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15 Mini Goal Ideas to Make The Most of 2017!
As I write this blog post there are…
Two-and-a-half-months…or…
11 weeks…or…
77 days until the end of 2017!
When time feels limited, it’s not always easy to think of ideas and then commit to something wholeheartedly, because we don’t always manage to convince ourselves that it’s the best thing to do at this point in time. Consequently, we feel paralysed and take no meaningful action.
But today I’m going to help you overcome that inertia with a quick rundown of mini goal ideas you can set and get into action before the year burns out!
As usual, I can’t believe how quickly the year has flown by, and now, with limited time left, I want to finish with a flourish! To make this easy, I’ve used some ‘life categories’ and listed some suggestions that will give you the warm glow of success when you add them to your list of achievements for 2017!
Here we go!
Relationships
Make it the best Christmas ever!
I have a tendency to let Christmas creep up on me, so that I’m rushing around leading up to The Big Day. I seem to get most things done that I want, but it tends to feel like a chore instead of an opportunity to revel in the fun and cheeriness. But this year I’ve discovered a plan! I won’t be doing everything on the list, but I think this will definitely make the whole process more enjoyable. See what you think!
Click for Christmas Ideas from Amazon
Make peace with a loved one
Fallen out with someone and feeling a bit sad or contrite? Decide if you want to let bygones be bygones and if so, make the move to clear the air. If you don’t want to make up, then put it behind you once and for all and peacefully move on.
Hobbies/Adventure
Get away for a long weekend
Is there somewhere you were longing to go this year and just haven’t done it? Then get your planning head on and work out how you can make a long weekend of it! If you’re quick, you’ll have 11 weekends to choose from! You’ll come back feeling happy and refreshed. It’s a perfect pick-me-up for this time of year.
Complete a project
Have you started a project but stalled somewhere? Maybe you’ve run out of materials or perhaps you haven’t set time aside to choose your materials? If that’s the case, set a goal to get the stuff you need and complete your project before the year ends.
Check Out Amazon for a Great Selection of Craft Supplies
Finances
Review your finances and set up a budget
Do your finances leave you cold? Then it’s time to set a budget and stick to it! Having a budget that works makes life so much less stressful. Learn and accept that it’s all about living within your means rather than buying into the mindset that you just haven’t got enough.
Set your budget based on your resources now to relieve day-to-day financial stress and then work towards improving your incomings to outgoings ratio over time.
Related post: How to Set Up A Personal Budget – A Step by Step Guide
Set a savings goal and work out how you can achieve it
Did you have a New Years Resolution way back in January to save some money? Have you achieved it yet? Now is a great time to re-set your goal.
Choose the amount, divide it by 11 and that’s your weekly savings goal. Now find ways to achieve those savings (spend less or make more!) and put that money somewhere away from your day-to-day spending account. Celebrate (frugally!) at the end of the year!
Choose your smallest debt and make a plan to blast it away
If your goals was or is to clear debt, then follow the same method as for saving above. Take the amount of the debt you want to pay off, divide it by 11 and pay it off each week, making sure to balance your books by making savings elsewhere.
Career
Review your career trajectory this year
How has your career path worked out this year so far? Are you heading in the direction you want to go or have you gone off track somewhere?
This is a good time to review your progress to-date this year and to decide if you need to make any changes.
Check out this post…Tips To Get Your Career Goals Back on Track
Ask for a pay rise
Eeek! None of us look forward to the prospect of asking for a pay rise, but if you feel that the request is warranted, then set a timeframe to take the plunge. Think how you’d feel to finish the year off with an extra reward!
Check out this post for some useful guidelines…How To Ask for A Rise At Work
Health
Improve your BMI
Have you checked your BMI recently? By all accounts this is a better health indicator than aiming to just gain or lose weight. So, if you want to make some positive headway towards improved health over the next 11 weeks, check out your BMI to see if a small change could nudge you into the healthy zone.
Try the BMI calculator below
Supplied by BMI Calculator UK
Book in all your health check-ups now
Have you got a niggling toothache, an ingrowing toenail or you’re feeling fatigued? Then how about setting a goal to get all your health checks booked in over the coming weeks. Be done with those small, but irritating health concerns and feel much better!
Commit to stop moaning about your health niggles!
Do you often get drawn into moaning about your health? It’s easily done! Oh, I’ve got a headache or toothache, or maybe it’s indigestion or dry skin. Whatever it is, no one else is really interested! However, your doctor or pharmacist is! So go speak to the right person and get some relief and then make a point of not moaning about your health! You’ll feel so much better for it!
Contribution
Sign up to help out at a Christmas charitable event
Can you spare some time to help out at the local school or church Christmas fete? What about serving dinners at an old folks home or homeless shelter? Is baking cakes your thing? Then consider donating a cake or putting one up for raffle with the proceeds going to a local charity.
The potential for making a difference in peoples’ lives is huge! Just get your thinking cap on or search online for local charities looking for volunteers. Doing your ‘bit’ for others is self-fulfilling. You’ll feel better for having made a difference.
Home & Environment
Have a declutter
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of a decluttered space. Not only does it free up physical space, but it also frees up head space! It’s refreshing and releases pent up negative energy that’s attached to items that you bought but never wore, were bought for you but you just don’t like or things that just don’t fit with your plans any longer.
So choose your room (or rooms, if you’re feeling motivated) and go for it! Throw or donate, but just get it out the door!
Spruce up your ‘kerb appeal’ quotient
The nights are closing in, the weather is dismal and nature is shedding her summer mantle. Now’s the time to do your pre-winter garden tidy before we’re locked down.
Check out this for some guidance… Month-By-Month Garden Jobs
So how’s that for a list of mini goal ideas to keep you busy over the next few months?! Of course, don’t try to do all of them (unless you’re feeling especially energetic and motivated!), but do pick between one and three things to tackle that appeal to you and see how you get on.
If there’s nothing here that takes your fancy, brainstorm a few of your own mini goal ideas (use the life categories if that helps) and then get to work!
2017 will be gone before we know it. So don’t let it get away without making your mark. Choose your mini goals and get to work!
These are some great end-of-the-year goals to reflect on. My biggest goal for next year is to find a hobby. I know that probably sounds strange – don’t most people have hobbies naturally?
I don’t. I work and I spend the rest of my time with my family. I need an outlet. One that doesn’t cost a lot and keeps me feeling productive. I’m considering something like woodworking/building small furniture pieces, etc.
Thanks Jason 🙂 .
I think it’s all too easy to forget that we need an outlet that’s just for us, when we have work, family and other commitments too. I’m not always diligent at prioritising the things I would ‘classify’ as ‘me time’, namely reading and getting out for a walk or run.
I like the sound of your hobby and the fact that you recognise that you still want to be productive. The hobby status gives it a different vibe, I think :).
Good luck, would love to hear how you get on!
These are some great ideas, Nicola – as it so happens, Kevin and I are working on the two home ones – I’m working on trying to get certain areas of our home (namely my office and my bathroom) more organized, and Kevin is working on the curb appeal one – we had some trees taken down in our yard and had a fence installed last week!
Great stuff Erica! It must be a good feeling to see things coming together in your new home 🙂 ! What else have you got planned before we wave goodbye to 2017?