Achieve Your Goals in 90 Days: Your Ultimate Guide to Goal-Setting
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS IN 90 DAYS
I was always a drifter.
A bum. A rebel.
Ask me to do something, and I'd more likely do the opposite just for fun.
But being a drifter has it's drawbacks. And those can hit hard! Staring-at-the-bottom-of-an-empty-bottle hard.
If you're reading this, chances are you want more from your life, because you know you're capable of more.
It's often the case with people who are good at multiple things to be paralysed by choice in terms of what they want to do in their lives or where they want their life to go.
They can go anywhere, do anything. The world's their oyster!
But often, they end up feeling like they've done nothing and haven't moved their life forward.
And that's because all the options laid out in front of you make you feel like you're losing out when you finally make that choice.
This couldn't be further from the truth.
Choosing a path is exactly what allows you to live life to the full.
And that's because the other option is to be stuck in 'Drift-ville' for all time.
This blog post is all about choices. Your choices.
Your goals.
And whether you're someone who's just drifted here, or someone who's a goal-obsessed planner junkie looking for proven tips, I'm going to help you get your goals on the map so you can make some ***real*** progress.
Are you ready?
Ok. So let me first start by saying that this blog post makes a bold claim.
Achieve your goals in 90 days.
Really?
"But what if my goal is to land on Mars, or marry a member of the British royal family? Is that really gonna happen in the next 90 days, Elisa?"
You can probably see where I'm going with this.
Not all goals can be achieved in 90 days. Having 6 kids and living in a mansion in Beverly Hills might take a teeeeensy bit longer!
But what I want to convey is that, no matter what your goal is - assuming it's an actual goal and not an impossible fantasy (we'll get on to those in a bit) - you can make REAL progress towards it in 90 days.
And so I use the word "achieve" here in the ongoing sense of 'being in the process of achieving'.
It's a process.
A state of being.
A lifestyle.
My hope is that this post will inspire you to live a lifestyle where you are ***continually achieving your goals***. Or put another way, you will be continually moving your goals forward.
So with that, let's begin.
1. Identify your goals for the next 90 days
The first step to achieving your goals in 90 days is knowing what your goals are.
I know that sounds obvious, but I think too many people don’t do this correctly.
And what I mean by that is that too many people think about what they’d like to achieve and just set THAT as a goal.
And while there’s nothing completely wrong with that - any direction is better than no direction. I’d like to suggest that the RIGHT direction is better than ANY direction.
And if you want to make sure you’re headed in the RIGHT direction with your life, I highly recommend doing a Life Assessment.
What’s that?
A Life Assessment is basically a review of how you feel different areas in your life are doing. It’s kind of like a mini audit of your life. It’s where you pause and take stock of how you feel things are going in your relationships, your work, your finances and the other areas that make up your full and wonderful life.
Life Assessment pages inside our stationery club.
In our monthly stationery club, we include a Life Assessment each month and it’s such a valuable tool.
First, you’ll start by reflecting on your current situation and you’ll give the different areas of your life a number out of ten. Ten says that area is absolutely fantastic, whilst the number one would mean that area could use a LOT of improvement.
Can you see that, even before you start journaling your thoughts on these areas, you’ll already be able to see what areas of your life you’d like to improve?
Our Life Assessment pages also come with spaces for you to write out your thoughts on why you gave each life area the number you gave it.
The great thing about the Life Assessment is that it’s designed to be completely non-judgemental. It’s not meant to make you feel bad if an area scored a one.
Think of it like driving in your car and looking at the level of your gas tank. Just because your tank is almost empty, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad driver, it’s just an indication that you need to top up on fuel.
And it’s the same with your life areas. If an area scores low, that might be an area you may want to set a goal in over the next 90 days.
If you’re unsure about which goals you should be working on in the next 90 days, our Life Assessment pages inside our monthly stationery membership are just what you need.
"Choosing a path is exactly what allows you to live life to the full."
ELISA CALEB
2. Set SMARTER goals
To help make your goals more achievable over the next 90 days, it’s important that you make them SMARTER!
What are SMARTER goals?
The SMARTER goal framework was pinned by Michael Hyatt and is a variation of the more widely known SMART goal framework.
I’ve used the SMART goal framework for many years, but I really like Michael Hyatt’s version of it as he highlights some important issues that the other version doesn't.
In essence, SMARTER goals are:
Specific: Clearly defined and focused.
Measurable: Quantifiable and trackable.
Actionable: Uses an action verb. This makes taking action and making progress a lot easier.
Risky: It pushes you out of your comfort zone. Risky is not the same as reckless or ridiculous. A reckless goal assumes a level of risk that seems more like certain death. And a ridiculous goal is, well, let's just say it might require some divine help to achieve. Your goal should not be pure fantasy, but should place you outside of your zone of comfort. It should cause you to muster up your courage and self-discipline because it will require you to bring your best self to the stand.
Time-bound: Set with a specific deadline.
Relevant: Aligned with your values and priorities.
For example, the vague goal "I want to grow in confidence", now becomes "I will complete Simon Sinek's course on The Art of Presenting by 10th November". This is super specific, measurable, actionable, risky (assuming presenting or public speaking scares you), time bound, and relevant (assuming it fits in with your overall life goals or is a stepping stone to another goal, such as landing that big promotion).
The SMARTER framework, takes your goal achievement up a notch by focusing it within a highly successful structure.
"Risky is not the same as reckless or ridiculous."
ELISA CALEB
3. Break your goals down into actionable steps
List pages inside our stationery club.
To break down your goals into manageable, actionable steps, you'll need to start by clarifying your main goal using the SMARTER framework above and then use our Goal Planner page, included in our monthly stationery club to break it all down. This planner page is designed to guide you through the process effectively.
Our Goal Planner page includes areas where you can…
1. Set a Deadline: Begin by noting the deadline for your goal on the Goal Planner page. This helps create a sense of urgency and focus.
2. Identify Your Motivation: Write down why achieving this goal is important to you. Understanding your motivation will keep you inspired and committed to your goal especially when things become difficult, boring, or you wonder why you’re doing this in the first place.
3. State Your Reward: Consider what reward you’ll give yourself when you achieve this goal! This is my favourite part and for me, it creates a real incentive to stay on track. The more desirable your reward, the more incentive to do the work!
4. Identify Next Actions: Here you'll list out the specific action steps you can do to get you closer to your goal. Supercharge your action steps by starting each one with an “action verb” as this will really help you to avoid confusion or procrastination when it comes to getting started. You also want to make sure that these tasks are really small, single actions. They should be things you can do in one action. If a task requires you to do X, Y AND Z, it’s actually three tasks, not one!
5. Assign Due Dates: For each task, assign due dates that feel manageable for the season of life you’re in. I know it’s tempting to make all the due dates this week so that you can achieve your goal, but unless you literally have nothing else to do with your life (which I highly doubt), then this goal is happening in and around you’re already full and busy life. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can achieve it all this week. Look at your schedule and think about when you can slot in time to achieve a task here and there. Pacing yourself will really help you stay on track without burning out.
PRO TIP: Schedule tasks earlier in the week than later, as "life" has a tendency of de-railing our best laid plans, and so the sooner you can complete a goal task in the week, the better!
By using the Goal Planner page inside our monthly stationery club, you’ll have a clear roadmap that transforms your larger goal into a series of easily, actionable steps, making it a breeze to stay organised and focused as you work towards your goal. This will not only increase your productivity but also increase your ability to achieve your goal!
4. Stay motivated and accountable over the next 90 days
Staying motivated and accountable throughout your 90-day journey is crucial for achieving your goals. One hugely effective way to to do this is by joining our monthly stationery club, where you’ll gain access to our live monthly goal-setting workshops.
In these workshops, I personally guide you in setting clear objectives and breaking down your goals into actionable tasks for the upcoming month. We literally set and plan our goals together on the call, with timed sections where we have space to write and reflect.
These interactive sessions are held in a super supportive community environment, where I encourage you to share your progress and challenges if you want, and where we all celebrate each other’s wins.
Having these regular goal check-ins and planning sessions creates a sense of accountability because knowing that you’ll be attending these workshops can motivate you to stay on track and keep moving forward.
I highly encourage you to join the club so that you can participate in these workshops, as you’ll not only receive valuable insights and strategies but also benefit from the supportive encouragement on the call that can help you stay focused and committed to your goals throughout the entire 90 days. Don’t underestimate the power of community and accountability in your goal-setting journey!
If you’d like to join our monthly club and get access to these monthly live goal setting workshops as well as a collection of beautiful stationery delivered to your inbox each month, then click here.
5. Reflect on your progress and build on your learnings for the next 90 days
Calendar pages inside our monthly stationery club.
It’s so important to take time to evaluate what you achieved, what challenges you faced, and what you learned throughout your 90 days.
Questions like: How much progress did I make on my goals? What strategies worked well? Where did I get sidetracked? What could I improve next time? Are all great questions that will help you to learn from your journey and take those learnings into your next 90 days.
For a more in-depth approach on this, look out for my blog post that will show you how to do a Quarterly Review, and will provide you with a complete blueprint for assessing your progress and setting new goals. To be the first to hear when this blog post is published, be sure to sign up for my email list!
So, my friend, it's time to make a choice.
I hope that you choose to set a goal and work towards it in the next 90 days because you now have a step-by-step system that will help get you there.
As I mentioned, I'd love to support you personally on your goal journey inside our stationery club. It's like having a goal coach at a tiny fraction of the cost, and you'll also get a monthly collection of beautiful stationery to help you plan and take action! If that sounds good, then get inside here.
Until the next post,
Happy Planning!
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