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As we gear up for the new year, goal setting takes center stage.
No matter what time of year it is, when it comes to your bucket list, I believe it’s essential to start with short term goals.
Careerwise.com defines a short term goal as “something you want to do in the near future.”
The article points out that the short term goal can be as soon as today, this week, this month or even this year.
Whether they are separate one-off goals or a bite size chunk of a a bigger goal, they can give you immediate gratification to keep you moving forward.
Here are three steps to focus on short term goals to make your dream list a success for the new year.
The new year is upon us! That means champagne toasts, party horns and confetti everywhere.
And if you’re truly trying to check some items off of your life list, it might mean focusing on short term goals for the win!
When it comes time to writing out a list of goals, you might wonder: What should I put on this list of goals?
I’m all about all about taking time to knock out your personal goals. That means using your resources to to make your travel bucket list, relationship bucket list or whatever ideas you have captured and want to make happen on your dream list. Here are three ways to do that:
- Generate ideas
- Plan
- Take action
Though it might sound easy, let’s go over each one and unpack how you can accomplish your short term goals.
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Generate ideas for your list of goals
Look at an events calendar in your area or neighboring towns, record any upcoming ideas that interest you. Also get a rough estimate of how much it will cost. If you only want to focus on accomplishing something now and know you want to stay within a certain dollar amount, you can choose to only add items within a certain price range for the time being. This can give you more options of what to focus on for your short term goals (and immediate gratification).
I like all kinds of concerts. I like to see legends that have been around a long time as well as new artists. I write a list of specific singers and bands to see, but it’s hard to keep track of who’s touring and who isn’t. I might have to hold off on seeing some of these artists if they aren’t currently on tour or planning to tour any time soon. I can at least loop back later or get alerts from ticket companies if something changes. I also use an app called Bands in Town to let me know if specific people are going to perform nearby.
If specific ideas of what to look for don’t readily come to mind, search broad categories and maybe some ideas will fall into your lap. Here are some bucket list examples I came up with by taking this approach. Since I can’t always see the certain concerts when I want, I look on websites of facilities that normally have concerts. I’ll look at who is going to perform in the upcoming months. If it’s someone I want to see, I’ll get the tickets. I’ll do the same thing on ticket sites such as Ticket Master or StubHub.
Both the email alerts and the app let you choose specific singers or groups. It will also show you other concerts you might like that are similar to the singers or bands you’ve chosen. That can be a way to generate ideas for other concerts to see in the short term.
I took a screenshot of the Bands in Town app. If you slide the dot to the left as pictured, it will show you the names of other artists. It’s very common to see Elton John spring up if you type in Billy Joel and vice versa. The ones highlighted in blue are specific names I entered. The others just populated based on those names. It can be for a variety of reasons. For example, Billy Joel and Elton John started playing music around the same time and both play the piano.
When I typed in Kelly Clarkson, Mariah Carey, Pink and even Kesha come up. If you slid the dot to the right, you would only see information regarding the specific people or groups you chose.
This is how I find concerts regularly. Sometimes there are artists I would see, but wouldn’t necessarily think of if I’m starting from a blank slate. I also do this for other activities such as musicals. I see what’s coming and decide if it’s special enough to put on my bucket list. For instance, I wanted to see a musical with my whole family. I knew I had to choose something that my two teenagers would like. Once Stomp came to our area, it was an easy bucket list idea to check off of my list of my dream list.
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Now plan your list of goals
After coming up with enough unique bucket list ideas, choose the ones you want to do the most or ones you know fit your schedule and budget. You don’t have to completely ditch the other ideas, store them and maybe you can do them in the coming months or later down the road.
You might even want to divide your list into two sections. One section can be for short term goals you do now and and the other can be for ones you do later. It can’t hurt to write something down even if you know you won’t be able to do it in the near future. You’ll readily have ideas when you run out of things to do.
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Take action on your list of goals
Once you have figured out what you want to do, take the next step to make it happen. Whether you purchase tickets to Kelly Clarkson concert or make reservations at the Sugar Factory to solidify the plans, add the event to your calendar. It helps if you do this on a smartphone.
You can block out the time on your calendar and set reminders so you don’t forget to go. Also make sure that you say no to any other thing that might be happening at the same date and time. It’s easy for scheduling conflicts to occur if you don’t record events on your calendar. All that’s left is showing up and enjoying the experience while you’re there.
If you need your hand held a little bit, get more details about the step-by-step process I use to infuse my creative bucket list ideas into everyday life in my soon-to-be-released book entitled, The Everyday Bucket List Book.
What short term goals are on your bucket list?
Now I’ll ask you. What short term goals do YOU have in mind for your bucket list? How do you generate a list of goals? What do you do to plan your short term goals? What helps you take action?
Let me know by leaving an answer in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you think.
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