2023 Vision

Check out Episode 10 of our podcast Nourish Your Worth for our conversation about how to level up your vision board for 2023.

Setting and achieving goals is essential to making progress and achieving personal and financial success. But setting goals is just the beginning – the real challenge is sticking to them and making sure you are making progress. A checklist is one effective tool for staying on track and ensuring you are meeting your goals.

By breaking your goals down into smaller, more manageable tasks and checking them off as you complete them, you can stay focused and motivated and make sure you are making steady progress toward your objectives. In this blog, we'll explore the benefits of using a checklist to achieve your personal and financial goals and provide tips for creating and using a checklist effectively.

“A goal is just a dream with a deadline.”

— Drake

Making a Bucket List for The Year

Creating a bucket list for the year is a great way to focus your efforts and stay motivated as you work towards your goals. A bucket list includes things you want to do or accomplish before you "kick the bucket." In this case we are making one before the year “kicks the bucket.” Here are some tips for creating a bucket list:

1.  Start by brainstorming: Make a list of everything you want to do or accomplish in the coming year. Don't worry about how realistic or achievable your goals are at this stage – write down everything that comes to mind.

2. Prioritize your goals: Look at your list and identify the goals that are most important to you. These are the ones you should focus on first.

3. Break your goals into smaller steps: Rather than trying to accomplish them all at once, break them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will make it easier to stay on track and make progress.

4. Set deadlines: Assign deadlines to each of your goals to help you stay on track and keep moving forward.

5. Share your bucket list: Consider sharing your bucket list with a friend or loved one. This can help you stay accountable and motivated and be a fun way to inspire each other to achieve your goals.

Follow Brian Tracy’s Seven Steps for Goal Achievement

Brian Tracy, a self-help author and motivational speaker has developed a seven-step process for achieving any goal. The steps are:

Set clear, specific, and measurable goals.

• Make a plan of action by creating a checklist.

• Take action immediately.

• Persist through challenges and setbacks.

• Measure progress and adjust your plan as needed.

• Celebrate your successes.

• Set new, even bigger goals.

By following these steps, you can effectively move towards achieving your goals.

Checklists are lists of tasks we need to do in a particular order. They can help us remember important things and make sure we remember everything. The Checklist Manifesto, written by Dr. Atul Gawande, is a book about how using checklists can help us do things better.

The book talks about how checklists are used in jobs like doctors and pilots to ensure they do their work safely and correctly. It also talks about how sometimes it can be hard to use checklists, but there are ways to make it easier.

The book says checklists are a simple but powerful tool that can help us do things better and avoid mistakes.

Create Year-End Financial Statements

Creating personal financial statements can be a helpful way to get a clear picture of your financial situation and make a plan for the future. Here are eight steps you can follow to create personal financial statements for the first time:

1.  Pull The Receipts | Gather your financial documents: Start by gathering all of your financial documents, including bank and credit card statements, investment account statements, bills, and any other relevant documents.

2. Stack Cash | List your assets: Make a list of all of your assets, including cash, bank accounts, investments, property, and any other valuable possessions.

3. Depend On You | List your liabilities: Make a list of your liabilities, including debts, mortgages, loans, and other outstanding obligations.

4. Know Your Worth | Calculate your net worth: Subtract your liabilities from your assets to determine your net worth. This is the total value of everything you own minus everything you owe.

5. Be Humble | Create a budget: Make a list of your income and expenses for the past year. Include fixed expenses (aka-needs: rent or mortgage payments) and variable expenses (aka-wants: groceries and entertainment).

6. Check Yourself | Identify areas for improvement: Look for areas where you can cut expenses or increase income to improve your financial situation.

7. It Was All a Plan | Make a financial plan: Use your personal financial statements and budget information to create a plan for the coming year. Set financial goals for yourself and plan how you will achieve them.

8. Mask Off | Project your financial plan into the future: Use the information from your personal financial statements and budget to project your financial plan into the future. Consider factors such as inflation, anticipated changes in income and expenses, and your financial goals. Make any necessary adjustments to your plan to ensure that you are on track to achieve your goals.

Checklist and Carry On

In conclusion, a checklist is a simple but powerful tool that can help you stay on track and achieve your personal and financial goals. By breaking your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks and tracking your progress, you can stay motivated and focused and make steady progress toward your aspirations. Whether you're working on personal or financial goals, a checklist can be a valuable tool to help you stay organized and make the most of your time and resources.