My 2023 goals.
Alright, I've been putting this off for far too long now.
I planned to write this sometime in December to start the year knowing my goals. But I got busy with various things and started another 30 days project that ended on December 31st.
But, really, I didn't make time for it.
I didn't make time for it because I wasn't entirely sure what I wanted out of this year.
Last year I had a lot of goals for each of my five categories: Health, Relationships, Work, Wealth, and Experiences, and I accomplished some of them while completely ignoring the other half.
This doesn't really bother me, though, as I do think it's good to aim for more than I might be able to accomplish, as I'll still end up further along than where I would have been if I had planned more conservatively. But what does bother me is some of the goals have been on my list for a couple of years now, and I have nothing to show for them.
So should they be goals for me or not? Do they actually matter to me or do I just think I should want them? Or am I too intimidated by them to try and accomplish them?
Part of, or maybe the whole problem of, having too many goals means I can choose to work on the ones I know I'm more likely to achieve. This way, I can feel like I'm successful at some things while simultaneously justifying why I'm ignoring others. This means that while I end the year accomplishing some things, they may not be the things that would make a difference in my life.
So for this year, I aim to accomplish less and achieve more.
And like last year's article, this one is for me too. I don't expect you to read this, but if you're interested, let's get started.
Format.
I'm using the same category framework I followed in last year's review to track and understand how I spend my time across these five categories: Health, Relationships, Work, Wealth, and Experiences. These articles will look the same every year unless I have a reason to change them.
Additionally, I will define two new Themes for the year to build on the two from last year.
Themes.
Last year my themes were Intensity and Inevitability.
Now, as I'm thinking about this year and doing less, if I can still maintain an intensity with my work, then maybe some of my secondary goals will inevitably be accomplished as a result of my focusing on my more ambitious goal(s).
The point is not to give myself any excuses this time next year.
Which makes my 2023 themes, Speed and Consistency.
Speed.
A bad habit of mine is overthinking my ideas.
I spend a lot of time thinking about whether something is a good idea, how I'd do it, or what it would be like to achieve the outcome I want.
Rather than getting started and learning along the way, I think about doing the work.
Now, obviously, planning isn't all bad, and there are plenty of benefits to thinking about what could happen and what to avoid. But there's a point when I need to decide a move on.
So, the risk for me focusing on speed means I could get involved in too many things because it's easier to say yes than think about everything else I've already committed to. But, that said, I'd rather quickly decide to do something and then quickly get out of it if it's not what I thought it would be than miss an opportunity because I didn't decide fast enough.
But speed, to me, isn't only about what to work on. It's also about taking action quickly.
If I need to do something, I should do it immediately or as soon as possible, so I'm always making progress.
Focusing on speed is about becoming someone with momentum and being known for taking action.
Consistency.
Then, the other side of Speed, is Consistency.
I can't build momentum if I jump from one thing to another. This has also been a challenge of mine for as long as I can remember. And I think it stems from when I grew up where you couldn't just be good at one thing, you had to be good at a lot of things. And if you still weren't trying to do even more, then you weren't doing enough.
And, while it's good to sample a lot of things when you're growing up because odds are you don't know what you actually like, but at a certain point, you have to commit to something. Otherwise, you'll get caught chasing something new every chance you — I — get, and you'll never do something long enough to get truly great at it.
Tragically, for a while I thought I was great at getting pretty good at almost everything. But that was a cute lie I'm unwilling to accept any longer.
So, this year I'm committing to focusing on what's important to me and making sure it's something I want and can do every day for as long as I can imagine.
Goals.
I believe this year will be a standout year with the most change I've experienced since graduating from college.
So, as I commit to this year, I'm rethinking how I approach my goals.
I'm going to have one overall goal for the year, which I will track incessantly. Then, while I'll track my other goals, I won't be as concerned about my progress as I don't want them to distract me from the one thing I'm focusing on.
As long as I'm being consistent with them, that's good.
My one goal will be a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. And my other goals will be FUN goals: Flexible, Uplifting, and Numberless.
My one SMART goal is related to Work and Wealth, while every other goal is a FUN goal.
Health.
I haven't had much success number-chasing my fitness goals.
When I do achieve numbered fitness goals I unfortunately get a bit complacent and regress. Instead, I'd rather be more consistent and steadily increase my output than worry about how much I weigh or my body fat percentage.
As long as I look and feel like an athlete, I'm good.
Workout consistently, don't go more than one day without doing something
Increase my output and don't get complacent
Eat more whole foods
Relationships.
My relationship goals all center around time. I want to be more intentional about spending time with the people I care about. Which means it's not just more time. Rather, it's that the time we spend together is meaningful.
Fiancé — Recognize the changing needs of the relationship and how I show up
Family — Show up and be present, create memorable moments
Friends — Initiate plans, don't wait for invitations
Work.
Aside from having too many work-related goals last year, they were also at odds with each other.
Some were focused on creating my own businesses, while others were about how I was perceived at my job.
But, the thing is, I don't see myself as an employee. Instead, I see myself as an entrepreneur. The problem with this, obviously, is I spend most of my time working a job for someone else. So, my reality and how I think of myself are incongruent. There's a tension there that won't go away until I do something about it, which is why I only have one work-related goal this year.
Become economically independent
How I can create this reality is with my Wealth goal.
Wealth.
My Work and Wealth goals are inextricable, and my Wealth goal is the one SMART goal I'm tracking this year.
Specific — Replace my salaried income
Measurable — Generate $10,000 per month from sales of digital products
Achievable — Sell 11 $30 products per day
Relevant — Attract an audience interested in branding and product design, and content production
Time-Bound — Have one $10,000 month in 2023
This is it. This is my goal for the year. Whatever I do needs to have this in mind. Every decision I make will either get me closer or further to achieving this. It's that simple, and I need to check in on this every day.
Experiences.
Rather than focus on big moments, I want everything to feel special. What can I do to make even the most mundane things feel beautifully thought through?
Find or create magic in every moment
Easy vs. Simple.
Breaking down my goal of making $10,000 per month from selling digital products is incredibly straightforward. Create something I can sell for $30 and then get 11 people to buy it every day. Simple. But simple doesn't mean easy. Creating content and getting the right type of attention is hard.
But I'm confident I can do this as I have the foundational skills to get started. I've created and sold digital products before. I've created content and am comfortable on camera. I can do all these things and know I'm good at them. I've done it before. To do more, I need to increase my speed and consistency when creating content and be relentless in promoting it.
So, is it easy? No. But it's what I want to do, and I'm committed to figuring out how to make it happen.
I'm looking forward to checking in at the end of the year.
If you're interested in following my progress, follow me on @wesjonesco on Instagram.
