Embracing Simplicity in Motherhood: Goal Setting Edition

Mama, do you want to feel less overwhelmed and more organized, but you don’t know where to begin? Have you ever set a goal but didn’t accomplish it? We have all been there before. So how exactly do you get from where you are to where you want to be? Well, there is no one cookie cutter answer because everyone’s journey is different; however, there are general guidelines that you can follow to help you get there.

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What is your goal?

Grab a pen and a piece of paper or open a new note or word document on your device of choice. I want you to think of EVERYTHING you want to accomplish and write it down. Be as specific as possible. When nothing more comes to your mind, consider yourself done (for the time being). Look at what you have written, do you notice any themes? Maybe one or more of your goals falls under: health & wellness, spiritual development, personal growth and development, career development, relationships, and / or money / financial. If you’ve written them down, grab some highlighters and assign one color to each category (you can create a mini legend on the top corner of your page or anywhere that is convenient for you). For example, highlight all the money related goals in green, relationship goals in purple, spiritual development goals in blue, etc. If you’ve typed out your goals, start moving them, one at a time to the appropriate category. You can have as little or as many categories as you like.

Choose a category that is the most important to you. Then, from that category, select ONE goal that speaks to you the most. Take your time with this exercise, there’s no rush. Honour yourself and move at your own pace.

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When do you want to achieve your goal?

In the next 30, 60, or 90 days? 6 months? 9 months? 12 months? Beyond? Be realistic with your goal. Give yourself an adequate amount of time to achieve your goal. Also, manage your expectations and be flexible because life happens.

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Why do you want to achieve this goal?

Ask yourself this question and when your answer comes to you, ask yourself why that’s important to you? Once you’ve answered that, ask yourself why that is important to you and repeat this for this question 4 more times (for a total of 7 times) to get to the real reason beneath your why. Your ultimate “why” will help to keep you accountable on the days that you feel discouraged.

Speaking of accountability, what support, resources, skills, tools, etc. do you have available to you to help you reach your goals? Tap into your network, community, support system, etc.

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How will you achieve your goal?

Breaking your goal down into smaller goals to reach by certain times can help you stay out of overwhelm and on track. Take some time to get curious about what you would like your life to look like in the next 30, 60, 90 days? Ask yourself, what is ONE thing that you can do on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to work towards your goal?

For example, you choose relationships as your category to focus on over the next 90 days. More specifically, you desire to be more present in order to create a closer bond with your child because you are a distracted, multi-tasking, and overstimulated mama who finds themselves not having the capacity to be patient with them.

Daily: everyday after dinner, until their bedtime, you limit screen time in your home. During this time, neither you nor your child will be on any devices. Instead, you will give them your undivided attention doing an activity, like a puzzle, then bath time, followed by story time, snuggles and kisses, concluding with bedtime.

Weekly: every Sunday morning you take them to your local library, park, or recreation centre for a drop-in “mommy and me” activity.

Monthly: you have your child pick a place they’d like to visit; such as a museum, aquarium, or science centre and you visit there together.

Do not over complicate things, embrace the simplicity in motherhood. Meet yourself where you are at and take it from there. Consider, what can you say “no” to, so you can say “yes” to the things and people that are important to you?

Another important “how” question to ask is, how will you know that you’ve achieved your goal? What will you feel, look, and act like? Take some time to sit with this question to envision it in your mind and feel it in your body.

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Additional Tips for Success

Take some time every so often (this could be weekly for starters) to determine if your goal is still in alignment with who you are and what you desire. If you no longer feel connected to it, lovingly release your goal and pivot accordingly.

Celebrate your progress along the way because some progress is still progress!

Finally, mama, always remember that you are worthy and deserving of living the life that you desire. Honor your journey and continue to dream big!

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You got this, mama!

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