goal setting Archives - My Inner Shakti

I’m not a monthly goal setter. However, after spending a month away from home, eating pretty much whatever I wanted, and exercising sporadically at best, I think it’s time to set some goals.

It’s actually perfect because I’m only travelling one weekend (this coming one) this month. Time to get my s*** together!

GOAL 1: Eat five out of seven dinners at home. This one should be easy since both Vishnu and I are sick of eating out.

GOAL 2: Work out 5 times a week (3 days running and 2 days strength training). I signed up for the Miami Half Marathon (more to come!), and I plan to train for 12 weeks. That means my “formal” training begins at the end of the month. Wish me luck!

GOAL 3: Get at least 7.5 hours of sleep every night. This one is huge because it impacts every other area of my life. Vishnu’s schedule is a little all over the place this month, so this is going to take a more concerted effort on my part…but I can do it!

GOAL 4: Finish the three partially read books on my Kindle. It’s like I have book ADD. I start something, become engrossed, and then find something else. Not this month though! This is the month I finish what I started!

First book to finish!

GOAL 5: Plan two date nights and actually follow through on the plans (i.e. no excuses!). Like I said, Vishnu’s schedule is a little all over the place. This month’s rotation involves shift work, so while he isn’t working every day, the days he is working are long. He shared his schedule earlier this week, and I think we can fit in two dates. *Fingers crossed!*

Happy October, everyone!

Do you set daily/weekly/monthly/yearly goals? Do you tend to stick to them?

Hey! How’s everyone’s Monday so far? Mine was good – went to work, blah, blah, blah… LOL! I’ve been working on a goals audit at work right now to ensure that a sample of our population has well-written and meaningful goals. As I was auditing today, I got to thinking about how some of the do’s and don’ts of goal setting in corporate America apply to goal creation outside of work and in our personal lives. I know I’m not the only one that sets out with some pretty lofty goals on January 1st! It’s ok, y’all can admit it too! Well, I’m hoping that some of these tips will help you create more attainable and manageable goals in the future. Let me know what you think!

DO:

Seek to understand how your goals fit in to the larger picture. It’s important to set both short-term and long-term goals to keep you focused and on track.
Write your goals in results based language, rather than activity based language. For example, a goal that begins with “participate in” should be followed by “so that” or “in order to.” This way you are describing the ultimate objective or benefit of that goal.
Focus on quality vs. quantity. Consider a reasonable set of goals. You don’t have to conquer the world…it’s ok!
Try to articulate what success will look like. What will improve and how will you notice a positive change?

DON’T

Create a list of activities. Remember, you want your goals to reflect something special you’re trying to accomplish for a given time period.
Create goals you have little control over. Try to focus on the things that are in your direct control.
Limit yourself by steering away from goals that seem challenging or aggressive. If needed, get some help or call in some cheerleaders to help you attain what you set out to do.
Assume you can’t make a difference because YOU CAN! One person, when he or she sets his or her heart and mind to something, can accomplish a lot – sometimes more than what a team or group can.

Another strategy that my company stresses is setting S.M.A.R.T goals.

Specific – What are you looking to accomplish? What does the finished outcome look like?
Measurable – How will you know that you accomplished your goal?
Achievable – Do you have the commitment and resources necessary to accomplish the goal?
Results-Oriented – What are you doing this? What is the purpose?
Time-bound – When will you accomplish your goal?

I hope that the next time you set out to create some goals, you find these tips helpful!

Before I sign out for the night, I want to share some pictures of my recent eats. I’ve been doing well with the one person meals recently. 🙂

Grilled cheese made with 'lite' Havarti cheese and a side of TJs tomato bisque soup...YUM!

This next meal (tonight’s dinner) requires a little explanation. I’m heading home to Atlanta for a few days on Wednesday :), so I’m currently trying to use up the perishable items in my refrigerator. When I got home today, I found tortillas, cheese (Mexican mix and goat cheese), a tomato, an avocado, some spinach, half a yellow squash, veggie bacon, and salsa waiting for me in the fridge. What’s a girl to do?! This girl decided to make a very filling quesadilla with a side of avocado and salsa.

Yummy eats! A simple trick I used to jazz up the filling was to add garlic and chili powder (in addition to salt and pepper) to the squash and spinach I sauteed prior to layering.