tips to help you feel more motivated

With the new year (2023!!!) less than two months away, the talk of goal-setting will be sure to begin anytime now. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated during this busy season and set your goals with intention.

1: Choose your one daily anchoring habit.

This serves as a grounding habit and will look different for everyone.

For me, it’s moving my body each day. Whether that’s a long walk, a yoga class, weightlifting, or running, this practice helps me stay focused and grounded.

During and after my workout, regardless of how I’m feeling beforehand, I am always so thankful I did it. Although sometimes it may be hard to get there, I never regret going. Moving my body allows me to reset my focus and gain some momentum and control over my day.

Find your own healthy habit to act as an anchor for your day, which in turn will get you more motivated to slowly take action on other habits.

A friend of mine uses her morning coffee routine as her anchoring habit. Now, I know this can sound controversial as some view coffee as a negative, but it works for her and that’s what matters. It’s her every morning constant—getting out her french press and boiling some water. It get’s her out of bed, and it genuinely makes her happy. Everyone is different, so don’t worry if yours differs from ours. 

Let us know what your daily anchoring habit is in the comments.

2: Try setting monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals.

With the new year approaching, it makes me feel as though I’ve got to figure out all the things I need to do differently once January is here. Like all of a sudden I’m supposed to be doing things differently. But each year it feels like too much and fades away as time goes on. I like to break it up and set different goals for each month, bigger goals to reach within a quarter (every 12 weeks) and even larger goals to achieve within the year.

Instead of setting big, unrealistic goals for the whole year, try to separate all your goals into different timeframes. Utilize the method of setting SMART* goals to help you. 

For example, for the month of November, my goals are: journal 3x/week, floss & mouthwash every day, give myself words of affirmation of every day, limit alcohol consumption, intentionally move my body 4-5x/week, less screen time more green time, read 20 minutes/day. 

My quarterly goals for the end of the year include: give experiences or items that are meaningful as gifts this year, be present during my time with loved ones–turn my phone off, no unnecessary purchases–use what I already have and put extra into savings, read 5 books, make one new friend, habit-stack flossing and mouthwash to brushing my teeth.

My yearly goals include: read 22 books, save $10,000 this year, spend more quality time with loved ones (in-person and virtually), travel to one new place, prioritize my mental health by considering what I want and what is best for me, make new friends who have similar interests in my new city, practice setting boundaries and say no when I see necessary, visit one new national park. 

*Here’s what the SMART acronym stands for:

Specific: make your goals specific and narrow for more effective planning.

Measurable: define what evidence will prove you’re making progress and reevaluate when necessary.

Achievable: make sure you can reasonably accomplish your goal within a certain timeframe.

Relevant: Your goals should align with your long-term objectives.

Time-bound: Set a realistic and ambitious end-date for task prioritization or motivation.

Share your SMART goals with us in the comments.