On the first day of the New Year I like to think about what the coming year might look like. Generally, late in the year I reflect on how far I’ve come and where I want to go next. In my last post I talked about how to get the most success out of your New Year’s Resolutions. Now that the New Year has started it’s time to put those plans into action.

For me, it’s all starting on the 3rd of January, the day when I can start focusing on myself again after the very enjoyable but chaotic holiday season with family, lack of routine and far too much Christmas indulgence. This year, the indulgence has been tempered with the knowledge that the real work begins again very soon and I will start smashing my goals again.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you will know that in the past I have not been anywhere as successful with my goals in past years. For me, 2020, despite all it’s tragic crazy, was a year where I found myself, found my drive again, found my strength and found my focus. I fully intend to build on this in 2021 and a week or so of indulgence will not stop me.

So, for those you you who are interested in what someone else’s year of focus looks like, here is a brief overview of what I will be doing for the next few months.

In 2021 I will build on my successes of 2021 and start changing myself into someone who will one day be capable of earning a martial arts Black Belt. There are a lot of changes that have to happen in order to get there. I need to be lighter, stronger, faster, more flexible, more coordinated and braver. However, this cannot all happen at once so I’ve started breaking it down. Mt first few months of 2021 will look a bit like this:

• January 3rd – Refocus on keto. Unfortunately, due to eating carbs over Christmas I will have to brave the dreaded ‘keto flu’ again but I am not phased by this. This time I have some electrolytes handy to ease the symptoms and have first hand experience of exactly how it’s going to go down, therefore avoiding a few things I did last time that made it harder.

• As the keto flu eases, refocus on my fitness routine, which I have mostly kept up over the holidays according to my sore muscles anyway!

• Start a major focus on Taekwondo training and theory. I aim to grade to the next belt level (Red Belt) in April 2021 and this will solely depend on whether my instructor is satisfied with my skill level. After so many years away from training, he will have to be satisfied that I know all the syllabus and not just the current grading syllabus so I am going to be a busy girl. My goal before training starts in February is to lose a few kilograms (Operation Flight), improve my flexibility and have all my patterns and step sparring down.

• January 13th – Ease back into the work routine for the year, keeping up my fitness regime.

• February 2021 – Taekwondo training starts, time to start polishing the patterns, self-defence and working on destruction (that’s breaking boards with my hands and feet).

• February-April 2021 – Get stronger, get more flexible, get lighter, prepare, prepare, prepare.

• April 2021 – Red Belt grading

• May 2021 – Start training for Black Stripe grading at the end of the year (assuming I pass).

As I discussed in my previous post, I have found that achieving goals is much easier when you break them down into sub goals of no more than a few months. This way, it is easy to stay motivated and focused. So right now, everything I do is focused on getting to the point where I can grade to the next belt level with confidence.

In the background however is my Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for the next 2 years which is to achieve my Taekwondo Black Belt. That means that as well as my laser focus on the next 3 months I am also constantly thinking about the level of fitness, strength, flexibility, coordination and bravery required to achieve my ultimate goal. This keeps me grounded in the knowledge that my current focus is just a step on the path to a longer term achievement. This approach really worked well for me in 2020 – The Year of Transformation. In 2021, it’s going to work again but even better.

What are you doing today? Are you planning for 2021? Are you getting ready to achieve your goals? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Happy New Year everyone.

Published by the lean minimalist

Donna Sherriff is a New Zealand based improvement and operations management specialist. Seeing a need for simple, no fuss, improvement advice she started The Lean Minimalist blog in 2017. Donna writes articles offering advice and tips for rapid and sustainable business improvement based on over 15 years in Senior Management roles. Passionate about sharing the lessons of over 20 years on the high performance track Donna offers coaching services to professionals. She also writes about her own personal improvement journey, minimalism, and her life long struggle against the tyranny of cookies and sugar which she overcame in 2020. These days, Donna is pursuing a journey to earn her black belt in Taekwondo after a long hiatus of 16 years away from training. On the side she is an amateur but passionate musician and poet. View all posts by the lean minimalist