I no longer make New Year’s resolutions. Somehow resolutions always seem frivolous and short lived, barely going past February. Since last year, I’m committed to plot out my goals instead for the coming year and track them in a journal. It makes a life-changing difference, believe me. In this blog post, I’ll share this process to help you make the most of 2023.

Before I dive in, allow me to share that I’m quite pleased with my 2022 goal planning. In my mind, if 2022 was good, 2023 will be even better. The simple process of journaling using a goal planner helped me keep an open mind and do new things. It also helped keep my life on track and get more done. I wasn’t perfect, but I take pride knowing what I got accomplished (even though organizing the basement utility room got pushed to 2023!). 

How to Track Your Goals

There are many goal-setting planners on the market, so I’d strongly recommend investing in one if your serious about setting goals. I chose Commit30 because I like how it’s formatted. It’s structured by what you “commit to” for the year, week and day.

Journaling kept me engaged, organized and reflective. I captured everything from daily summaries (diet, exercise, gratitude, highlights, etc.), weekly to-do lists and priorities. I also filled up the “notes pages,” where I plotted out blog ideas, travel plans, new recipes, projects, etc.

If using a planner is too intimidating for you, I suggest that you start off by sketching your thoughts in a plain journal or notebook or track on your computer in a Word document or Excel spreadsheet. There are also online planners, but I personally like the accountability of writing it down.

Develop Top Categories for Your Goals

With Commit30, you set up your vision for the year by mapping out your top 12 goals for the year. The process is to complete one top-level goal, such as physical wellness, and move onto the next, assumedly building on your good habits and achievements as you continue through the calendar. Visit my January 2022 goals blog post to get an overview of Commit30’s top-level categories.

The rebel in me did not follow this exactly as some of the categories, such as Pure Joy/Fun or Adventure/Travel, would span over many months or through the entire year. So, most months, I worked thorough a list of my smaller goals rather than completing one top-level category. Certain goals aligned with the seasons, like purging in the winter and, obviously, gardening in the summer.

In addition, I tweaked a few of the preassigned goal categories. Since it’s my life and my priorities, a little customizing makes sense for my second year using the planner. I combined Mental Health and Spiritual Health, separated Family/Friends and combined Christmas with Community.

Create a ‘23 in 2023’ List

Whether you’re using a 2023 planner or going DIY with tracking your goals, I’d suggest figuring out your list of mini goals and how they’ll align under your main buckets. These could fall under categories such as: health and wellness, family, friends, work, home, creative outlets, favorite pastimes, bucket list and seasonal priorities. Now this is where “23 in 2023” comes in.

Stealing this idea from Gretchen Rubin, author of the Happiness Project (and admittedly I’m in the middle of reading), I completed a list of 23 small goals; many fall into my top-level ones. Last year, I took the approach to build goals from big to small; and this year, I’m going to do the opposite. I found this approach worked quite well!

One-Word Theme to Define 2023

Last but not least of my goal-planning strategies, is using the one-word theme to help define your 2023 goals. You can also use two or three words or even a short phrase, but I like the idea and zeroing in on a multi-meaning single word. It’s concise, creative and definitely can evoke an “ah-ha” moment. Your one-word theme can be practical, metaphorical, abstract, whimsical or tied to personal interests.

The one-word theme, also created by Gretchen, is something that she and her sister Elizabeth have been doing for years. Learn about their 2023 word-of-the-year themes. Also download the PDF to jot down your 23 list and word of the year. I’ve invited my sister Kathy to join me in the “23” list process as she and I both bought our Commit30 journals together this year. I’m hoping we can inspire each throughout the year.

My 2023 theme word is “stride.” I chose it because it:

• Signifies energy of movement with talking long steps, to walk with a mission, being deliberate and resolute.
• Allows for me to pace myself by taking steps as part of a bigger plan or process, to put something into action/operation, to phase it in.
• Represents being outdoors and connecting with nature, unwinding with every stride, carving out time to reflect and think.
• Inspires me because one of my goals is walking more this year; unfortunately, in 2022 I didn’t get enough walks in, as I allowed deadline work get in the way.
• Reminds me to take things in stride: to shrug it off, take a breath and deal calmly.

Don’t Give Up Before You Get Started

I’m sure you’ve been keeping a mental list of what you want to accomplish this year. Now you just need to put it in writing. Personally, I got my goals sorted out January 2 after a weekend of much contemplation, making lists and drafts. Realistically, I’d say if you can get your goals defined by the end of January, you’re in great shape for the year ahead. There’s no need to wait on starting your first goal because you know what it is; and if you’re like me, physical health can go into action first!

Happy 2023 and your goal planning. YOU GOT THIS!

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