It’s the first of the year and everybody are making New Years resolutions. From financial goals, fitness, and honestly I’m not sure what else people do for their resolutions. I personally do not call them resolutions, I just set myself goals for the new year. But these goals don’t start in January. I usually jump start these goals at the end of the year, around November or December.

Whether you set goals or resolutions, it doesn’t matter what you call them, as long as they are SMART goals. SMART goals are actually an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and has a Timeframe to it. If you set a goal of working out seven days a week when you have never worked out a day in your life, this goal may not be a SMART goal. This is also why fad diets don’t work out either. I like to make goals that can fit my lifestyle with some changes and adjustments, it does not have to be so extreme. Remember, a goal without a plan is just a dream. I want to briefly go over some goals that I have for 2022.

1. Automate. This seems like a very odd goal, but I want to coordinate and automate as much of my work life as possible. I am currently doing a lot by myself. I am a solo real estate agent, I self manage my STR (short term rental), I am the President of my local Sunset Rotary Club, Membership Chair of another networking group, and co chair of another. On top of taking care of my house, cooking, and being a parent to a teenage, I have a lot on my plate.

I want to continue to self manage my STR because the fees to hire someone is steep. This service can start at a 20% fee and up. So far I am doing okay self managing so far. I have a few reminder dates on my calendar and having a great alarm system and a reliable cleaner who goes over and beyond has really helped. But I am soon going to add another STR platform to get more bookings, so being organized and automating my STR business is going to be essential. Thus far, I have booking dates on my google calendar, great communication with the cleaner who also lets me know when I am low on supplies. I also have automated messages set on my booking platform and also have common information to share with guests in my notes on my phone. I only need to copy and paste these repetitive tasks.

Another business I need to automate is my real estate business. Last year was my first year I hired a transaction coordinator. The TC gives my client reminders on important dates and also sends documents that need to be done in a timely manner. This gives me more free time while I’m driving to showings, in a meeting or class, or even spending time with my family. An automated goal I have is to keep in touch with my future clients and also following up and keeping relationships with my current ones, despite having a TC to do so.

2. Financial I made a few financial goals for myself and all of them are easily obtainable with some discipline. Since becoming self employed, I have not consistently contributed to a retirement account, so one of my goals is to set up a new account that will make some money in the market for retirement. I also wanted to set up an automatic transfer. I have a financial advisor that I have already got in contact with and I’m just waiting for the account to be set up to start the auto transfer. AUTOMATE!

3. Fitness/diet I have been working out for the past six months or so. I have joined the insane 5:30am spin classes. I also have seen very little to no results. I sometimes like to sleep in, especially when the weather is bad and I am not feeling well. I also am not as consistent as I would like to be. The hardest part for me is the diet. When you live the real estate agent life, you sit in a car most of the day, only have time to grab fast food, you drink a large amount of caffeine throughout the day, and sometimes grab more fast food or a pizza for dinner. I was ordering one of those services that deliver the ingredients for meals to your door, but the problem was, I didn’t have time to cook them! So I set myself more realistic goals to my lifestyle. I have switched to a service that has meals already prepped so I only have to heat it up. I have also decided to try a grocery delivery or pick up service. Ordering on my computer or phone, forces me to think about what I’m actually going to cook or prep, so all I have to do is pick it up, which fits my lifestyle of putting appointments on my calendar.

4. Less Multitasking Like most Americans, I love to multitask. The problem with multitasking with a short attention span, like myself, is that I end up with dozens of incomplete tasks. (This is also why I make myself a list of tasks for the day throughout the week) So instead of starting five projects at a time, or having several businesses I want to start, I will be intentional on not starting something new until the first task is finished.

My goals for 2022 are also, somewhat, flexible. I can add to them since some of them are small goals, which is probably why number four of my goals is to multitask less. Realistically I could do the first two fairly quickly. Those goals are mostly about setting them and maintaining them. Consistency is key for keeping up with your goals Having an accountability partner is also a great way to make sure you keep on track. Set up coffee or lunch with a likeminded person and share your goals. Do a quick text or call every week and get together monthly to keep each other accountable about the tasks you have set. This can keep you motivated since somebody is counting on you for your update. What are some goals you plan on setting for this year? Who would be a great accountability partner that wont be scared to help you keep on track?