Checking in with your goals and forward planning with Leanún designs

* This is a collaboration with leanún Designs

Mid-year review

Can you believe we are almost halfway into 2018 already? I thought it would be a good time to sit down and review, reflect and plan and take control of my 2018. In this post I am going to talk more about goals, setting them, finding out what it is you want to achieve and some tips on taking action. If you set yourself some goals back in January and you still haven’t taken action then don’t worry, it is never too late to start again. You might have read my post from earlier this year about setting good goals. You can check that post out as well. I have teamed up with the ladies from Leanún designs for today’s blog post and I am going to be showing you how I use their new mid-year planner to take back control of my goals and how I use this as a tool for staying organised and on track. I also have a code for the first 100 of you guys to get a free weekly hustle notepad when you place an order for your Midyear weekly planner. 

Are your goals yours? 

Recently, I had a bit of a light bulb moment when I was listening to a podcast. Are my goals mine? Or are they what I think I should be doing at this stage of my life? I call them society goals. That nagging list of achievements and boxes to tick by the time your thirty? A big reason you might not be achieving your goals might be because maybe their not what you really want. Do you really want to lose 20 pounds or is it because you are bombarded everyday with images of what society sees as the ideal body image in the media. Do you really want to save for that house just because everyone else is doing it or is your gut telling you to slap on a backpack and head to the airport? We grow up in a society where we feel the pressure to conform and tick off the marriage, house, kids and career box by a certain age. Its okay to change your thinking, break out of the box and reshape the mould to fit you. Feed your soul what it really wants. This has been a real eye-opener for me and is helping me re-look at the rest of my year.

It is okay to change your mind

What you wanted to achieve six months to a year ago might not be what you want and that is perfectly okay. Pursue everything, as I find they are like little breadcrumbs that lead you in the right direction. I always try and pursue a goal even if I am not that mad about it. I find I always learn something from doing it and it leads me to the next thing. Maybe it is a project or a new challenge at work, I try and take the lesson and experience from it. You learn loads about yourself.  For me, the next 6 months are about chasing experiences not things. I am trying to be less materialistic and plan on spending my spare money on days out/trips and attending classes/workshops.

Growth = Happiness 

For me, I find that growth = Happiness. Whether it is learning a new skill, adopting a new habit or visiting a new place. I find the lesson and experience from doing these new things give me a sense of happiness. Maybe you want to work on your relationships, your career or develop a new skill? Growing in these areas no matter how big or small can give a great sense of satisfaction. A perfect example for me was making my skirt recently. I still haven’t shut up telling people about my skirt lol! Doing something that made me progress gave me a sense of satisfaction. 

Break your goals down

You do not have to have big grand dreams or goals. I know for some people it may be an achievement to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe you are suffering from an illness and you just want to take small steps to get back on your feet. I find it easier to focus on one or two goals at a time. If you try and do everything all at once you end up not enjoying it and getting overwhelmed. With the Leanún planner, I like that it has a calendar at the beginning of each month. On the next page it had a page for your goals for that month, then a page for things you want to achieve, people to meet, things to try and important dates etc. I can then take an hour to sit and think and then plan out my month by focusing on the things I want to achieve that month. 

Celebrate our successes

It might be an Irish thing but I find we are more reserved when it comes to celebrating our success. We can’t even take a compliment without playing it down. Something I am trying to do more is celebrating my success. It doesn’t have to be a lavish party at all! A simple reflection on what you have achieved at the end of the day, week or month will keep you going. You can even set your self a target and when you achieve it then treat yourself to that new dress, holiday or if you’re like me then a teapot. Also, don’t forget to celebrate your small achievments as well. Maybe you suffer from anxiety and you were able to leave the house today? Give your self a pat on the back for that too and don’t be so hard on yourself. 

Write it down, put pen to paper

When it comes to planning I avoid using my phone or technology. Actually, one of my goals for the next 6 months is to limit my time online. I find when I have the pen to paper I procrastinate less and I am less overwhelmed. With the Leanún planner, I can clearly see what I need to do for the week. The weekly pages aren’t too fussy and are clearly laid out over two pages. I am someone who takes too much on and gets overwhelmed. By writing down what I need to do for the month and week I can see if I have a balance between work and play. When I started to write down and plan for July I noticed that I had an uneven balance with work and time for me, by having it wrote out in front of me I can see where I can take back some time and do the things I need to do for me. Whether it’s walking in my favourite park, going out with friends mid-week or simply relaxing without the phone in hand, I know I need to make time for this too. 

Gratitude

You may not be where you want to be right now, however, if you start to take time out during the day to practise gratitude then I promise your energy will shift. Even when I get stuck at a red light or in traffic I use that as a cue to practise gratitude and I think of all the things I am grateful for in that moment. After a few days or weeks of practising this, you will notice that you have more positives than negatives in your day. If all you do is focus on the negative and overlook the good things then your never going to be happy. Whenever I get a setback or something doesn’t go to plan then I become grateful for the lesson and take the positive from the situation. For me gratitude is like a muscle, you need to use it often to build it so take time each day to practice.

The planner is perfect handbag sized and it goes without saying that it looks pretty too! From the rose gold wire binding to the flecks of rose gold on the cover it will also look stylish on your office desk. I tend to keep my to-do lists and planners in the kitchen as this is the first place I go to each morning, The first thing I do is pop the kettle on and then I sit and do my makeup after my shower. I want to start checking in with myself each morning. On the weekly activity page, I can see what I want to achieve this week. I can then break that down into days. I love the feeling of completing my tasks and ticking them off. With my to-do lists, I always do my least favourite task first. Try it! Do the task you have been putting off first and the rest will seem easy. 

The weekly hustle pad

I find the weekly notepad is perfect for work. I have loads of things I need to remember to do in work but I don’t want to have these tasks in my planner as I want my planner to be more about me and my personal goals. So, I use the notepad for my tasks in my day job. You can leave it in the office and your team can write on it too. At the end of the week when everything is complete you can tear the page off and pop it in the bin. I keep it near the phone in the office as we all know our daily to-do lists get longer when the boss rings lol! 

If you would like to purchase a Leanún planner you can do so by clicking here. The planner covers 18 months so you have from June 1018 to Dec 2019 in your planner. So you get loads of planner for your money. From Sunday the 3rd of June until Wednesday the 6th of June you can use the code DAINTYGIFT to get a free Leanún weekly hustle notepad when you purchase the 2018-2019 mid-year weekly planner. These notepads normally retail at €12.50 so get yours whilst stocks last. I also want to take this time to thank Ciara, Éadaoin and Kate from Irish brand Leanún for collaborating with me on this post. These ladies set up their company Leanún from scratch and it has been a pleasure watching them grow as a business and brand. Keep up the fab work ladies. 

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Do let me know if you pick up a planner and come over to Instagram and tag me in your planning pics! 

Thanks for reading, Chat soon, 

Catherine. 

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