Clearing the Mental Clutter: Goals & Life Update

I can’t help but sing that in my head as I thought of the title — LOL.

Life has been wild over the last few months. I recently learned that some people (and businesses!) have “summer hours,” which apparently means working less during the summer. Who knew? Not me. That’s definitely something I’ll be planning for next year.

Since I didn’t take official summer hours, I ended up spending the past few months trying to go-with-the-flow by

• Reading (a lot)
• Keeping up with quarterly business tasks
• Tracking new law changes here in Minnesota
• Revamping my office space
• Setting personal goals — and actually tracking them
• Getting outside and being social way more than usual

Goals That Didn’t Stick

I had this plan (well, more like an idea) to organize my files and shared documents to make work easier. But without a clear plan, it fizzled. Which is okay! It reminded me: ideas don’t become goals without structure, and goals don’t become habits without intention.

Every day — or even every hour — is a chance to start or start again. This also meant there were lots of chances to practice redirecting the negative self talk that says ‘do better!’.

How I’ve Been Staying On Track with Goals

One small step that helped a lot in July was using a habit tracker. It made the month feel more productive without adding pressure.

If you’re not familiar, a habit tracker is just a simple way to log the things you’re trying to stay consistent with throughout the month — my July habits included waking up before 7a, getting at least 4k steps, doing at least 15min of activity, and reading. It’s a visual reminder, and it really helps clear mental clutter by taking “Did I…?” out of your head and onto paper. You can also use your phone or an app or a whiteboard..I like to use a variety of paper versions simultaneously.

As the saying goes (don’t ask me who said it):
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

I use this type during the week:

I transfer that info to a monthly version (previously used this)

however, this year I built my planner and it includes this style:

Mental Clutter & Why I Give Everyone a Folder

Back when I worked in in-home mental health, I used to give new clients three things during our first session:

1. A folder
2. A printed calendar
3. A habit tracker

Why? Because the more we can see, the less our brain has to hold. And brains? They run on patterns and repetition. The least we can do is make sure the patterns are actually working for us — not against us.

Free Resources Coming Soon: Goals edition

If you’re looking for a mid-year reset or want to test out a habit tracker for yourself, I’ll be adding some printable versions to the worksheets section of the site. You can use them however you want: personally, for your kids or family, or just as a way to build new rhythms.