As we look to 2021, there are some things to be excited about: come January 20th, Joe Biden will be our president, and his administration will be the one in charge of getting the COVID-19 vaccine to the masses. And that definitely makes me feel reassured that recovery is somewhere in our future. 

We still don’t know what life will look like post-COVID, but I’m excited to not be scared to leave my house every day. More importantly, I am excited to travel and to help out my friends who own businesses in the hospitality industry in Sonoma, Napa County, etc.  

Goal planning, a.k.a. predicting the future 

When it comes to goals—or New Year’s resolutions, as some people (not me) call them—they can be hard to set when you can’t predict what the future looks like. You may still be playing catchup on goals and plans that were screwed up at the beginning of this year. 

2020 threw two very large wrenches in the wheels of my yearly goals: in March, I lost some of my biggest gigs due to the coronavirus shutting down the hospitality industry and in-person meetings. And then I found out I had cancer over the summer, went through a month and a half of treatments, and took a lot longer than expected (well, at least what I expected) to recover.

I went from taking the BART into downtown Oakland twice a week, networking with new connections in the tech industry here in the Bay Area, consulting with new brands each month, and writing one to three articles a week for different publications—to almost nothing. 

I started off 2020 with a few really big goals that I was excited about, including a new opportunity I was just starting. In addition to my career goals, I also had goals for creating new connections in my new home in the East Bay and continuing my health journey.

The only goal I actually accomplished was staying at the same weight I was in December 2019 (learn more about my goals for health post-kid). Granted, my husband’s love for baking sourdough while in quarantine ensured I gained some weight, and then being bedridden and not eating much due to cancer treatments ensured I lost it, so I’m not necessarily calling my weight neutrality a win. 

Changing up my goals based on reality, not arbitrary numbers and dates 

For the past month or so, setting goals has helped me to recover from cancer treatments. For me, it was about feeling better and not having the same muscle aches I always did when I started moving around. And I am ever a fan of setting small, obtainable goals. In fact, my Panda day planner is one of the best tools I have used for keeping on top of my goals.

My goal of feeling better started with creating daily tasks that I knew would add up—I started with one walk around the block, and now it is one hike each day, and stretching, and eating very healthily. 

These are definitely different from New Year's resolutions. Small monthly, weekly, or daily goals give me something to be excited about. Read more about how I spent an entire weekend creating goals with my husband in San Diego… Ahhh.. remember travel! I definitely am excited to travel again.

I mean, we all need something to be excited about... 

Action items for creating small goals for 2021: 

1. First, start off by taking a look back at 2020. If you haven’t already, allow yourself grace if you didn’t hit some goals. Focus on any positives, and remind yourself that not hitting your goals in 2020 was not your fault. 

2. Focus on one to three months of 2021. What are the small things you want to accomplish that impact potentially bigger goals? Usually, winter is a planning stage for many businesses, so take extra time to plan ahead for content creation and get a lead magnet up on your website to increase your email list. 

3. Write down the main (small) goal and then create small, actionable tasks that you need to take to get to that goal. 

4. Make sure to add some deadlines, and potential rewards if you hit that deadline. 

2021’s goals don’t have to contain profound, life-changing expectations. I don’t know what is in store for me, so I’m not focusing on the long-term—I’m focusing on what I can do to revitalize my career after the setbacks I faced in 2020. 

Just remember --- It's okay to center next year's goals on rebuilding what this year has turned upside down. And BTW, my husband and I decided to create a video session on helping people with setting goals for 2021, so please join us!

Social Media Goal Planning Video Training for Wine/Food Marketers on Tuesday, January 12th from 3 PM -4:30 PM PT. Sign up here!

Goal Planning Video Training for Tech Employees on Thursday, January 14th from 3 PM -4:30 PM PT. Sign up here!