With the new year comes the time to set new goals. We're helping you make them SMART! Check out how to make goals that you can actually achieve in 2023.

With the brand new year comes a new sense of purpose, hope and positivity for the year ahead. There’s always so much talk about setting goals, aiming high, making plans and living your best life. Yet it can be hard to know what goals to set, how to set them and how to make them happen! That’s where we want to help. In the front of your Quilter’s Planner is the Yearly Goal Planning page, specifically designed for you to write down your goals, and most importantly, steps for how you’re going to achieve them.

SMART Goals

We wanted to tell you about SMART goals. This is a really useful acronym that you can use to help you define your goals and it stands for the following:

S – Specific – Your goals need to be specific. This will help you focus in on them and allow you to plan more effectively. For example; ‘I am going to take part in a BOM programme this year’.

M – Measurable – How are you going to measure your progress? Will it be by the number of WIPs you complete? The amount of time you spend sewing, the number of steps you walk each day? Find a unit of measurement that relates and write it down to keep track.

A – Achievable – Are you realistically going to be able to achieve your goals? You should aim to challenge and stretch yourself and your skills while it still remaining possible.

R – Realistic – Is it realistic that you’re going to be able to achieve this goal, given constraints such a skills, time and money? Do you need to learn new skills, or devote large amounts of time and money? Is that something you’re able to commit to? Be sure to set yourself up for success, not a struggle!

T – Timely – Every goal needs a date, so that you have something to focus on and work towards. Think carefully about whether you’re going to be able to achieve your goal in the time you set yourself. You should be asking yourself whether this is a short, medium or long term goal. Do you want to achieve it in six weeks, six months or by the end of the year? What can you do today to work on that goal?

The Advantage of SMART Goals

The beauty of SMART goals is it makes you think about exactly what you want to achieve and most importantly HOW you’re going to achieve your goals, in a way that is realistic and within a specific time frame. Take your time to set your goals for the year, and once you’ve made a plan, write them down in your goal planning page. Refer back to them often, particularly at the beginning of each month, where you can also focus in on your monthly goals in the dedicated monthly goals tracking page.

We hope this helps with your goal planning and vision for 2023. By writing it down, it makes it more likely to happen and you can hold yourself to account! Remember SMART, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success.