In the month of January, I created a challenge for myself to write down my big three goals for the year – every day. I wanted to try this out as a personal experiment to see HOW writing down my goals every day would influence my thoughts and actions – or see if it would do anything at all. (If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen me tracking this with the hashtag #JanuaryBig3).

And for the most part, I was successful! Out of the 31 days in the month, I succeeded in writing down my goals 26 out of the 31 days (that’s an 84% success rate, people!)

But more importantly – I can honestly say that writing down my biggest goals each day was an incredibly helpful practice to develop – I may even continue doing it daily from now on, that’s how much I believe in the power of this habit and the action it created!

Here are some of the biggest takeaways I had from writing down my goals “every day” (or 26 days total) for a month.

Creating a routine was key

When it came to finding the time for writing down my goals every day, even though this process only took a minute or less, I found I was much more success when I stuck to some sort of a routine. And the best routine that I found, was writing down my goals first thing in the morning. I would keep my journal beside my bed, or at my desk, and each morning (after I got my coffee, of course), I would hammer out my goal-writing. That way I made sure it happened each day – and it also really energized and motivated me for the day ahead!

In fact, the five days that I was unsuccessful in writing down my big three goals, it was because my routine was totally out of whack – two of the days I missed, I was on a weekend vacation in Big Bear (which I’m okay with – because having the down time for self-care was invaluable as well), and the remaining three days were busy and non-routine, which caused me to forget about (or neglect) my challenge action item.

Furthermore, since I really liked having goal-writing as part of my morning routine, I actually expanded my morning routine around it to really power up my days. Each morning, I would write down:

• My daily gratitude list (a short list of things I was thankful for that morning)
• My big three goals
• My word of the year (which is, “breakthrough!”)
• Any other encouraging words, phrases, or mantras I wanted to prioritize that day

And every morning, without fail, after writing all these things down (I guess it was almost like journaling, in a way), I felt great! Plus, it added some consistency to my days, and put me in a positive state of mind for the day ahead.

Writing down my goals helped me make more goal-oriented choices

Another discovery I had a few days into January after writing down my big three goals each morning was that consciously writing down my goals reminded me to take action each day to work towards them.

I believe this worked both consciously and subconsciously (but who really knows?) All I know is as each day progressed, having my big goals in mind slightly shifted my perspective as I worked or made choices on how to spend my time. For example…

“Is this going to help me reach Goal 1 (my business goal)? Probably! I’m going to prioritize it today.”

“Oh, if I finish this client deliverable early, I’ll be able to turn it in early, which will allow me to take on more work, which will help me make more money and reach Goal 2! (my income goal!)”

See what I mean? What I came to realize is that: if you really want to achieve your biggest goals, you have to think about them (and act on them) at a DAILY level. Because those days, make up your weeks, which make up your months, which make up your year.

If if your goals really ARE important to you – wouldn’t you want to do something every day that advances you towards achieving them? Your goals are energizing and motivating – the ultimate mood booster. And completing tasks that move you closer towards achieving your goals should energize and motivate you too! You can harness the motivating power of goal achievement by putting it to work for you on a daily level.

Introducing: February’s Monthly Challenge

I learned so much from my personal January challenge, that I want to keep the momentum going and create a new challenge for myself in February (although I think I am going to continue writing down my goals and my gratitude list every day, and turning that into a routine morning journaling practice.)

So what’s up for February?

Every day for the month of February 2019, I am going to commit to doing 15 minutes of yoga.

I’m chose 15 minutes of yoga for a couple reasons. First, I put my body through a lot, physically, and I don’t always make the time I need for recovery and stretching. I know yoga is a great way to achieve this, and improve my flexibility, as well as show my body some TLC..

Secondly, yoga helps you tune into how your body (and your soul) is feeling. It allows you connect with yourself at a deeper level, and be able to live and act more authentically. (I need this – I think we all do!)

And finally, I am probably the worst perpetrator of “I can’t meditate/do yoga/find quiet headspace because I’m too busy.” And as the joke goes, the people who say “I don’t have time to meditate” are USUALLY the ones who need to do it the most. I want to conduct a personal experiment to see HOW doing 15 minutes of yoga every day betters my physical, mental, and emotional health (if at all!), and see what else there is to gain from this practice.

So, here goes!

If you’d like to join me in February’s challenge, I encourage you to participate and track your accountability on Instagram using the hashtag #FebruaryYogaChallenge. One of the best resources I have found for yoga-on-demand that my Dad actually shared with me (and that you can do from the comfort of your own home!) is Yoga with Adriene. Adriene has a TON of videos that provide yoga routines for different intentions and needs – I started February 1 with her “Yoga for Self Care” video yesterday!

Do you have some other favorite resources for yoga that we can all use in February? Share in the comments!