I am a huge believer in writing out your goals and routinely checking your progress. After I entered the real world and had been working in politics for about six months, I sat down at my computer and wrote out a list of things I wanted to accomplish within the next 5 years. Some of the items on the list related to my professional career (how much money I wanted to make or things I wanted to accomplish at work). But, most of the things on my list didn’t end up relating to my job at all. Some of the things I wrote down included visit 3 countries outside of North America, have all my credit cards paid off, and run a 5k (I’m not much of a runner so this last one seemed to be one of the more out-of-reach goals on the list).
What started as a silly list of random tasks has become the primary way I stay centered on what’s important to me. Yes, I want to be successful in my career. But, this list shows me that I want to be successful in a lot of areas of my life. And that’s ok! Setting goals at work is common, but it’s important to be balanced and focus on what you want to accomplish outside of the office as well. I want to travel and learn new things. I want to be healthier and more active. I want to be disciplined with my money and save for the future.
One of the best parts about having a physical list to remind you of your goals, is that once you accomplish one, you can cross it off. When I originally made my list in July of 2017, Chic Politico wasn’t anywhere on my radar. But, I had written down that one of the things I wanted to accomplish in the next five years was to start my own business. By writing down the goal and focusing on it then, I had the confidence to take action when the time finally came to start my company.
If you like the idea of setting goals but don’t really know where to begin, I highly recommend The 5 Book: Where Will You Be Five Years From Today?. I actually found this book after I had made my original five year goals list, but this helped me establish additional goals for my life too. It’s full of fun worksheets to help you determine what kinds of goals you should set and tells stories of successful people and how they arrived at their success to motivate you.
Since the day I sat down to write out my list of 5 year goals a couple years ago, the list itself has evolved as well. Below my original list, I started making new lists. Lists of places I wanted to visit (Yay for getting to cross of France earlier this year!), books I wanted to read, and things I wanted to do before I turn 30. I may not complete everything on my lists, but that’s ok. It’s not meant to be a checklist, but rather a motivator to do the things you didn’t think possible.
If you have your own method for setting goals and sticking to them, share them with me! I’m always interested to learn new ways that other people stay focused on what they want to accomplish in life.
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