Coming up with goal ideas for your future can be daunting and confusing. We make such BIG expectations for ourselves and think, “I can achieve that in 12 months”. But by the time we hit Feb, we’re already overwhelmed with all we have to do to achieve that goal. So, if you’re looking for examples of life goals and can’t figure out what future plans you’re aiming for, this list of goal ideas is for you!
This list of 20 goal ideas is small & simple. This is because we usually underestimate the power of small changes and how much they can change our lives!
Choose 1 positive mantra or affirmation to practice every day
A simple goal is to choose a mantra to practice every day!
One I’ve found helpful is for the gym. It can be demotivating when we work out and don’t see results initially. Lately, I’ve been practising telling myself that fitness is a journey. It’s not something that happens overnight. I remind myself to be patient and appreciative of myself and my body. As corny as it sounds – I tell myself that fitness is a journey, not a destination. And this works for me!
What are you tough on yourself about? See how you can change how you speak to yourself. Is there a mantra you can apply to help motivate you and show yourself more compassion?
If you struggle with creating your own mantra, try buying a set of mantra or affirmation cards. These are some cute ones I found on Etsy.
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Create a grateful list
A grateful list is an easy thing to commit to every day! A helpful idea is to create a reminder alarm on your phone.
You can either buy a journal (I love this one by Pretty Simple Press), use a worksheet (we have a free one for your below!) or just practice in your head every day! My best advice is to try it in the car on your way to or from work. It’s a good use if you have a significant commute.
Buy a water bottle to take around every day.
Yes!! An easy but super helpful one on the list of goals to set for yourself is to buy a water bottle to up your water intake! Amazon has this cute one with a time marker and motivational statements. It makes it fun and gives us something to aim for.
Some benefits of drinking more water include:
- Helps your brain & body function: “Mild dehydration (fluid loss of 1-3%) can impair energy levels and mood, and lead to major reductions in memory and brain performance.” [ref]https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water/[/ref]
- Helps stop & prevent headaches[ref]https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water/[/ref]
- It helps relieve you when you can’t poop![ref]https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water/[/ref]
- Helps you lose more weight! “2 litres of water every day can increase your total energy expenditure by up to 96 calories per day.” [ref]https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-of-water/[/ref]
Choose 1 productivity habit to master
Staying productive & avoiding procrastination is something we’d all like to master! But the best way to master something is to break it into chunks. Small, achievable bites that we can learn to do day by day.
For example, 3 productivity habits that can completely change your life in a matter of minutes are:
- Take a breather (1-2 minutes) in between tasks and practice a small release meditation. This is to help you transition into the following task with more clarity & focus.
- Using a timer and having a break every 50 minutes at work. It’s essential to get up, walk around, make tea or head to the office kitchen for a quick chat to refresh yourself before returning to it.
- Choosing a question before you begin each new task. For example, going into something with the question “what do I want to achieve from this” helps you figure out what to focus on.
Instead of trying to do all the goal ideas at once, choose 1 productivity habit to master from the above list (or create your own one) and work from there.
Related content: Tips On How To Have A Productive Week
Choose a new skill to learn.
Is there a skill you’ve been wanting to learn? Maybe a new language is on the list of goals to set for yourself?
Nowadays, the internet is FULL of free & paid courses where you can learn some new tricks!
Two of my favourite places to start are:
- Udemy – Get up to 75% off your first course here!
- Coursera
They have so many courses to learn anything from marketing to how to paint! Whatever you’re feeling – try it! And there are heaps of budget-friendly (aka free classes) to choose from.
Relevant content: 3 Personal Development Programs That Can Change Your Life
Choose a workout program for yourself.
The good old “join a gym” always feels like a must on future goals. But I know if I walk into a gym & have no idea what I’m doing BEFORE I get there, there’s a good chance I’ll walk around aimlessly for 30 minutes before convincing myself it’s time to go.
Before joining a gym, OR instead OF joining a gym, choose a workout program that works for you!
There’s no point choosing a 1-hour workout schedule when you know 30 minutes is the best you have to offer.
A few ideas for 30-minute programs to look at:
- Kayla Itsines – Sweat APP or Bikini Body Guide PDFs
- Sarahs Day – Sweat It To Shred It Guide
- Results With Lucy – Online Platform with over 300 workouts
- Creative Curves – A weights-based program for women who want a slim, lean figure
Commit to 10 minutes of reading a day
A lot of us feel there isn’t enough time in a day to get everything done AND read.
So be realistic when it comes to goal ideas and choose to simply. Commit to 10 minutes! That’s it. 10 minutes in the morning to read 1 book you’ve always wanted to read.
Related content: 25 Best Personal Development & Self Care Books
Commit to 10 minutes of meditation a day
Studies have shown that just 10 minutes of meditation a day helps clear the brain, aid anxiety, reduce stress, and fight off nasty diseases. [ref]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4467190/Just-10-minutes-meditation-does-wonders-brain.html[/ref].
At the end of the day, meditation is about what’s right for you. So 10 minutes a day is achievable. Or, if it sounds too much, start with 5 and work your way up.
Find some great apps to help you get started:Â Best Guided Meditation Apps To Keep You Meditating!
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Commit to a weekly life review
In High-Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard, he says a weekly review is one of the most important productivity habits to help find work-life balance.
When we actively focus on ALL the areas of our life and make time to think of where we feel out of balance, we immediately feel more “control” 34.
This exercise also doubles as a great way to maintain clarity in your life (the first of the 6 high-performance habits Brendons found in his years of study).
Tony Robbins Wheel of Life assessment is a great resource to start this habit. It’s an online questionnaire to see where you are in each part of your life. It literally takes 10 minutes!!
Buy a journal and commit to 5 minutes a day of writing
There are so many benefits to having journalling! It helps with mindfulness, your emotional IQ, achieving your goals, memory, & self-discipline [ref]https://www.huffingtonpost.com/thai-nguyen/benefits-of-journaling-_b_6648884.html[/ref].
Sometimes journalling on an empty page can be intimidating. A great way to start is to find a journal with prompts. The 5 Minute Journal is a great example. It gives you daily questions to answer. They have an app version, too, if that’s more your thing!
kikki. K has some specific journals (like a mindfulness journal, goal journal, gratefulness journal) worth checking out if you’re a paper and pen gal’.
Related content: 10 Amazing Journal & Planner Picks To Get Your Sh*t Together
Create a priming routine to practice every morning or night
A priming routine is a mini routine you do to “prime” or prepare yourself for the day. It’s all about creating the emotion & energy to get the best out of your day. Not to mention helping to motivate you and become more inspired.
The best example is by Tony Robbins – the master of priming!!
You can find his priming routine here, and it’s a FREE download (win!!). Great for the car!
Commit to weekly “you” time
Yes! One of my fav goal ideas. Schedule “you” time in & commit to it. Then, add it to your list of goals for yourself, and don’t move it for ANYTHING! It’s time in your day to take care of yourself & do yourself. Whatever that means.
Walk it out. Read. Make it wine time outside. This is about giving yourself time by yourself.
Choose a charity to donate to monthly, weekly or annually
According to studies, contributing helps make you happier and brings more meaning to your life[ref]https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/blog/id/200/9-positive-effects-of-donating-money-to-charity[/ref].
So make a goal to choose a charity to donate to monthly, weekly & annually (and don’t forget to see if it’s tax-deductible!!).
The Life You Can Save website helps you find a charity. You can choose one that’s tax-deductible, and that’s also for a cause that you can feel strongly about!
Choose 1 course from Udemy to complete
Udemy – a personal development DREAM! Want to become a YouTuber, Instagrammer, blogger or Yogi? BAM! Udemy is the place to start.
It has SO many courses!! And they have specials all the time where courses are only $10.
They’re online & self-paced.
If there’s a skill you want to learn or a side hobby you want to start – Udemy will definitely have something to get you going.
Create a list of books to finish
How tempting is it when you come across a new book to throw the one you’re currently reading out the window!
Half the time, it’s just so we don’t forget to read the new book we’ve just found.
Life goal list ideas don’t just have to be related to travel or work. It can be something simple like a book list. So act like Santa’s coming and MAKE A LIST!
I personally keep one on Good Reads & I love it! It keeps track of how much I’ve read for the year, and I can keep adding to my list whenever I find a new book.
Try making a list of all the titles you want to get through and commit to finishing them!
Create a goal for a new routine for your relationships (i.e. date night)
When we think of dreams, we usually think of ourselves.
But a great way to commit to a fresh new start is to create some #couplegoals (yes, we all know this hashtag!).
So why not add to the list of goals to set for yourself a dinner or movie night once a week? My boyfriend and I made a goal NOT to have phones with us during quality time. To make sure we were spending time with each other and Insta wasn’t in the way (3 really is a crowd!).
Speak to your partner and see what ideas you can come up with to work on your relationship!
Look at one big struggle you currently have and commit to 1 way to resolve it (i.e. if you have debt, create a schedule to save x amount of dollars per week)
The most valuable thing I learned is how to break down massive future goals. Chunk them down, so we feel LESS overwhelmed & more motivated to take action.
So if you’re in debt, want to lose weight, or create a healthier lifestyle, break it into a smaller goal.
A lot of us start our goal ideas list with I want to do lose weight or I want to have more energy. While that’s noble of us, it also lacks any depth. We don’t have a number or time frame to work with! And that’s important in setting goals and sticking to them.
So what’s your big goal for this year, and how can you break it down?
If you want a healthier lifestyle, maybe it’s committing to working out 1 day a week for a month – and then seeing where you’re at. OR eating 3 healthy meals monthly and assessing how you’ve gone after a few weeks.
Reaching our goals takes time and is a constant journey. So break it down and make it actionable!! Tiny changes are the significant changes that really happen!
Related content: 2 Goal Setting Worksheets To Help Break Down Your Goals
Create a savings plan to commit to
I have to admit – I LOVE budgeting. Automating my money is my JAM! I live for it.
Every year, or any time I have a lifestyle change, I budget down to a week (using this free tool). I download it as an excel spreadsheet and then adjust it when I need to.
It tells me how much I earn compared to how much I save and invest every year. It’s amazing! Then when my pay comes in, I set up automation to put the right amount into the right accounts. I.e. I gave myself $100 a week to spend every week. So when my pay came through, $100 automatically went into my spending account.
So I don’t actually touch my pay, ever.
And when I have bills to pay, that comes from my bills account. Where part of my pay automatically goes into every month.
Would a plan like this help you? Try the free tool and talk to your bank about automating your money. It’s a simple way to manage it, but it works!
Choose 2 or 3 podcasts to listen to this year.
When I started my 1-hour commute to work every day, I couldn’t get over how much time I spent in the car! Then, when I got home, I was too exhausted to do anything.
So I started listening to podcasts in the car to work.
I felt like I’d gotten me time in to learn. Listening and learning in the car is also great because you feel more present when you get home to your partner or family. You’ve had that time and feel more relaxed!
Some podcasts that are trending right now in personal development are:
Buy an audible membership.
We all know when we chuck dollars at something, we’re a lil’ more motivated to use it!
Try investing in yourself with an Audible Membership
.
It comes with 1 free audiobook a month – which could tie in with a simple goal like listening to one audiobook in the car.
Some great books to start with are:
- Â The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
- High-Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Become That Way
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
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This ends the 20-goal ideas post! The most important thing to remember in creating a list of goals to set for yourself is to keep it small & straightforward! I hope these examples of life goals have helped!!
