Elevate Your 2024: 4 Goal-Setting Hacks Beyond New Year's Resolutions

What were your New Year's resolutions in 2023? 

Tumbleweeds through your brain? 

We thought so. 

Research suggests that on average, people only stick to their New Year’s goals for up to 18 days into January. 

For those of you who can remember (great job by the way), how did you do at actually achieving your goal? 

Again, if you’re anything like the majority of people, the answer would be, not very well. 

Studies have shown that as little as 8% of people actually see their resolutions through. 

But before you start beating yourself up about it, know that it’s not your fault! 

The process of setting annual goals after the most indulgent season of the year,  is fatally flawed. 

But we’re here to tell you there’s another way. 

Actually, there are many other ways to reach for your goals and stay motivated throughout 2024. 

We’ve picked a few that we hope will help you stay on track all year long. 

Priority Pillars 

One of the main reasons that New Year’s resolutions tend to fail is that we don’t spend adequate time aligning the goals with our values. 

We find an area of life we’re not so happy with and draw a goal out of thin air. 

Any of these sound familiar? 

• Find a new job 
• Exercise more 
• Eat healthier 
• Quit (smoking / drinking / caffeine etc.) 
• Read more books 

And while they are honourable aims, without adequate framing they are deeply unmotivating. 

In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear argues that to create a new habit it is essential to make the changes you want to see, part of who you are. 

So he writes ‘The goal is not to read a book, it’s to become a reader’. 

Therefore the first step to setting more successful goals this year is, as James Clear puts it, to ‘decide on the type of person you want to be’. 

So, who do you want to be? 

What is most important to you? 

What outcomes do you want to see? 

What would the person who could get these outcomes be doing? 

We know these are big questions, but starting here is the most important part of the process.

So take your time to think these through and answer them honestly. 

Now, pick the three (no more) strongest themes that come out of your reflections. These are you priorities. 

By identifying clear priorities that are aligned with WHO you want to be, not just WHAT you want to achieve, you’ll be able to build more motivating goals. 

Below are some tools you can use to help you further…

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) 

Some of you may already be familiar with this acronym and may be thinking of clicking away at this moment, but you’d be missing out! 

OKRs have been a staple of the business world for many years and they’re a powerful and simple way of setting and achieving your goals. 

Combine this method with the priorities you set above and you’re onto a winner! 

Another key reason why New Year’s resolutions tend to fail is that we make the goal too nebulous and don’t set a realistic timeframe for it. 

We also tend not to think about the detials that will get us to the goal, just the outcome. 

OKRs force us to think about the sub-goals within the overall outcome which ultimately are the steps that get us to where we want to be. 

OKRs tend to be set quarterly throughout the year and give you a chance to reflect and review how you’re doing across the year, not just at the end of it when there’s little you can do to affect change. 

Here’s an example: 

Typical New Year’s resolution: Read more books. 

VS 

OKR Method. 

Overal Goal:  ‘Becoming a reader’ 

First quarter objective: Make reading a regular part of my week.

First quarter key results: 

• Sign up to the library. 
• Find a friend to read a book at the same time for accountability. 
• Read at least 4 times per week for 30 minutes. 

See the difference? 

By breaking down the big goal, into a manageable objective and smaller key results we start to build a path towards our goal. 

How different do you think you’d feel at the end of three months if you could confidently say you’d achieved the objective and key results you’d set? 

How would this be different from three months of ‘read more books’ with no tangible measurements or outcomes? 

Cycle Planning - Moon or Menstrual 

We’ve borrowed from business by exploring the benefits of OKRs, now it’s time to look closer at how we can use our bodies to keep us on track with our goals. 

Since as early as 3100 BC and the Babylonians, people having been using lunar cycles to organise and orient themselves in the world. 

It was the cycle of the moon that inspired the concept for the 12 month year. And in ancient civilizations the position of the moon and stars would let people know what day it was. 

Now in the age Google Calendar it’s almost impossible to forget what day it is. 

And we’ve largely disconnected from the natural cycles that our ancestors used. 

So how can reconnecting with these cycles help you reach your goals?  

It all comes down to motivation. 

The main reason people don’t reach their goals is that they simply run out of steam. 

As time passes, the motivation dwindles (as we saw in the stat above, this decline in motivation happens alarmingly fast). 

This is largely because, for many of us, if we don’t feel we can do something at 100% capacity we won’t do it at all. 

Consistency is key for achieving any goal. But our energy, mood, and mindset are anything but consistent. 

Planning your time around the menstrual or lunar cycle can be a highly effective way to anticipate periods of high and low energy and help you adjust how you work towards your goals. 

As with all of nature, there is a time for new life, a time for growth, a time for maturing and a time for fading. And the same is true of both the lunar and menstrual cycle. 

Like the seasons of the year, in both the lunar and menstrual cycle we can notice seasons across the 28 day period: 

Season

Moon Phase

Menstural Phase

Energetic Themes 

Spring

First Quarter

Follicular Phase

Growth / Creativity / Inspiration 

Summer

Full Moon

Ovulation 

Socialising / Celebration / Growth

Autumn 

Third Quarter

Luteal Phase

Focus / Momentum / Commitment 

Winter 

New Moon

Mensturation 

Reflection / Rest / Meditation 

Notice any of these patterns in your typical month? 

Do you find yourself being incredibly creative at some times and super focused at others then some days the ideas and inspiration dry up? 

Often it’s hard to see before we start measuring, but after a few months of tracking your energy, mood and mindset, some fascinating themes can emerge. 

As you’re looking over your goals for the next few months, consider how you might be able to leverage your ebbing and flowing energy to your advantage, rather than struggling against it. 

Intentions Over Resolutions

Now, if business blueprints and moon charts aren’t you’re thing. You’ll be pleased to hear there is an incredibly simple way to work towards becoming the person you want to be (after all that’s what goals are all about!) 

Setting an intention for the year can be just as powerful as crafting detailed OKRs or meticulously tracking your cycles. 

Intentions, unlike goals, are more about Being and less about Doing. 

We often think in terms of HAVE > DO > BE 

Eg. Once I have the flat of my dreams, I’ll put effort into making it nice, then I’ll be more relaxed and sociable at home. 

Intentions encourage us to BE > DO > HAVE, an incredibly powerful reframe. 

Eg. I’ll be more relaxed and sociable at home, make the space I am now feel great, and I’ll create the flat of my dreams. 

See the difference? 

Intentions are broad but encompass how we approach all areas of our life and encourage us to be more mindful in our actions. 

Here are some examples of intentions: 

• Be inspired 
• Be curious 
• Be brave 
• Be kind 
• Be positive 

A simple phrase like this can carry a huge impact over the year. 

When you decide on your intention make sure you’re constantly keeping it in your mind. 

Maybe you make it your phone background, put post-its up around the house or keep a journal just documenting each day how you’ve lived that intention. 

A great example of this is Burnadette Russel’s Little Book of Kindness. Bernadette set the intention to be kind to a stranger every day for a year and shows how small daily actions with intention can change lives. 

Conclusion 

We hope you’re feeling inspired about how you can set more effective goals in 2024 and start to see the changes you’ve been waiting for. 

If like many this year you’re considering a change of career, but you’re not sure where to start, reach out to Flo Coaching (this article’s author) to schedule a consultation. There’s also  £50 off any service when you tick the box that says you discovered Flo through Escape the City. Her group coaching program is starting on January 24th so if you’re feeling like you want to take action NOW, don’t delay, click here to apply. 

And while you’re here be sure to take a look at our jobs board.

January is one of the best month’s of the year to get hired and we’ve got some amazing opportunities listed.

Good Luck and happy job hunting.