Quarterly Goals

Resolutions.  Goals.  Mantras.  Plans.  Word of the year.

There are about a million ways to celebrate the New Year and many of them include some kind of goal setting.  Many Americans make fitness or work goals.  Others will land on a reading or decluttering goal.  Still others will make it a goal to learn a new skill or save money.  Whatever the goal, research shows only 8% of Americans actually achieve their New Year’s resolution or goal.  That’s a pretty low number considering all the New Year’s hype.

I don’t have the answer to why New Year’s resolutions don’t stick, but I can guess if other Americans are anything like me, it’s because we get overwhelmed with the prospect of striving to meet a goal for 12 months and then we give up or forget or put it on the back burner.  I am great at justifying a reason to abandon a goal or (full disclosure) I get bored or lazy.  It’s not too hard to give up some arbitrary goal that’s 300+ days from completion.

A few years ago around this time my husband and I started making Quarterly Goals.  Every three months or so we sit down, think through, and write out our Quarterly Goals.  We do this together and while it would be nice to have a long, luxurious date to discuss and ponder them, most of the time it’s done over a quick glass of wine after the kids go down for the night.

Why Quarterly Goals?

Quarterly Goals are more manageable, more motivating, and allow us to achieve wins in just three months. Here are two really good reasons why we choose to do Quarterly Goals.

1. Having a light at the end of the tunnel keeps us motivated to stay on the path.
2. Ninety days is long enough to form a habit. Understanding how habits are major influences in our life is a key breakthrough in being able to lead a life of intention and it can begin with Quarterly Goals.

Our Quarterly Goal process is pretty straight forward, simple, and has renewed my excitement about goal setting and motivated me to actually meet my goals.  Here is our fuss-free process.

Reflect alone.

Take some quiet moments to reflect on the past year or past three months. It goes without saying 2020 was unforgettable. Lots of hard, lots of weird, with some silver lining mixed in. These three questions reflect on the past and look forward to the future.

What was good the last 3 months?

What was hard the last 3 months?

Where I am feeling pulled to make a change?

Do a gut check and answer these questions honestly and thoughtfully. Pray and ask God for direction. Ask your spouse do the same. Choose one to three categories for your goal setting and think through what Quarterly Goals will get you where you want to go.

Here are some examples of goal setting categories to choose from: Diet, Exercise, Faith and Devotion, Financial, Parenting, Marriage, Career, Household, Friends and Mentors, Hobby or Travel.

Sit down and talk.

If you have a spouse, set aside 30 minutes to an hour to share and discuss what your answers were to the reflection questions. You can also do this with a friend, another family member, or an older child.  Welcome feedback and be open to suggestions.

Make the goal specific and actionable.

When creating goals each goal should be actionable.  Make sure the goal is specific and you can see it in action.

Most of us find it easier to conceptualize what we want to accomplish rather than focusing on how we are going to do it. We want smart kids, more financial flexibility, less flab; but how are we going to accomplish those things?

Some examples:

Instead of Get healthy use Go to the gym 2 days a week for the next 12 weeks.

Instead of Save money use Put aside 5% of each paycheck into savings.

Instead of Learn more use Read three times a week instead of watching TV at night.

Make the goal measurable.

At the end of the three months you should be able to tell, without a doubt, if you met your goal or not.  For example, instead of  the goal: Eat Better. Try the goal: Eat at home 6 nights a week.  It’s a specific, actionable goal and while trying to meet the goal, you have a clear standard on what it looks like and if you meet it or not.  Make the goal measurable.

Ask yourself, “How will I know whether I accomplished this or not?”

Keep one thing in mind: the goal that is measurable might be less inspirational than the intention that came behind it. “Lose 30 pounds” is way more exciting than “abstain from sweets for 90 days”. So, as you identify and progress through your quarterly goal, remind yourself WHY you are doing it; this will help keep you on the path.

Write down your Quarterly Goals.

You have heard this before, but it’s true.  Write your goals down.  Research done by Dr. Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at the Dominican University in California, found people who write down goals are 42% more likely to achieve them. 

Keep it simple and use your ‘Notes’ app on your phone or go all out with a whiteboard or bullet journaling.  My husband and I use our ‘Notes’ app to log our Quarterly Goals.  I have kept all past goals there, so it’s interesting to see what we have done and how we can move forward with new goal setting.

If you are just getting started on this, for the first quarter set one to three goals you absolutely know you can accomplish; then start ratcheting them up each quarter. Accomplishing goals is a huge booster in confidence and self-esteem, which in turn helps us to accomplish more things in life.

Not only is it powerful to write your goals down, it’s also powerful to track your progress. Habit tracking can lead to more success in meeting our goals. Use a calendar or your notes app to ‘check off’ each time you complete a step towards your goal. For example, if your goal is to Eat at home 6 days a week, simply put an X on the calendar everyday you eat at home.

Reflect on past goals.

Quarterly Goals offers built in time to check in.  At the end of each quarter, meet and discuss the goals from the last three months and set goals for the next three months.  Reflection on how it went will keep you accountable and help you set your next goals.

Put reminders on your calendars to meet back up in three months to go through this process again. We set goals in January, April, July, and October, but make it work for you and your schedule.

My Quarterly Goals

Because telling the internet your goals really helps with accountability, I’m going to share mine for the next three months with you.  

Goal 1: Cut phone use by 30% by keeping my phone in a drawer when not in use.

Goal 2: Do a morning basket with the kids 3 times a week.

These goals are specific, actionable and measurable.

That’s it for Quarterly Goal Setting.  Tell me, are you a Resolution Setter?  How do you set goals for the coming year?