon: My Goals for 2022
I love this honest reflection! I totally slipped on my weekly reading goals the entire 2nd half of the year. Looking to change that in 2022!!
Where do you write your goals down? Is it an app? Journal, etc? I want to start but don’t quite know “where” to start..
I just write them down here in a blog post each week and then put them on which days of the week I plan to accomplish them on my Google calendar.
Something to ponder, maybe your goals weren’t all accomplished this past year, but maybe God’s goals (lessons) for you were!
Oh! There was so much goodness in this past year — as Jesse and I shared on the last podcast episode! But, I am looking forward to being more intentional in how I approach this coming year, especially when it comes to my spiritual growth and intentional relationship-building. I know that not setting weekly goals resulted in me not using my time in as intentional and purposeful of a way.
Same here!!! I totally forgot about the goals I set for 2021 also! I have never been a weekly goal setter (more like monthly), but I usually check in on my annual goals several times a year to be sure I’m making progress. Last night, I sat down to write my 2022 goals and realized I had not reviewed my 2021 goals ONE, SINGLE TIME!! This year was a bit of a blur for many reasons, and I agree that there are difficult life seasons that we just need to be like Elsa and “ Let it go.” 😀 Like you, I’m not beating myself up about it, but am excited about a more goal-oriented 2022. I might even try WEEKLY goals this year. Be blessed in 2022, Crystal!
It’s amazing the difference it makes in how intentional we are when we just sit down to regularly review where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and what needs to be tweaked/changed!
I hope you parent yourself with love regarding “going with the flow” most of 2021. You have accomplished a lot this year and by doing it without weekly goal setting, you may have learned even more. I hope you can find a balance between not feeling motivated and feeling productive
It was a great unintentional experiment to realize what works best for my personality and I’m not beating myself up at all in any way for it (I found it so helpful to reflect on as I hope this post conveys!), but I am so looking forward to the excitement and motivation I enjoy with setting small goals each week. I really, really missed that!
Even just setting simple goals for this week like I shared on Monday has helped me enjoy the week so much more! And yes, with all the changes I’ve made personally and professionally the past few years, it’s been so wonderful to find that balance of peace + productivity and that my worth isn’t in my work. I’m so excited to add back in weekly goals again so that I can still experience that while also enjoying more motivation, focus, and intentionality!