3 things I’m doing to make 2014 great

Claudia and I love planning and setting goals this time of year. Together, we take a fresh look at what we’re doing and the direction we want to go. 2013 certainly has definitely had its ups and downs for us so we’re excited about a fresh start.

Some of the ups have been moving into our new place, pregnancy with our second child, and Claudia finishing a big book project!

Some the downs have been the sale of our house dragging on for 12+ months, and one of our major plans for bringing in income falling through after Claudia quit her job over the summer.

We are learning how to let success and failure teach us valuable life lessons, that’s for sure!

Overall though, in everything we do, we try to be purposeful. Here are three things we’re doing this time of the year to be purposeful in 2014. You can do them too.

1. Conduct an annual review – Grab a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. On one half, write down everything the went well, and on the other half, write down everything that did not go well. Include all aspects of your life from work, to business, to personal, to family, etc.

This will give you a good overview of your year and a more objective, big picture sense of where you’re at, providing a good starting point for the year ahead.

2. Clarify where you’re going – Think and dream about what you want to do and the direction you want your life to go. Be sure to consider all 7 areas of your life like we talk about in our book on goals (get a free copy here).

To get you started, write down 5-10 answers for each of the following questions:

1. What did you enjoy most about this past year? How can you do more of that?

2. Who are the people that are doing something you would love to? What about what they’re doing do you like the most?

3. How would you spend your time if you had a billion dollars (after the novelty wears off)? How could you build your life around some of those things now?

3. Get a plan in place – Dreams and goals are great, but we need a plan in place in order to make them happen. Here are two different ways to do help us do that:

1. Determine your “big three,” at least for the first quarter, if not for the whole year. What are the three big challenges you are facing that are weighing upon you? Keep these three things in front of you on a note card or white board, for example. That way they will be top of mind and your brain will help you look for solutions in everyday life.

2. What in my life needs to go away? They may even be good things, but things that need to go away so we can focus on the more important things. If we don’t make room for the new things we want to do, we’re going to end up stressed and frustrated.

These are three things Claudia and I are doing this time of year. I highly encourage you to do something of the sort.

If you don’t have it already, pickup a copy of Compass, our book on goals. It’s free and you can download it instantly here.