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I have always been a motivated person, but I had to completely relearn how to reach goals as a mom
It just isn’t the same!
You are busier than you ever were before
You are way more tired
There are more chores to keep up with
And there is another human you take care of 24/7
Yes, you will have to learn how to reach goals as a mom, but I promise that it is possible!
I am going to share what I have done to reach my goals even with twin toddlers
Why should moms make their goals a priority?
Our lives change drastically when we become mothers
It is easy to get so caught up in taking care of the kids that we forget to chase our dreams
I was in college when I married my husband
And I was scared to try for kids until after I finished my degree
I knew that I was still going to chase my dreams, but somewhere there was a belief that I would lose sight of them when I had kids
And to an extent, I did
Well, I did graduate, but I realized that I couldn’t leave my kids when they were born
I couldn’t stand the thought of working 60 hours a week away from them
I never considered how my goals would change when I was a mom
It doesn’t matter if your goals stay the same after kids, or drastically change as they did for me
Dreams make us individuals
We are made to dream and chase those dreams
Not only does it help you stay sane as a mom, but it also gives your kids a great example
It doesn’t matter how hard it gets, mommy always reached for her goals
How can stay-at-home moms set goals?
Stay-at-home moms set and achieve goals the same as everyone else, except with more time management and flexibility
Everyone’s goals are going to be different, but the process of reaching them is the same
First, you need to know what you are reaching for
So it is time to set your goals!
Think about your life exactly how you want it
Walk through the day in your mind
What do you see?
What do you look like?
Who are you with?
Look at all the details and “live” it in your mind
What needs to change in your current life for that image to be reality?
Now choose one!
Got it?
Now I want you to think about why you want this thing in your future
Your why needs to be powerful and personal
If you want to lose weight, why do you want to lose weight?
Is the reason strong enough to motivate you when you get discouraged or tired?
Once you decide if your why is strong enough to get you through the hard times, then you can decide if that is the goal you want to set first
What kind of goals should I focus on?
There are 5 main types of goals that you could go for
I encourage you to only choose one or two goals at a time.
If you chase too many things at once, you still struggle to catch them both
It is your first time in a long time going for a goal, go for one that makes you excited but isn’t crazy hard
It will give you the confidence to chase the harder goals!
But first, let’s explore the 5 types of goals I consider
Personal goals are the things you want for just you
These goals can be health goals, appearance goals, or anything that just involves you
Some examples of personal goals are:
- I will lose 10 pounds in two months
- I will spend 15 minutes meditating every morning for 1 month
- I will be in bed by 10 PM everyday before June 15th
- I will wake up at 8 AM consistently by December 1st
- And so on
Personal goals are great if you can get the motivation to stay with them
Most moms that I know struggle with the “selfish” goals
So going after something that is just for you may be a hard one to start with, but definitely something you need to consider!
- Career goals
Career goals are exactly how it sounds
Where do you want to be in the professional world?
Do you want a specific career or position?
Or maybe you want to start your own business
These goals are anything in the professional part of your life
Some examples of career goals are:
- I want to get a promotion at work this time next year
- I will start writing my fantasy book this month and have the first chapter done by Feb. 23rd
- I will write 15 blog posts a month for 6 months
- I will be making $4k in my business by 2023
- And so on
How you reach those goals comes later.
For now, you need to set your goals and potentially adjust them later
- Relationship goals
Relationship goals can be with a partner or with friends
But they are often with your partner
These are goals that you set and work towards together
These are way more varied than the first two
Some examples could be:
- We will be going on dates once a week for 3 months
- We will be cell phone free for 1 hour a day every day for a week
- We will launch our Etsy store on March 13th
- And so on
Just make it something you will do together, and bonus if it involved bettering your relationship
- Parent-child goals
Similar to the relationship goals, parent-child goals are goals that you work on together
Maybe you create something together or go to the zoo every 6-months
Whatever you and your child can work towards together
- Family goals
Lastly, family goals are things you will do as a family
Just like parent-child and relationship goals, this is something that involves your whole family
The goals will look similar to relationship goals, just created for everyone to get involved
How to reach goals as a mom: 7 tips to help
Once you have set your goal, then it is time to follow through
There are many ways that you can reach your goals, but it gets more difficult as a mom
But there are strategies that I have tested that work well for me!
Maybe they will work for you too
- Time block
If you try time blocking, take it slow and give yourself grace
It can take time to learn and get a hang of, but it is AMAZING
It can make your time management way better, and you get more done every day
You can start with large blocks of time
(make a list to do from 10 am to 12 pm)
Or you can choose a task to do every hour
Try different things to see what works well for you
- Evaluate
Evaluating is so important!!!
See where your time is going now by writing down everything you do for a week
I mean everything!
Did you scroll Facebook for 2 hours on Monday?
Write it down
You will see places where you can find time to chase your goals
But don’t just do this once
I like to evaluate once or twice a month
I don’t get as week as writing down everything for a week
But I do pay attention to where my time is going to see if I can improve
- Routine
Routine is powerful for moms
Kids are more likely to let you work towards goals, or participate in goals if it is habit
By having a day and/or time that they know is committed to a goal, it is less of a fight every time you want to work towards it
- Spend time with kids first
This is especially helpful for moms of small children, but spend time with them first
When they are happy from your focus time with them, they are more likely to be willing to play independently and allow you to work towards your goals
- Be realistic, but stretch yourself
It is important to not make goals that you can’t keep
Making a goal to lose 100 pounds in 1 week sets you up for failure
We don’t want that!
We want to set ourselves up for success
At the same time, we don’t want to go too easy
If you KNOW that you can reach your goal easily, maybe take it up a notch
We will want to challenge yourself
So when you are making a goal, stretch yourself but don’t make it impossible
- Break it up
Once you have your goal set, then it is time to break it into pieces
I like to make three big checkpoints
For example, my goal is to make $4k a month in 8 months
Ok let’s break that into 3 or more sections
For this, I would say checkpoint one is making $500 during month 1
And then that $500 turns to $1000 in month 2
And so on
By breaking down the big number, you have stepping stones to success
Then you break it down more
What do you need to do in order to reach the month 1 goal?
Break it down all the way to daily action steps
- Celebrate every little success
Celebrating every little success is important
The journey is important too, and celebrating that makes the process more fun
If you are having fun, you are less likely to quit
Find a way to celebrate when you make different kinds of wins
Did you do all your action steps for a day?
Celebrate!
Did you make your first $100 with your business?
Celebrate!!
Whatever you accomplish while trying reach goals as a mom, remember to celebrate!