How to Take the First Step and Make Progress on Your Dream
Stop saying "someday" and take the first step toward your dream using the Hustle Sanely® S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method! Taking the first step toward a big dream can be scary and overwhelming, right? Don't let fear keep you from making moves, girl.
Read today’s post to learn how to take the first step and make actual progress on your dream.
I know staring up at a big giant dream from the bottom can feel a tad overwhelming once the excitement of letting yourself dream big starts to stabilize a bit. You know what I’m talking about right? When you first land on your dream - you’re clear, you know what you want to do, you’re pumped like ready 👏🏼 to 👏🏼 go. Then you sit down to actually start making the dream happen and panic sets in. Thoughts like:
“Okay wow this is really hard…”
“There is so much to do”
“I don’t know even know everything I need to do”
“Wait, am I even capable of this?”
…start to bombard you and your excitement to pursue the dream is overtaken by fear and feeling ill-equipped. Let me be the first to tell you - THIS IS NOT CRAZY...it’s actually pretty normal. Full transparency - this happened to me when I decided to create the first Hustle Sanely paper planner. I made the choice to do it, got super stoked, then sat down to work and panicked because I had no idea where to start.
Taking that first step can feel scary. It can feel overwhelming. BUT you know what? From my planner creating experience last year, I created a method that has helped me with setting and achieving goals - and lemme just say, it’s a GAME CHANGER, people.
So that’s what we’re gonna talk about today - using the Hustle Sanely S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal-Mapping Method to make some serious progress on your dream!
Let me tell you what S.W.I.T.C.H. stands for:
S - specific
W - why attached
I - impact-driven
T - timeline-based
C - checkpoints set for reflection
H - habits + routines created that align with making progress
Okay let’s break down each letter. SWI are things that focus on your heart posture and preparing you to peacefully pursue the dream and TCH are more tangible actions steps in working toward your goals.
Specific
The more specific you are in creating your goals, the more powerful they’re going to be because you’ll know exactly what you’re working toward. Quick example, because like I said, we’ll be talking about this more in a few weeks - but saying “I am writing a personal development book that teaches overwhelmed women how to manage their time and energy so they can be peacefully productive.” is a heck of a lot more powerful to work toward than “I want to write a book.”
See the difference? Get specific!
Don’t say, “Get healthy.” Say, “I am losing 10 pounds by making my exercise and nutrition a priority so I can play in the backyard with my kids without getting winded after 3 minutes.”
Why attached
Why is your dream important to you? Why does it matter if you accomplish this or not? Knowing why we are working toward something helps us not just set random goals to have goals but it prompts us to set meaningful and intentional goals that will truly elevate our lives and the lives of those around us.
Impact-driven
It’s no secret that I am a follower of Jesus and so my top priorities are loving God and loving people. Service is love in action. When we craft our goals to be impact-driven instead of self-focused, we are positioning ourselves to carry out a purpose - to impact the world in a real way. I encourage you to shift your goals to have the emphasis be impact-driven instead of self-focused. Why does the world need you to pursue this? What kind of impact is it going to make?
Timeline-based
The next step is creating a timeline for your goal. Honestly, that’s what takes something from a dream to a goal in my opinion - having a timeline and knowing that you are actively working toward it. But a quick reminder, and this shouldn’t surprise you if you’ve been around for awhile, timelines, just like our schedules and routines are tools, not chains! Timelines are tools that hold us accountable from falling into the “someday” trap, you know?
So when working toward goals, I like to create 2 timelines:
At a glance - which is a broad overview - kinda like a bird’s eye view. You have a start start and a loose end date and everything you need to do strategically sandwiched between.
30-day game plan - a specific day by day plan for the next 30 days so you can make some serious headway on your goal.
So how do I create each one? SO GLAD YOU ASKED.
At a glance:
Write down the goal and the date you’d like to have it done by. Next, write down all the big broad steps that need to be accomplished to make the goal happen and the date you’d like to have those done by. Then under each broad step, write down as many nitty gritty steps as you need to reach your goal.
So on a piece of paper, it would look like:
Big goal + date
Broad step 1 + date
Nitty gritty step 1 + date
Nitty gritty step 2 + date
Nitty gritty step 3 + date
Nitty gritty step 4 + date
Nitty gritty step 5 + date
Broad step 2 + date
Nitty gritty step 1 + date
Nitty gritty step 2 + date
Nitty gritty step 3 + date
Nitty gritty step 4 + date
Nitty gritty step 5 + date
Etc.
And like I said, you can use as many broad steps + nitty gritty steps as you need. Some people like to break things down REALLY far and others like to keep it broad. It’s totally whatever works best for you.
30-day game plan:
I also like to make a 30-day game plan because I feel like we get super pumped when we first establish a goal and I think it’s wise to take advantage of that momentum to make some serious progress on the goal, you know? Because then that momentum you build in the 30 days will help you continue moving forward. Here are some action steps to follow to make your 30-day game plan:
Write what you want to have accomplished by the end of the 30 days. Maybe it’s 2 broad steps. Again, this is dependent on your goal and your work capacity.
Write the top 3 tasks that need to be done to make that 30-day goal happen.
Then write out what task or tasks you are doing each day for the next 30-days and which top 3 task it moves the needle forward on.
And boom, you’ve got a 30-day game plan. We’re basically taking our big goal and chunking it by breaking it down into smaller bite-sized goals. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t get every single task done every day - this is a roadmap not a chain, okay? Life happens, you learn more steps you need to do as you complete other steps - the purpose of this 30-day game plan is to make a big dent in progress toward your goal, not to be perfect!
Checkpoints set for reflection
Now you know exactly what you're working toward, why you're working toward it, you've got a game plan, cool, cool, cool. But what good is all of that if you’re not taking some time to pause and reflect? It’s so important to pause and reflect because you need to know if certain things are working before you keep plowing ahead and doing them. Not only do we need to check in with our actual progress on the goal, but we also need to touch base with ourselves and make sure that how we are approaching our goal is not sacrificing our mental health and relationships...I mean we ARE Hustling Sanely afterall, lol!
So when I sit down and create my timelines from the previous step, I also schedule in checkpoint dates so I don’t accidentally forget to check-in with myself. I have checkpoint meetings after week 1, after week 4, after week 8, and then continuing every 4 weeks until the goal is accomplished. Some goals will take you a few weeks while others may take you a few years.
I ask myself:
Am I on track with my timeline? Why or why not? If not, what do I need to change to support my progress toward my goal?
How is my mental health?
Am I nurturing the important relationships in my life?
Am I making rest a priority as I work toward my goal?
What habits/routines do I need to adjust to support my goal progress?
Having these meetings allows us to make sure we are being good stewards of our time and energy and it’s a solid opportunity to make sure the goal is still relevant in your season of life.
Habits + routines created that align with making progress
So now you know what you’re working toward, why it matters, and a game plan that supports progress and protecting your well-being. What’s next? Implementing habits + routines that support all of the above, of course!
Habits + routines give us the power to peacefully pursue our dreams by dedicating our best time and energy to what matters most instead of living in a constant state of stress trying to determine what you need to be doing from moment to moment and day to day.
Having habits + routines make sure we are aligning our day to day actions with what we’re working toward. You can say you are working toward losing 10 pounds all day long but if your habits don’t reflect that, it’s just noise in your life.
So here’s what you can do: List 3-5 things that you can do every day, every week, and every month that help you move the needle toward your goals.
Whatever goal you’re working toward, use your timelines to help you pinpoint what you need to be doing each day, week, and month to make consistent and sustainable progress toward your goal.
And hey, maybe you read this and you’re like WHOA OKAY 🙌🏼 but you’re wanting to take it a step further and really apply it all to your life. I’ve got good news for you - I created the Dream It. Do. It Workshop to help you get clear on your dreams AND create a plan to make them happen:
In the workshop, you get a 23-page workbook that takes each letter of the S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method and breaks it down into tangible exercises so you can do the work in relation to the dream that you’re pursuing! Stop saying someday and start making real progress on a goal that matters today 💕
If you enjoyed this post, tune into episode 062 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to listen into this topic!
