How to Use a Planner to Set and Stick To Your Goals

We know the feeling. You have a big goal in mind. You want to make changes and get more organised with your life. The last thing you want is to set yourself up for failure. That’s why you’ve bought a planner. But how do you use a planner to set and stick to your goals? Your calendar is your go-to for planning your life and staying on track with your goals. It’s a place where you can write down the dates, activities, and people you need to see or communicate with to keep your goals in sight. It’s an external resource that will help you organise your life, set and prioritise your goals, and keep your plans on track.

There are many different benefits of having and using a planner, one being that you can use it to set goals. You can dedicate pages in your planner to list all the short-term and long-term goals, tasks for achieving those goals, and what day they should be completed. Keep reading below to learn how you could use your planner for this purpose.

For example, you can use the monthly calendar pages in the planner to set goals. You could choose to do this with either long-term or short-term goals. You can then use one of the monthly calendar pages in your planner to write down all the days you want to achieve this goal. Or, if it is a longer-term goal, you can start writing down milestone dates in advance to know when you will be completing this task.

First Job: Decide What Planner to Set Goals in

Some goals are pretty simple and can fit into an ordinary planner. If you’re not looking to set any high-level goals, your decision is easy!

Some people like to be more complex and want a journal-style planner for setting and detailing their goals and laying out the tasks that go with them.

Often, the most detailed planners are goal-setting or productivity specific planners. These usually come with sections for yearly, monthly, and weekly goals and daily to-dos. They also often have sections for reflection or brainstorming. Some of these planners come with pre-printed sections to fill in, while others are blank to be customised to your needs. Since these can be more detailed than daily planners, they tend to be larger and have more sections.

Many also come with unique features like review questions, daily inspiration, and other ways to make them more than just a place to jot down tasks like a daily planner. Most goal-setting planners are paper, but some can be found online as digital planners.

Use the S.M.A.R.T. Goals Method

SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable and realistic. These goals are not some big elaborate dream that is unachievable-they can be accomplished! It’s essential to make a goal realistic, so you have the chance of achieving it. When setting goals, always set time frames for completion to give yourself a clear way forward with your tasks and discourage procrastination.

Setting up small goals throughout the day is a great way to keep yourself on track and accomplish things instead of letting the day slip by and you not getting anything done. It’s also important to set goals that are meaningful to you. If you set a goal that you don’t care about, it’s likely that you won’t stick with it. The most important thing when setting goals is to be passionate about them. Passion will keep you motivated and determined.

Be Specific with Tasks and Deadlines

It is easy to go wrong if you set goals without clearly outlining the how. When setting a goal, try looking at the different tasks required to finish it and break them down into specific steps.

Schedule All Tasks

In your planner, schedule the tasks! This is one of the benefits of using a planner for all your goals. You can set deadlines and add them to monthly and weekly pages to get things done.

Scheduling will help you stay on track and offer more organisation in your life. When you check in with your planner for the day, what is expected of you should be clear. It is an excellent idea to do this in the morning to start your day with a clear plan. It will also help reduce stress and anxiety because you won’t have the feeling of being overwhelmed by the rest of your day.

Your planner should be used for everything you do. It can help you get organised, plan for the future and stay on track with your goals and objectives. This will help you feel less stressed and more in control of your life – especially your goals!