You’ve made your goals for the year, but… now you need to find time for them – Here are 7 ways to make time for your goals, even when you’re busy!
It’s January. It’s hard to avoid the goal-setting mentality, what with all the ads for discounted gym memberships and an inbox full of specials on everything from language courses to skydiving lessons.
But if you enjoy making new year’s goals, then this is a great time. I enjoy setting mine and sharing them here. I also like helping others make worthwhile goals and executing them throughout the year.
So, if you’ve already pinpointed which goals you want to meet this year, let’s talk about time.
Finding time for our goals
Planning is great, but only if you can take those plans from imagination to reality. To do that, you need to find the time.
Since Santa has yet to leave an extra few hours under the tree, we only have the 24 God gave us. And after sleep, work, and meals, that can be more along the lines of 4 or 5. So, where do we get the time for our goals?
Sometimes, we have to make it…
7 Ways to Make Time for Your Goals
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Get rid of the unnecessary
Are you spending time on things that are just not necessary? You know, the things we do because we always have, not realizing how much of our time is eaten up this way.
Do you go to the grocery store 4 days a week because you keep forgetting a list and need to run back for “one more thing?” Do you spend 20 minutes looking for shoes because the shoe rack broke 2 years ago and was never replaced? (Disclosure: these are real examples from my family!)
Streamline your home and your day so that the time you save can be used toward a more worthwhile goal.
Use a list app on your phone so your grocery needs are always with you, like Cozi or ToDoist. Get a shoe bin so the shoes all land in the same place. Make changes that allow you to have chunks of time that can be used for your goals.
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Spend less time on time-wasters
Photo courtesy of Dario You already know what I’m going to say: cut back on screen time and social media. I’m not saying quit them altogether – though it wouldn’t hurt even if the detox did – but consider cutting back on the amount of TV you watch. Or ditch the shows that you don’t really love, but watch because you’ve been doing so for the last 4 seasons.
As for social media, maybe instead of scrolling Instagram right before bed, you can read a chapter in your book, do some yoga, or do the next lesson in your language app (I love Memrise and Duolingo for this).
Even 15 minutes can be used to further your goals, so don’t think that little chunks of time don’t matter.
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Multitask
Some things need to be done one at a time: quality time with loved ones, chopping carrots, diffusing a bomb, etc. So, I’m not promoting multitasking in all situations. But…
There are lots of opportunities for us to multitask that we let slip away – and they are the perfect chance to make time for our goals!
One of the reasons I was able to read 120 books last year was because I listened to audiobooks on my runs and while folding laundry. (Listening to audiobooks isn’t “reading” you say? This study begs to differ.)
Can you stay in better touch with friends by calling them during your commute? Can you meet your goal of following current events by listening to the news while dressing for work?
Look at the things you do all day on auto-pilot and see how you can pair them with ones that involve your brain. And vice-versa.
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Share goals
Sometimes, the only way to make time for a goal is to share it with someone else. Here’s what I mean:
This last year, I wanted to spend more time with my husband and also work on being more active. Without a lot of time to spare, I combined these goals and we started working out together. By sharing these goals, we were both able to enjoy each other’s company and get healthier.
This is different from multitasking because you’re not adding goals together, you’re adding people to your goals. Involve your favorite people in your goals to help you make time for them, and enjoy the bonus of sharing something important with them.
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Put it on the calendar
For some of us, if it’s not on the schedule, it just isn’t happening. So, put it on the calendar and guard that time, even from yourself.
It’s easy to push goals to another day or another week when something urgent comes up. But in reality, something urgent is always going to come up. So when you make the time, don’t steal it away for something less important.
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Make it bite-sized
Remember those little chunks of time I mentioned earlier? In order for you to make them work for you, you’ll first need to divide up your goals into bite-sized pieces.
Doing this means that you can slip pieces of your goals into the margins of your day, making the most of your time. I mentioned quick language lessons, but this also works for reading, practicing a skill, or building your relationships.
Take a child outside for a catch and ask about their day. Knit another row on the blanket you’re working on. Do 20 push-ups while you wait for dinner to cook.
Bite-sized pieces make even the biggest goals more manageable and attainable.
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Only make goals that are worth doing
This goes without saying, right? Well… In the fever of New Year’s resolutions, we can get a little carried away and land up making goals that sound nice, but just aren’t really for us.
Like when I decided to write a novel in November, at the same time as I took on a new client and new job responsibilities. Oh, and let’s not forget the holidays.
It wasn’t a bad goal, it just wasn’t the right goal for that period of time. Only make goals that are important enough that you want to accomplish them and will push to do it. If you aren’t driven, then they may not be worth doing – at least not this year.
While we can’t “make” time, we can certainly find the pockets of it that are hidden throughout our day. These 7 strategies for making time for your goals will help you harness your time better and succeed at this year’s New Year’s resolutions. Good luck!
Interested in more posts on goals and time management? Check out these:
How to Find Your Peak Productivity Time
New Year’s Resolutions: How to Make ’em and Not Break ’em
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