I only recently started goal planning for the new year and even more recently started doing it in Notion. However, this process has hands down been the reason I have accomplished every goal I’ve set for the past few years. So, if you’re interested in goal setting (any time of year) or learning more about how to use Notion, you’re in the right place!
Brain Dumping
I actually got this portion of the process from a Tony Robbins goal setting workshop I watched on Youtube. I loved it so much and it was so helpful that it is the basis of my goal setting process.
So typically in December, but you can do it any time, I start with a big brain dump. This Notion page is broken down into 5 steps:
- What do I want? 10 minute brain dump of anything I could ever possibly want in life short and long term. This is broken out by personal, professional and financial
- Assign a timeline to each desire between 1-20 years
- Choose 2-3 goals from each section to complete within this year
- Then I take the list of goals I chose and write down why each one is important. This is key for motivation after the January high passes
- Write down action steps for each. Spoiler alert – the first step is almost always research and the last step is almost always a reassessment plan
Something to note here is that I often have goals as broad as “I want to be calm” and as niche as “I want to eat all of my meals at the table.” So I often choose more than 3 goals and kind of bucket them together. An example from this year:
- I want to feel more peaceful
- I want to get back into meditating
- I want to go to therapy regularly
These all sort of fall into the category of “feel more peaceful” to me. And “feel more peaceful” is way too broad to be a goal!
Action Steps
This is probably the most important part of goal setting. Most people abandon their goals by mid-January (88-91% of people) and it’s likely because they didn’t attach any actionable steps! Let’s use the same example as above.
- Goal: I want to feel more peaceful by getting back into meditation & therapy
- Step 1: Research therapists & pick one by January 31st
- Step 2: Schedule first therapy appointment by February 15th
- Step 3: Research different types of meditation practices for beginners by February 28th
- Step 4: Add “meditation” to daily habit tracker, reminders app, calendar and alarms by March 15th
- Step 5: Reassess by June 15th – am I going to therapy and meditating regularly? What do I need to do to improve these processes and get consistent?
- Step 6: Reassess by October 31st – am I staying consistent? What can I change to improve my consistency?
Update the Main Dashboard
The brain dump template is a little chaotic, but that’s good! It should be! So to clean things up and make them easier to read, I transfer everything over to a “goals hub” of sorts. The hub is broken out into 5 key areas:
- Word for the year
- Affirmation for the year
- Vision board for the year
- A list of this year’s goals
- A breakout list of all the tasks for all the goals
Word of the Year
To determine my word for the year, I go back to the brain dump page. After all, you did spend so much time pouring your heart’s desires into it! I look for words I used, and for me some of the words I used were “tranquil,” “peaceful,” “calm,” “confident,” “happy,” and “joy.” So I listed these words out, completed a values wheel (example below) and also did some research to see what words other people used for their years.
Affirmation of the Year
I love affirmations and quotes and I think they can be powerful. They’re especially powerful when you write them yourself, you truly feel them and you see them often. Last year, my word was “confident” and I had my affirmation printed out in the picture frame on my desk. It wasn’t until I did my reflection for the year that I realized what a trivial word “confident” sounded like. I had felt like a more confident and elevated version of myself by the end of the year! So I think it partly subconsciously reminds you, but also takes the fear out of attempting to reach your goals by forcing you to face the word everyday.
Anyway, I did some research online mainly looking at any and all affirmations. I found one that slightly resonated with my goals and theme for the year. I doctored it up a little bit to be comprehensive of all of my goals and shazam! Affirmation for the year!
Vision Board of the Year
Once I’ve done all of the hard work of figuring out my goals and values for the year, action steps, words and affirmations, it’s time for the most fun part! With my goals and sub-goals in mind, I start searching for those things or phrases in Pinterest. Anything that strikes a cord or resonates with me gets added to a “goals” board. Once I’ve found at least one image per goal, it’s time to start building the vision board.
I like to use Canva and I look up vision board or collage templates. Once I find one I like, I start pulling my favorite photos from the ones I just saved on Pinterest. Then, I start plugging photos in! Sometimes you may find that your favorite images don’t gel together. For aesthetic purposes, I like to find and add photos that match a general theme.
Then as some finishing touches, add your word of the year, affirmation and the year itself to your vision board. I also like to add some washi tape “stickers,” polaroid frames and any other applicable fun stickers.
Building a Goal and Action Step Database
This piece is a little technical and I recommend either finding a template here or buying mine (when it eventually becomes available haha). But the way this database works is that you create a goal in one database and within that goal, you create a second database of tasks. I have both databases broken out for easy viewing: goals and tasks. The tasks are grouped by goal and sorted by date ascending.
Goals:
Tasks:
Put It Into Action
That’s my entire process! In a recent blog post, I discussed how I link my vision board, habit tracker and next 6 weeks goal’s tasks in my Life Hub. This is really my trick for actually completing my goals every year. For example, I have daily habits that I will try to complete everyday and track my completion rate progress every time my “reassess” tasks come up. And I also have my vision board available in the same hub for daily viewing (I also set it as my phone lock screen).
I link the tasks database in my life hub and filter by “due date is within the next 6 weeks.” This helps me to know something is coming up and I need to work towards it.
That’s All Folks
So how are you feeling now? Feeling ready to brainstorm and create goals? And then action on them? Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to further explain or if there’s a Notion tour that you’d like to see. Happy planning!
