As we approach a new quarter in the year, it’s time to realign with the goals we set out to accomplish at the start of this year. We all know “new years resolutions” don’t really work all that well. In truth, most people forget what they set out to do, by February! We prefer a more sustainable goal setting approach when it comes to setting up our years for the success we invision. This system is quarterly goal setting. If you aren’t familiar with the quarterly segments of the year, they are every 3 months. One quarter, January – March for example, is a quarter of your year.
Quarter One: January – March
Quarter Two: April – June
Quarter Three: July – September
Quarter Four: October – December
Our personal approach is that we set our goals for the whole year, and then we break them down into quarterly, more digestible sections. From there, we set monthly intentions. This method is really helpful to keep things manageable and allows you to keep your goals, front of mind. If you’re looking for another in depth look on how we set goals and intentions, check out one of our previous posts.
In today’s blog, we’re sharing a few ways to set quarterly goals to stay on track, throughout your year!
1. Set your yearly goals
First things first, what are your goals? What are your biggest dreams over the next 5-10 years? Where do you see your life heading? If you truly understand your big picture vision, you can start to set goals for your year ahead. Goals can come in many versions. For example, maybe you want to buy a new car, or you want to save for a trip to Italy. Perhaps you want to get monetized on YouTube, that’s one of mine! Or you want to become your own boss.
What are things you can do each quarter, and month, to work towards these goals? If you want to buy a car by the end of the year, you’ll need to know how much it’s going to cost. From there, how much do you need to save each quarter, to make that happen? Maybe you need to save 20k. So each quarter, you’d need to put away 5k. That sounds like a lot of money, but that’s just an example. Quarterly goal setting just allows you to re-look at your goals every few months, and it gives you a more digestible way to attack your biggest dreams!
2. Determine your why
Understanding your why is HUGE when it comes to quarterly goal setting. Before anything else, pause and ask yourself: What are you wanting in your life? How do you envision your life, 5 years from now? You can’t go down a path of intention, if you don’t know where you’re headed. So first things first, take a look at your overall why. What are your career goals? Do you have family goals? Wellness goals? It truly can be anything, determine your vision and know your why behind them. It doesn’t have to matter to anyone else! Keeping your WHY at the top of your mind, will remind you every quarter, the reason behind your goal setting journey.
3. Make an evening out of your goal setting session
We personally love to sit down every quarter and realign with our yearly goals. Whether you put your goals in Notion or in a journal, take some time for yourself to reflect on what you set out to do in January. I’m more of a paper girly, whereas Meg has a great setup for her goals, in Notion. Once every three months, reflect back on your goals and take some time to set out the work that needs to be done that quarter, to keep you on track.
Going back to that car example, it’s Q3, how much have you saved? At this point, what else can be done over the next 6 months of the year, to get you closer to that 20k savings goal. Or maybe you’ve started your own business and you wanted to have 4 clients by the end of the year. Where are you at, as of Q2? Perhaps something needs to shift in your routine, to make more progress on your yearly goals. And so taking some time to reflect on this process, is super helpful.
We also love to do this monthly and set our intentions. Our years goals are connected to our quarterly goals and from there, our monthly intentions drive us in the direction we want to go. Intentions are a bit more loose, they’re just a fun way to check in on yourself and your well-being, every month.
4. Share your goals with an accountability buddy
I listened to a podcast once where a woman said, she shared her quarterly goals with her best friend, every 3 months. They’d schedule a call and tell each other about the goals they set out to work on that quarter and then they’d open up about their journey. We know this can be very personal, so it’s totally up to you. But when you have someone close to you, who you’re comfortable sharing with, it’s really powerful to reflect together. What went well, what could have been improved? How much closer are you to your yearly goals? Is there anything you’re looking to adjust as you move forward?
Meg and I have started doing this style of check-in every few months, and we’ve really enjoyed it! Vocalizing your path is much more productive when you’re supported and held accountable by someone. This is totally up to you, but we’d recommend giving it a try!
When it comes to quarterly goal setting, you really want to love the process. Remember, it should be something you’re excited about! Goals can come in all different forms. They don’t have to be career related or revolve around wellness. They can be about spending more time with your family, reading more books, taking up a new hobby. You name it! We just love this method because it allows us to stay in touch with ourselves. It reminds us what we set out to focus on at the start of a year, what goals will bring us joy! And if you love to journal or take some quiet moments to yourself, quarterly goal setting is such a soothing way to do that, every few months.
Take a look at Cornelia’s YouTube video on how she sets her years up for success through vision boarding, yearly goal-setting and quarterly goals.
And so tell us, have you ever quarterly goal set? Do you think it’s something you’d like to try? Please share down below! We’ll talk more about this topic as we head into Q4 and into a new year. We really love growing and levelling up our lives, with all of you. Thanks for being here!
XO
Cornelia & Meg
