Happy New Year! As a fresh beginning starts, we at Rebecca Ward Design like to take some time to set intentions for the year to come. We use day planners (our favorite is the Full Focus planner!) and take some time as a team to set them up, discuss our goals, and of course, decorate them! We find great satisfaction in knowing what our goals are and how we will go about achieving them.
If you aren’t much of a goal setter, we would encourage you to try it! Nothing feels better than achieving your goals and creating your dream life. If you don’t know where to start, here are four steps to take to get started!
Step 1: Reflect on Your Past Year
To know where you want to go, you must first look at where you’ve been! When reflecting on the past year, think about what went well that you want to do more of, and what didn’t go well that you want to leave behind. Make note of these things so you can consider them as you set intentions for 2026.
Step 2: Define Where You Want to Grow in the Next Year
Once you’ve looked back at the past, dream about what your future could look like. Think about the different parts of life, such as health, career, love, spirituality, money, friends, family, and fun. How satisfied are you in these areas, and how could you make them even better? Jot down some notes on this.
Step 3: Write Down Your Goals in Detail
When you have an idea of what you want to accomplish in the next year, you need to define your goals clearly by writing them down in a SMART format. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Select no more than 10 goals you want to achieve in the year and format them so they hit all the SMART requirements. An example would be, “In 2026, I will save $5,000 for a down payment on a car by setting up an automatic transfer of $200 to a savings account each month and reducing my monthly entertainment budget by $50.” Can you see how having that as a goal is better than something like, “I want to save some money for a car”? Once you have your goals listed, create a list of all the steps required to achieve each one.
Step 4: Set Up Accountability
There is no point in having goals if you don’t keep yourself accountable. To do this, you should make a plan! Whether it’s asking a close friend to check in on you regularly or scheduling annual check-ins with yourself, if you aren’t held accountable to your goals, they can easily fall by the wayside. Use your list of steps needed to achieve each goal and set an end date for each one, working backwards so that you complete each goal by the end of the year!
So, what do you think? Will you give it a try!? We would encourage you to try it for a year and see what you can achieve!
XOXO,
