Life has changed. Your goals should reflect that.

You know how the song goes? It’s the most wonderful time of the year… We’re not talking about Christmas, or even the summer holiday season. We’re talking about the end of the year as it melts into a new one, the period of time when we sit down to set some goals.

It is the most wonderful time of the year, a period of rest that allows for reflection and the opportunity to consider the year ahead. What is it that you are hoping for? What do you want to achieve? What would you like to change, or amend, or influence? What needs to be left behind, and what would you like to take with you? This time of year is the perfect moment to think seriously about what’s to come and how you would like it to look.

And, because this is An Organised Life, we love to write them all down. Set aside some time on a quiet Sunday morning, make a fresh pot of coffee or a mug of tea, and sit down with a blank notebook and a pen to think about the year ahead. Split your pages into personal and professional, big picture and small. Start with the professional: What are you hoping to achieve in your career this year? Are there any financial goals you are hoping to meet? Are you saving up for anything? Are you looking to push your business or side hustle to the next level? Then move onto the personal. What is something you would like to see happen in your life over the coming 12 months? Are you wanting to pick up a new hobby? Are you making changes in your life? Are you looking forward to a well-deserved holiday? Think about what you want 2022 to look like and write these goals down.

Nothing is too big or too small. Your goal could be as big as moving overseas or it could be as simple as learning how to make the perfect sourdough loaf of bread. If you’re hoping to make it happen next year, it’s worthy of being on the page. A key An Organised Life tip is to break each goal down into measurable stepping stones that can be achieved throughout the year. For example, if you’re planning for a holiday and roughly know the dates you would like to take it, start thinking about your savings goals in monthly increments. How much do you need to have put away? What do you need to have paid for throughout the year in the lead up to your trip? This will help you meet your savings goals without stress.

One thing we have been thinking about as we approach goal-setting season this year is how different it is going to look, compared to previous years. We’ve always looked at goal-setting as an opportunity and seen it as a fun activity that, hopefully, will help us feel inspired and reinvigorated for the year ahead. We’ve never looked at goal-setting as prescriptive, or as hard-and-fast rules that, if not met, will send us into a failure spiral. But still, there’s something about this coming year that has us accepting that our goals are going to look and feel a little different.

We’ve just lived through almost two years of a global pandemic, which has shifted the way we think about our lives both personally and professionally. It’s helped us focus on what is truly important when it comes to our happiness, and helped us to understand what we need – and what we don’t need – to give our life purpose. So with that in mind, your goal-setting for 2022 might look more fluid than it has in the past.

Words by Hannah Rose Yee