Last week I challenged you with a new way to think about change in your life. (go here to read previous post)

Recall that: Lifestyle Organizing is a progressive plan of organizing your mind, home, and life around who you are and the way you live or want to live. It is a road map of your life which means you follow a path to reach your goals.

Here are my thoughts on goal setting. I hope you find them helpful as you develop your goals and plan for 2012.

(Note:  Don’t take this too seriously but serious enough to provoke change and accomplish a set of goals from month to month.)

Reflect

Examine your life, what worked or didn’t work in 2011. This should launch you into your personal brainstorming session.

Know Your Preferences and Thinking Process

Before you build your strategy and make your plan, it helps if you know yourself—your unique thinking patterns and preferences. Knowing these will guide you to develop your goals and a strategy that will hopefully ensure your success.  (Example: if you know that you are a procrastinator then you may want to incorporate some sort of ‘accountability’ into your strategy to prevent unintentional sabotage)

A few areas to consider while making your goals:

Organizing Time

• Are you a procrastinator?
• Are you more productive if you schedule your projects in chunks of time or broken down into small pieces?
• Do you use planners or calendars to help keep you organized? If so; electronic, paper, or both?
• Do you prefer to work on 1 project at a time or several—multitasking?
• Do you know your natural rhythms? When are you at your best and more productive: early morning, evening, or late at night?

Personality

True we can’t change who we inherently are… but, as you set about making and implementing your goals; keep in mind your traits and tendencies. Embrace them.

• Do you mainly rely on lists or your memory?
• Do you thrive on variety or consistency?
• Are you a logical thinker, methodical? Or are you a ‘live and learn’ kind of person who prefers options and flexibility?
• Are you a perfectionist, love details? Or does the phrase, “good enough, let’s move on to the next thing” better describe you?
• Are you decisive and accomplish more when you work alone? Or do you get more done with someone there to help you–a support person, partner or coach?
• What is your learning style: listening, visual, hands-on?

Possessions

Many people have getting organized or decluttering their home/life as a main goal for a new year…and as such don’t know how to go about it or get stuck. It is easy to get out of balance with our possessions. Sometimes we develop unhealthy emotional attachments to things that shouldn’t be. Understanding how you feel about your possessions is key to emotional health. Give yourself permission to clear out the clutter. Questions to ask yourself:

• Do I know why I keep the things I do?
• Do I really need or use all of my stuff?
• Do I keep things because they are of value to me and I love them?
• Is my home cluttered with stuff to the point that I can’t think or am overwhelmed?

Organizing Style

Knowing your organizing style will help you align your home goals with how you desire to live. You’ll be able to plan for future purchases or clear out what is not needed. This is also key in helping you focus and understand how you best function in your home… and may even help you to remember where you put your keys and the mortgage statement

Do your goals match your style?

• Are you the creative artsy type? Like lots of color?
• Do you think your drinking glasses belong with your dinner plates so you don’t have to open another cabinet? Or prefer ‘like’ things together?
• Do you prefer for ‘your stuff’ to be out in the open or out of sight?
• Do you think, “a place for everything and everything in its place”? Or is “a little messiness okay”?
• Do you like your files in a file cabinet, categorized and labeled alphabetically? Or do you prefer piles?
• What motivates you more in your home office:  cozy, all “your stuff” around you or less stuff and more functional?
• Do you like everything to match and have a certain style? Or are you an eclectic/anything goes kind of person?
• Do you prefer to do the work of organizing your home yourself? Or would working with someone be better for you.

Well there certainly is a lot more I can add but hopefully there is enough food for thought here to help you begin your New Year!

Organizing for your health,

Candy

Happy New Year!

January, for most people, is the time of year that sparks the fire for change in their lives. Are there a few changes that you would like to see happen in your own life in 2012?

You can set goals and get a plan in motion now that will make a difference in your life all year or for a lifetime. What a great way for you to care for yourself and others. How?

Think about this …What if you changed the way you think about CHANGE in your life.

While it may be called “New Year’s Resolutions”; full of hope, anticipation, and excitement that our lives will be forever changed–it is anything but that. Usually, the momentum fades in a month or two. For some, all their dreams and goals will have to wait until the next New Year comes around to try again. Others will wonder why they’ve failed (yet again) and may give it another try by approaching their goals the same way and not seeing real change.

Well, maybe it’s time for a different outlook on the way you approach goal setting. What if you viewed it differently? Stop yourself from just making a list of “wishful thinking” goals with unrealistic expectations that overwhelm you (especially if you get off track). Instead, try thinking and reflecting about your life and write out your goals and plan that is meaningful and unique to you  — I call it Lifestyle Organizing!

Definition of Lifestyle Organizing

Lifestyle Organizing is a progressive plan of organizing your mind, home, and life around who you are and the way you live or want to live.

It is a road map of your life which means you follow a path to reach your goals. The destinations on your map are momentary in the ‘big picture’ of your life and should be viewed accordingly. This means once you reach a destination (goal), you move on to the next one. Can you be working on more than one goal at a time? Absolutely. However, you must be realistic; just like any goal or dream, it will require patience and a steadfast mind and heart. (Tip: Depending on the number or size of your goals, don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to work on them all at once. Just pick 1 or 2 per month to work on. Break your goals down into manageable chunks that will fit into your day or week.)

Lifestyle organizing is a life-long process. Your goals may change over the year and new ones will come to mind. Don’t worry about being perfect. Strive for the overall result. Allow yourself to mess up. Live and learn is a great motto!

Is this starting to sound different than New Year’s Resolutions?

The difference between New Year’s Resolutions and Lifestyle Organizing

New Year’s Resolutions

• Seem too commercialized. It’s all the hype, everyone (just about) makes them. If asked, you may sputter out your big goals for the year
• The excitement is temporary
• Are usually made with little or no real thought, examination or realistic planning. Goals can seem disjointed
• Usually starts in January of a New Year and fades

Lifestyle Organizing

• Is a very personal decision about you and the changes you want to make. These changes/goals are unique to you and are intentional
• The excitement is lasting and momentum builds as each goal is reached giving you peace and joy
• Is a state of resolve. It is a well thought-out process of examining your life and making a realistic plan with achievable goals
• Can be implemented any day or month of your life–not just the beginning of a new year
• Is about organizing yourself and your life so you can live life to the full!

Where To Start?

The best way to ensure change in your life is to first discover your “life” style.  These are things like: your preferences, goals, habits, style, ideas, thinking patterns, and your financial status. When you put them all together, it is your “life” style. In essence—your unique self!

Start by sitting down and writing out your goals for 2012. Reflect on the year before; what worked well and what didn’t, areas in your life you need to work on, projects that you never started or finished etc. Make sure you prioritize, breakdown goals into manageable chunks, and put them in your daily or weekly schedule. Then go for it!

Maintain a positive attitude and celebrate even the smallest of goals accomplished. You can do it!

Still not sure how or where to begin? Next week I’ll give you a few tips and ideas of how to get started with your Lifestyle Organizing plan. If you need one on one help, contact me at candy@liveunscrambled.com or 770-310-5865.

I’ll leave you with this:

Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Choose your words, for they become actions. Understand your actions, for they become habits. Study your habits, for they become your character. Develop your character, for it becomes your destiny. ~  Tryon Edwards

Organizing for your health,

Candy