9-Step Goals Setting Guide for all areas of Life

Goal setting in areas of life that matters to your right now can be overwhelming because everything seems important.

And without structured approach it’s easy to lose focus even before you get started.

If you’re ready to establish and reach your personal and professional goals, with clarity and confidence, this is the blog post you’ve been looking for.

You’ll learn the 9-Step Goal Setting Guide, that’ll help you set meaningful goals in areas of life you want to focus on at this time.

Instead of telling you what to do, each step is a question. The purpose is to encourage you to think of ideas of your own, but without starting from scratch.

Each step has basic information (some with examples) to make it easier for you to learn and implement at the same time.

All you need now is to ignite that burning desire to accomplish meaningful goals on the life areas that matter the most at the season of life you’re in.

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The 9-Step Goals Setting Guide at a glance

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I love list. I don’t mind if some friends call me a serial list maker.

So, here’s the the guide on a list form.

Identify what matters to your right now
What would you like to focus on the season of your life you’re in right now?
Prioritise, pick a few focus areas and create your meaningful goals around them
Make a plan, write down the steps that will help you achieve those goals
Decide on your strategy that will support your plan
Pick a tool or resource that will help you take aligned actions
Commit to consistent accountability
Do it with someone or with a group
Schedule Regular Reflection

Pinterest Pin with a blog Title 9 Steps goal setting guide for all areas of life

Step 1: What’s important to you right now?

Before you do anything, you need to set your priority first. The priority is what’s important and what matters to you at this time.

And this will depend on the season of life you’re in right now.

Maybe you’re a working mum who’s raising young children, and building a side business. Or, you’re at the season where you’re building a career. Perhaps you’re trying to focus more on well-being, finances, and improving your personal life.

Your first step here is to spend a few minutes thinking about your core values, and your aspirations. Then evaluate where you are right now.

What’s your current situation? Take time to reflect on this so you’ll have a strong foundation.

Knowing your priority or set of priorities will serve as the foundation of this whole goal-setting activity.

A doodle of a seesaw with family and home on one side and work on the other side

Step 2: What areas of life do you want to focus on?

Now that you know your priority or set of priorities, it’s time to identify specific areas of focus. These could be related to your career, relationships, health, personal growth, or any other aspect of your life that you want to improve.

You need to narrow down your focus areas so it’ll be easier for you to do the next steps.

Here’s a list of life different areas of your life you may want to consider

Health and Well-being – think about physical health, mental health, balanced life goals, and other health goals
Career Goals or Business – can include job performance, career advancement or skill development, and building a successful business
Relationships – consider personal relationships, family relationships, romantic relationship, parenting and family time, friendships, and social connections
Personal Development Goals – these are hobbies and interests, spiritual goals, personal goals, educational goals, and new skills and learning
Financial Security – your financial wealth, savings and investing, budgeting, managing expenses and financial independence
Home and Living Environment – think about home organisation and cleanliness, creating a minimalist home, maintaining a comfortable living space, and home improvements
Contribution – this is all about giving, volunteering or charitable work and environmental responsibility.
Fun and leisure – think of travel, adventures, recreational activities, relaxation and downtime

Blog Posts that will help you with your decision making on what to focus on

Step 3: What are your meaningful goals?

If you think about it, the list of the areas of life in step 2 are all important, if you want to live a balanced life.

And when I say balanced, please remember that I don’t mean perfect balance, Think about a seesaw. Sometimes, one end is up while the other end is down. There are times when both ends are level. But those positions are not forever. That’s what I mean whenever I say balanced.

Now, from those various life areas, pick your top five.

You may find it hard to pick which ones, but asking meaningful questions will help you.

Start with the following questions.

What are the aspects of your life that need your attention the most right now? The quality of life you have right now depends on those key areas of your life. For example, you can look at your financial situation, your social life, and your romantic life.
Do you have regular quality time with your loved ones?
How is your inner peace right now?
If you have your own business, how is it going?
Are you happy with your well-being right now?
How’s your productivity, your current relationships with family and friends?

Asking those questions will help you determine which of those different areas of life need your attention. And those are going to be your goals.

When I did this for the first time 3 years ago, I discovered that the are 3 areas of my life that I needed to focus on. Family and Home, Productivity, and Well-being. They have been the core of what I do since then, and I just create goals around them.

Before you move on to the next step, please make sure that your goals are meaningful. Meaningful goals are goals that are backed by intention.And intentional goals are those that are aligned with your values and priorities.

Step 4: How are you going to achieve those goals?

You’re in step 4 so far, but just letting you know, that setting goals is just the beginning.

Now that you have the different areas of life you want to focus on, and you’ve created meaningful goals around them, you need to make an intentional plan.

Intentional planning will turn those meaningful goals into reality.

You need to have a well-defined plan. Turn your big goals into smaller goals.

Break down long-term goals into short-term goals.

Then turn them into measurable goals by adding quantity or setting a time limit.

I like setting 3 specific goals at a time.

Consider using productivity tools, and planners which can be digital or analog. I use Bullet Journal and Notion.

Having the right planning tool will help you track your progress and stay organised.

I’ve collected some of the helpful blog posts related to planning. This a big list so only consume what fits your need at this time. You can always come back here.

Image of a weekly goal planner with text above it that says 12-week year planning guide to achieve your goals faster.

Step 5: What’s your strategy?

Having a plan is one thing but making progress is another.

Does this also happen to you?It’s always easy to start something – a goal or a project.

But when the excitement fades, when the going gets tough and when obstacles start popping up. it becomes difficult to stay in motion and keep the forward progress.

I experience this all the time, so I need to be strategic with my actions.

And on thing that has been helping me is establishing consistent accountability.

I usually do it with someone and at the time of writing, I’m doing it with Dr Fran Whitaker of She Creates.

Having her made a massive difference in my blogging business and life. I achieved a lot of short-term goals in the last 8 months.

And most importantly I learned how to set the right goals for me.

Holding myself accountable by regularly telling her what I’m up to, helps me keep making progress and staying on track.

Another part of my strategy is identifying the potential obstacles or challenges that may get in the way. And honestly, most of the time, I am the obstacle (big grin) and most ly it’s my mind.

So, I plan my week on Fridays and this routine helps me get a grip on what’s going on in a particular week.

This way I’m able to plan properly, and be proactive and adaptable. I also do a regular time audit every 2 to 3 weeks because I want to make the most of my time. Time audit helps me find where the leaks are. You know what I mean- those doom scrolling but not really doing anything, being busy with low impact tasks that could otherwise wait, instead of doing tasks that will move me closer to my weekly goals.

Here is another list of a collection of blog posts that will help you with establishing your own strategy to make accomplish your goals.

The Intentional Blog Post Collection above focus on Intentional Productivity and Making Forward Progress.

image of a white sofa with rosegoald apple laptop with books on the side white coffee table in from with mint insfused water and notebook and pen

And one thing that’s often overlooked is the aspect of organisation.

Being organised is a completely different topic from setting goals, but I want to mention here one thing, that saved me time and energy. And that is being organised by establishing Workflows and SOPs. Workflows and SOPs aren’t only for Business. I use them to Manage our Household too.

If you happen to have an online Business and you don’t have Workflows and SOPs yet, grab this mini course created by Lindsay Kelly. I honestly thing that when we talk about strategy on how to make forward progress, having Systems, Workflows and SOPs should be on the top of the list. It can be daunting setting it up at first, but this will save you time, energy and money in the long run.

Step 6: How are you going to execute your plan? `

Execution is where the magic happens.

And one thing that will keep you committed and focused is by taking intentional actions towards your goals.

You don’t need to know your goals in the next 10 years or your lifetime goals, but having an idea about what you want in those time frames, will help you a lot with intentional execution.

Have some family goals or relationship goals you’ve been wanting for a long time? Maybe this is your sign to actually do something about them? Having a hard time making ends meet or tired of living from pay cheque to pay cheque? Maybe it’s time to set clear financial goals.

Honestly, making a decision right now that you want to ‘do something” is an intentional execution in itself – at least the very first step.

When it comes to execution with intention, you also need to consider your mindset and habits that will help you achieve your goals. Keep a positive and growth mindset. Sometimes what makes the difference isn’t only in what you do but how you think.

Use Planning Tools, join communities and create systems and workflows that will not only help stay organised but will also help you work with efficiency because you’ve got focus and you’re able to maximise your time.

Free Notion Planner for the Intentional
$5 Notion Daily Planner (Note: price may change at any time)
12 Week-Year Planner in Notion for only $12 (Price is also subject to change)

Click this link to get your Daily Planner in Notion for only $5 USD or click the image below.

Image mock up of Intentional Day Plan Template in Notion, in both phone and laptop devices, with text Daily Planner Notion Template and the list of the sections included at the bottom of the devices' images

While we’re still in the topic of intentional execution I’ve got amazing coaches and mentors

Sadie – Grab the 250+ Product Ideas to sell. It’s Free, and this will open the door so you’ll know what she does.
Fran – Check out Dr Fran Whitaker here. She’s a brilliant life coach and mentor.
Cindy Bidar- One of my most favourite resource from her and it’s free is How to Grow an Idea Garden.

Step 7: How are you going to be accountable?

In Step 5, I briefly mentioned the value of accountability.

And aside from finding an accountability buddy or accountability group, how else can you practise self-accountability?

From personal experience, using trackers and regular check-ins either with myself or someone else keeps me accountable.

At the time of writing this blog post, I’m currently in the VIP Passive Income Pathways Membership where I share my daily done list. It’s intense yet fulfilling over there. If you’re just starting with your passive income journey, the Light Membership is worth a look.

I’m also working with a coach, a mentor, and a friend, Dr Fran Whitaker, and her guidance has made a massive difference in my life and business. I regularly check in with myself by doing Friday Weekly Review. Every week I tweak something if it’s not working and continue what’s working well.

I have a done list in Notion and Progress Log in my Bullet Journal that double as trackers.

And that’s how I stay committed to my goals.

I also make myself accountable by doing a Weekly Reflection.

Image of a notebook, pen and planner with text Focus and reflection

I know some people would be against this but how do you feel about sharing your goals?

Sharing goals with a trusted friend, family member, or a supportive online community can add an extra layer of motivation and support.

But I want to highlight something.

You need to be selective about who you’re going to share your goals with.

Because if you share your goals with the “wrong people” (those who don’t support you, consciously or not), it’ll be hard for you to keep the momentum. There will always be unwanted and unhelpful opinions, and often these are coming from a place of wanting to help.

Step 9: When will you conduct a regular review?

Regularly review your goals and assess your progress. I do mine on a Friday afternoon or on a Saturday morning.

This is the last step and this is as important as step #1.

Pick a day and time when you can dedicate a few minutes to celebrate milestones, and assess what’s working. Adjust your approach as necessary. Reflect on what’s working well.

Goal setting is a dynamic process. it’s totally okay to make adjustments right in the middle of the process. And I think it’s necessary. There’s no point in continuing for the sake of continuing. Assess if the goal is still meaningful, if it’s just feels hard to achieve and you still want ti, then keep at it. But if it totally lost its spark, then pivot.