How to Plan For & Set 2022 Goals

What are your 2022 goals? Where do you want to go personally and professionally in 2022? Have you put any thought and planning into your 2022 goals yet?

I remember mentioning in last year’s goal setting post that we don’t know what 2021 will bring.

Well, it wasn’t much different from 2020 and was a weird year for many many people around the world.

I spent a significant portion of 2021 in lockdown but nevertheless, I kept going with goal implementation.

This goal setting and planning article is about the quick and efficient steps you can take to set goals for the year, how to determine what goals you should focus on, setting S.M.A.R.T goals, and more.

I’ve also included a 2022 goal setting workbook and planner at the end of this article. Subscribers can download it for free and customize it according to their needs.

Evaluate Last Year’s Goals

Before you jump into planning and goal setting for a new year, you should evaluate the previous year’s goals.

• What happened?
• Are you happy with what you achieved?
• What didn’t happen?
• Why didn’t it happen?
• What hindered your progress? Were the goals feasible to begin with?
• Are the things that stopped you in 2021 still going to be in your way in 2022?
• How are you going to move past the hindrances? 
• What are you going to do differently in 2022?

Take some time to also celebrate what you achieved in 2021. It was not an easy year so any small achievement needs to be celebrated.

Goal Setting Related Content

• How Becoming a Minimalist Can Make You a Better & Happier Person
• How to Follow Your Dreams When You Don’t Have Money
• 3 Reasons Why It’s Never Too Late to Learn Anything

Ideas for Setting 2022 Goals

The best way to set 2022 goals that you will be able to achieve is by engaging the bite-sized approach.

To optimize the bite-sized approach, focus on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals ideas include:-

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Health & Fitness

• Train for and participate in a half marathon.
• Lose a certain amount of weight every month.
• Work on cardiovascular conditioning by doing more cardio workouts.
• Take swimming classes 3 times a week.
• Cut soda and other unhealthy drinks out of your diet 1 drink at a time.
• Stick to a regular workout regimen 3 – 5 times a week x 30 minutes a day.
• Drink 8 plus glasses of water every day. Read How Water Helps With Weight Loss for ideas on getting more water into your diet.
• Join a gym and sign up for a group class at least 3 times a week.
• Walk a certain amount of steps every day. In 2021, I set a target of 5,000 steps a day. By the end of the year, I was at 15,000 steps a day.
• Use the stairs more than the elevator every day.

I share much more about setting SMART fitness goals on my fitness website.

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Career

• Learn a new skill or freshen up your current skills via places such as Udemy and Coursera. You can start for as little as $20.
• Work on getting that promotion at work or determine what you have to do to get that raise.
• Become more active on professional networking sites like LinkedIn – complete your profile, join 1 new group every week, participate in relevant discussions, etc.
• Sign up for 1 or 2 online networking sessions every week.
• Not happy with your current job. Find a new job. Research companies you’d like to work for, follow their job boards, and connect with them online starting with 1 – 2 companies a week.
• Start your own business. Do you have an idea? Set aside 1 – 2 evenings a week to work on and develop the idea, and create an implementation plan.
• Are there certifications in your field? Get certified. Start studying and prepping for the exams at least 1 – 2 evenings a week.

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Finances

• Pay down debt by making 2 x regular payments every month. This applies to credit cards, student loans, personal loans, a mortgage, car notes, etc.
• Get rid of your credit cards once your debt is paid off or stop using them entirely in the meantime.
• Put a specific amount of money in your emergency fund every month.
• Max out your retirement accounts by contributing a certain amount every month.
• Earn more money every month and diversify your income by starting at least one side hustle. Check out this link for great side hustle ideas and What is a Good Side Hustle?
• Determine a monthly budget and stick to it. Easy Guide to Money Management is a great and free tool to help you get started with this goal.
• Improve your credit score by paying off the monthly balance on your CC for instance. Learn why your credit score is important here.
• Start saving for the downpayment on a house. Open a target account and have your bank auto-deposit a certain amount into it every month.

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Personal Goals

• Work on improving family relationships.
• Read more books – fiction, non-fiction, etc, or books outside genres you’re usually comfortable with. Maybe 1 new book a month or listen to the book. You can sign up for Audible 60% off.
• Participate in self-care as much as possible. Self-care is not selfish. Set aside 1 – 2 days every week that’s all about you, get yourself a self-care subscription or maybe even a premium chocolate subscription. More importantly, do not deprive yourself of sleep.
• Improve your lifestyle by decluttering your home and life. Choose one room at a time or do it one day at a time.
• Dial down your interaction on social media. For instance, don’t log into Facebook/ Twitter/Instagram at least 1 – 2 days a week.
• Work on loving yourself more and improving your self-esteem via affirmation cards.

There are so many different kinds of goals you can set for yourself and your life. Just think about what you want to achieve and where you’re going then brainstorm.

Don’t forget you will also need to move the things that didn’t happen in 2021 into your 2022 goals once you’ve determined why you couldn’t achieve them.

The goal examples above are S.M.A.R.T but you can break them down into even smaller portions to ensure you can track them properly and check-in with yourself every month.

Visualizing Your 2022 Goals is Important

Visualizing your 2022 goals is important as it makes a great motivational tool to keep you going through the year.

I’ve been creating vision boards since 2011 and they are an amazing tool. For more on creative vision boards for your goals, have a look at:-

• Using a Vision Board to Reach Your Short & Long Term Goals
• 5 Ways to Keep Track of Your Vision Board

Other ways you can stay motivated with your 2022 goals apart from vision boards include:-

• Use a planning journal like this one.
• Create an affirmation wall in your bedroom and fill it up with little stickies outlining each of your 2022 goals.
• Find an accountability partner but ensure you’re both on the same journey otherwise, your accountability partner will be a hindrance. Your accountability partner can be anybody – partner, sibling, colleague, or friend.

Using one or more of the visualizing techniques above will help you stay on track with your goals all through the year.

2022 Goal Setting Workbook

• A goal setting workbook helps you to stay focused throughout the year as you work your way through the little details of your goals.
• With a goal setting workbook, you have proper direction on where you’re going which helps you to plan properly.
• Used in combination with a vision board and other motivation tools, a goal setting workbook keeps you motivated through the year.

If you’re ready to start working on your 2022 goals, download the goal setting workbook below.

Download 2022 Goal Setting Workbook & Planner

The 2022 goal setting workbook also includes personal planners for the day, week, or month. Download the goal setting workbook here.

My next post will cover what happened with me personally and business-wise in 2021.

Happy Holidays and wish you an awesome 2022!