One of my favorite days of the month is the bonus point day where participants share their personal goals. It is inspiring to hear all of the incredible things our group is working on all over the country, and even all over the world.
As I was looking at changes that needed to be made to the challenge for the coming year, I decided one area that need improved was the guidelines and “rules” for choosing a personal goal. I love the fact that these goals give you the chance to personalize the challenge and improve in the areas you need most, but I also want to make sure that the points earned in this category are fair to everyone. So, here are the basic guidelines I came up with…
* Your goal must be truly challenging for you.
* It needs to be something you can measure and track during the challenge {i.e. no vague goals}. “Run longer” is not measurable goal, but “run a mile without stopping” is measurable. “Be healthier” is not measurable, but “cook one meatless meal every week” is measurable.
*It must not be something already covered by the challenge. Because you already earn points for eating healthy and lose points for avoiding treats, you cannot use these things as your personal goal.
*No weight loss goals. I’m sorry, I know these have been popular and I even recommended them in the past, but I just don’t think a certain weight loss goal is fair to the person who sets it. How fast you loose weight and how much is dependent on so many things you just can’t control. Plus, I’d rather have being healthy and feeling great be more important than a certain number on the scale.
Here are just a few of ideas for personal goals that would be approved:
Run a 5K or 10K
Completely organize one room of the house each week of the challenge
Follow Fly Lady’s Plan every day
Set a budget and stick to it.
Complete the 100 Pushups Challenge
No raising your voice (i.e. yelling) at your kids
Catch up on a personal blog/child’s scrapbook
Spend 30 minutes working on _____ project every day.
Sew a quilt
Wake up the first time the alarm goes off every morning {no snoozing}
No eating after 8:00pm
Make a meal plan and eat/cook dinner at home at least 6 days a week
Ride ___miles on a bicycle
Try 2 new healthy recipes every week
Take the stairs every day at work
Stop and recognize at least one moment of joy every day
Finish the entire Book of Mormon
Wear a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps every day
Prepare healthy lunches for the following week every weekend
There are so many others that would work as well, if you have an idea and aren’t sure if it fits the guidelines, feel free to ask in the facebook group.
Remember, you also need to pick a goal that you’ll be able to accomplish by the end of the challenge (in 3, 5, or 8 weeks).
Once you’ve decided on your goal, you’ll need to break it down into weekly “checkpoints.” These weekly checkpoints will help you continue to make progress on your goal, and you’ll also earn points for meeting your checkpoint each week.
For example, if my 3 week goal was to declutter my bedroom I would break it into weekly checkpoints like this:
GOAL: Declutter bedroom
WEEK ONE CHECKPOINT: Nightstands decluttered/cleaned.
WEEK TWO CHECKPOINT: Under the bed decluttered/cleaned
WEEK THREE CHECKPOINT: Closet decluttered/cleaned.
Breaking your big goal into weekly projects makes it feel so much more manageable and helps keep you on track.
Click THIS LINK or on the image below to print your Goal Tracking Page. That link includes trackers for 3, 5 or 8 week challenges.
Happy goal setting!!
Hi Tiffany I’m so excited for day one of this new challenge!! Thanks for all your work in making this challenge possible! I had a question about my goal. I wanted to run a race but it is a week after the 8 weeks end. Can I still count that or should I try to choose another goal? P.s you did a great job iny studio 5. I’m a huge fan of the show. And I can’t wait to make that yummy dark chocolate.
Lindsey
Thanks Lindsey! Yes, you can still use the race as your goal, just detail the steps you’ll be taking to prepare over the next 8 weeks and choose a distance you’ll like the run before the end of the challenge. Then if you reach all those goals you can count the points. I hope that helps and that you love the challenge!
I am so excited to get started. One goal I would like to work on is to grow a great garden this year. Working full time in the past I just never had the time to spend in the garden. I am now home and excited to grow what I want to eat.
What a fun goal Gaye! Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Dear Tiffany,
My daughter has encouraged me to check this out and join her in this….I’m so nervous, after decades of failures. But I’ve signed up, selected my most practical and thus most challenging goals and addictions, and spent the afternoon cleaning junk out of my house after visitors have left, Thanks for the encouragement, and pray for me and my personal improvement. Here we go!
So happy to have you in the group!! I’ll be sending lots of positive thoughts your way. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help! 🙂
I finished my first challenge. I learned so much about myself. I can’t believe I have stuck with this so consistently, ( that is NOT to say I have consistently stayed in calorie limits ) especially starting in October before all the main holidays, but I am grateful and have set new goals and am looking forward to an even better next 8 right on through Christmas and the New Year!
Becky, you have done great and working on healthy goals this time of year is truly an amazing accomplishment! It’s been wonderful to have you be part of the group! Keep up the fantastic work!
When I first signed up I thought the goal was to be in amount of weight I wanted to shed but after reading the material, I changed that to making a quilt. I have already started it.
Awesome Kathy!! Keep up the great work! 🙂