How to Stop Not Reaching Your Goals (S.W.I.T.C.H. Method)
Writing goals using the Hustle Sanely S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method helps us focus on who we’re becoming as we work toward goals rather than just what we’re achieving. This method keeps us from falling into the “someday” trap and positions us to take major action on our goals while prioritizing our mental health and relationships.
Keep reading this post to learn:
⋒ How the S.W.I.T.C.H. method can help you create and take action on goals that actually matter to you
Writing goals using the Hustle Sanely S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method helps us to focus on who we’re becoming as we work toward goals rather than just what we’re achieving. This method keeps us from falling into the “someday” trap and positions us to take major action on our goals while prioritizing our mental health and relationships.
Now for the fun part! Let’s break down each letter.
Specific
What it means: It’s pretty straightforward, right? Leave vagueness out of this! When it comes to goal setting, the more specific you get, the better. Dream in detail!
I used this example when I was teaching this inside the BFF Membership and in the 2022 planners and I’m gonna share it here too: Instead of saying “start a blog” try something like:
“I am the writer of a food blog that shares weekly dairy-free recipes and tips that are simple to follow and equips people who are new to eating dairy-free to make the lifestyle transition without feeling deprived.”
How to do it:
Close your eyes for 3-5 minutes and use visualization to help you imagine your goal in detail. When creating your goal, ask yourself questions like "how much, what kind, and how often so you know exactly what you’re working toward. Ask yourself, “What does done look like?”
Use present tense when you’re forming your goals, too! That really helps when visualizing you living the goal out and embodying it.
And going along with that, the more detail that you can imagine your goal with, the more you’re able to picture yourself living out the goal, and the more apt you are to accomplish the goal!
Why Attached
What it means: Knowing why you’re pursuing a goal and having that at the forefront of your heart is the best kind of motivation. It keeps you from getting distracted/discouraged as you pursue the goal.
Another question I get asked a good amount is, “How can I make sure that my goals are true to me and I’m not just copying someone else’s?”
If you have a strong why to back your goal, chances are, it’s true to your goal.
How to do it:
Ask yourself, “Why does this goal matter to me?”
I’ll give you an example below that ties in perfectly.
Impact-Driven
What it means: When your goals extend beyond yourself and are centered around serving others, you’re more likely to focus on the impact you’re making rather than solely on the goal itself. Striving after self-seeking goals tends to leave you feeling burned out and causes you to neglect your mental health and important relationships.
How to do it: Ask yourself, “How can this goal make a difference in the lives of others?”
Using the food blog example from earlier for having your why attached and being impact-driven, it could look like this:
“Why does this goal matter to me? How will this goal make an impact?”
When I went dairy-free, I felt overwhelmed in the kitchen and unsure of how to make good food that supported my needs. I want to help those new to dairy-free feel confident in the kitchen and satisfied with their plate.
Timeline-Based
What it means: Following a timeline when working toward your goals protects you from falling into the “I’ll get to it someday” trap. Timelines, like our schedules and routines, are tools, not chains. A timeline shouldn’t stress you out but is a tool that holds you accountable for making consistent and sustainable progress toward your goals.
How to do it: Determine the first action step and schedule a due date to get the ball rolling. From there, determine the next 3-4 big broad action steps with scheduled deadlines and 3-4 nitty-gritty action steps that go with each big broad action step. Here’s what I mean using the food blog example:
The first action step I’m taking is: Done by:
Deciding the blog name 1/5/2022
Next big action steps: Done by:
Mapping out the homepage of the website 1/12/2022
Deciding blog post categories and the first 5 post topics 1/19/2022
Get professional photos taken for the website 1/31/2022
Hire web designer to build the site 2/15/2022
Nitty Gritty Action Steps:
Mapping out the homepage of the website
⋒ Research what makes a successful home page for a food blog
⋒ Write the copy
⋒ Make a list of photos that are needed
Deciding blog post categories and the first 5 post topics
⋒ Brain dump all post ideas
⋒ Categorize posts into groups
⋒ Choose the first 5 posts
Get professional photos taken for the website
⋒ Research and book photographer
⋒ Choose outfits and any props
⋒ Create a shot list/Pinterest inspo board to bring to shoot
Hire a web designer to build the site
⋒ Decide which platform I want to use
⋒ Research web designers for the desired platform
⋒ Email 3 designers for proposals
Checkpoints Set
What it means: Before you start working toward your goal, it’s important to schedule checkpoints. The purpose of these checkpoints is to assess where you’re at, where you want to be based on your timeline, and what needs to change to align the two.
It also gives you the opportunity to make sure you are prioritizing your mental health and relationships as you pursue the goal.
How to do it: Choose 3 dates to check in and reflect on your progress. Put them on your calendar! We can sometimes be flying through life and forget to pause and intentionally check in and that’s when things like burning out or accidentally neglecting the important people in our lives happen.
I recommend scheduling a checkpoint a week after starting on the goal, a month after starting on the goal, and then every 2-4 weeks after that depending on how much time the goal takes.
During your check-ins ask yourself questions like:
“Am I meeting the deadlines outlined in my timeline? Why or why not?”
“Do I feel burned out or like my timeline is unrealistic?” “Am I neglecting the important relationships in my life as I pursue this goal?”
“Do I feel like the workload and ways that I’m pursuing this goal are sustainable?”
Habits & Routines to Support
What it means: Implementing habits and routines that align with making progress toward your goals ensures your actions reflect what you’re working towards. Habits and routines help you give consistent time and energy to your goals.
The culmination of our habits = our lifestyle. So whether you like or dislike your habits, they are forming you as a person. That’s a pretty big deal and a reminder that what we do day-to-day has a grand impact on our overall lives.
How to do it: Choose 1-3 habits and/or routines that will set you up to make progress on your goal.
Sticking with the food blog example, a habit that could support the goal is:
Wake up an hour early, 5 days a week, to work on my website.
And there you have it! How to Stop Not reaching Your Goals with the help of the Hustle Sanely S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method. If you have one of the 2022 Peacefully Productive Planners, each month has a worksheet built into it for you to write a goal using the S.W.I.T.C.H. Goal Mapping Method!
Let me know over on Instagram if you apply this method to any of your current goals and how it goes for you!
Need help creating a plan of action for your goals? We’ve got you:
If you enjoyed this post, tune into episode 112 of The Hustle Sanely Podcast to dive deeper into this topic:
