Learning

Set a New Year Goal That Is Not Beyond Your Reach

New Year’s resolutions are made every year by millions of people.  Unfortunately, many if not most of them are never completed.  If you plan to make a resolution, you may want to set a New Year goal that is not beyond your reach.

Your ultimate New Year’s resolution may be to learn a new language or how to dance all forms of ballroom dance.  However, an unreasonable goal is to assume you could do either of those in a short period of time.  Some goals are possible within a month, such as losing five pounds, but learning how to speak fluent Chinese in that amount of time absolutely is not.

It is important for us to plan for the future so we’re not aimlessly wandering through life.  Sometimes setting long-range goals can be overwhelming because they’re so far out in the future that we doubt if we’ll ever meet them.  If there aren’t intermediate goals along the way to your ultimate goal, it will be too easy for you to lose focus and give up.

Instead of having just the one, long-range goal, consider having small goals that you can work on – even on a daily basis.  This will help you by allowing you to feel a sense of accomplishment when you meet one of the smaller goals, as well as letting you know you’re on the right track to reach your goal.

How do you break down one big goal into several smaller goals?  That all depends upon what your goal is.  You can choose best what you need to do each day to help keep you on track.  Don’t let your gaze go too far down the trail that you have laid out for yourself.  If you don’t stay focused on the day at hand, you might miss something wonderful along the way.

Remember that reaching a goal is much like going on a journey.  If you’re too focused on the destination, you’ll miss the beauty along the way.  You can stop along the way and smell the roses rather than speeding along the path you’re on and missing them entirely.  By setting smaller goals that you can reach, you’ll be moving toward your goal and be much more likely to actually reach it.

Don’t give up if things don’t work out exactly like you’ve planned.  Things in life happen that may keep you from reaching a small goal in the time you had hoped.  When things settle back down you can pick up where you left off.  It may take longer to reach your goal than you wanted, but that’s no reason to give up.

Give yourself a reward when you’ve reached a smaller goal, rather than waiting to complete the large goal.  Knowing you’ll have a small reward when you have met a goal may be the impetus you need to keep going when you feel discouraged.

When you have a goal in mind, consider the steps you can take.  Set New Year’s goals that are not beyond your reach.  Reward yourself when you’ve reached a small goal and then keep going to the next one.

Graphic from Heartland Graphics New Years Collection

Learning

Getting the Whole Family to Help You Get Organized

When you’re the woman of the house, it’s often expected that you’re going to be the one primarily in charge of keeping the home clean and running smoothly.   You may not be able to do everything, however, and really need to get the whole family to help you get organized.

Division of labor in the home is one topic that causes stress among families.  The man of the house often feels that the house is the woman’s domain and therefore he shouldn’t have to help.  And we know what happens when we ask the children to help with chores.  You’d think we asked them to walk over broken glass or something equally sinister.

The problem with organizing the home and delegation of chores is that you may work away from the home as well.  Even if you’re a stay-at-home mom, that doesn’t mean you’re the only one who does the work.  If everyone made the clutter or the mess, it only makes sense that everyone in the family should help to organize and clean.

First, getting the whole family to help you get organized will take some effort.  Be sure not to nag and coerce them into helping just to get to you stop nagging.  They’ll only resent you for it.  Ask them to help, giving them tasks they may find enjoyable, or at least not completely boring.

If you can get everyone to take care of their own messes, it will make your job easier.  Have them put their own clothes in the hamper instead of leaving them on the floor, take their dishes to the sink when they’re done, and clean up anything they spill.  Help them remember that you’re not a slave and that everyone in the family is expected to chip in with the chores.

When your children are younger, you may have to spend extra time teaching them how to clean and organize their own things.  The effort, if they are receptive to learning, will be well worth it in the future.  You won’t have to worry about their being able to take care of their own things, they will be less likely to lose them, and they’ll be better prepared to live on their own when the time comes.

Staying organized, at least as far as being where you’re supposed to be on time, will be easier if everyone knows how to read a calendar.  Whenever the children bring home a paper with an important date to remember, transfer it to a family calendar.  Color-code the calendar so everyone has their own color.  You’ll all be able to look at the calendar and quickly see if you have something to do that day.

To help keep the home organized and running smoothly, you may have to get creative.  Your goal is to help everyone learn personal responsibility even if that means being tough when someone doesn’t pitch in.  Encourage each family member in a way that will appeal and you’re closer to getting the whole family to help you get organized and clean up the house.