A message from Sandy. Anyone can set goals for self-management——–the trick is setting goals and sticking to them. With a few tools, you can easliy keep on track with your goals.

Determine what goals you want to set for yourself: For example–do you want to set aside more time for your family? Save money? Lose weight? You must decide exactly what you want to do before your set goals for yourself.

Make your goals quantifiable. Saying, “I want to lose weight” is not enough. Instead, say “I want to lose 10 pounds in six months.” This creates a quantifiable goal that can be met.

Monitor your progress over time. As you get closer to achieving your goal, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and motivation to keep you moving forward.

Set a reward for yourself when you achieve your goal, or have continued with your goal for a period of time. For example, if your goal was to cut back to one hour of television per day, ( I realize this is hardly enough TV time to keep up with the Kardashians!)  and stick to it—-treat yourself to dinner out with friends.

Write your goals down and post them in places you would frequently see. For example, posting  a note on your computer may remind you to really focus on staying on top of your emails.

Make your goals part of your everyday lifestyle. By sticking to your goals on a daily basis, they will become natural and will not longer be a struggle. Encourage others to  join you in healthy pursuits, an allow their success to encourage you.

Don’t get discouraged if you slack off once in a while, just get back on track. Get an accountability buddy to help. You can do it!