Marie recently announced the launch of her Marie Kondo for Blue Sky planner collection. Each custom-designed planner includes space for daily and weekly planning, along with goal-setting checklists and journal prompts for self-reflection. In honor of the collection, we’ve created this guide to setting and attaining joy-sparking goals.
As the crisp air of autumn arrives, it signals more than just a change in season. While many of us wait until December or January to consider our goals for a new year, now is actually the perfect time to reflect and set intentions.
Whether you dream of traveling more in 2025 or starting a family, whether you aim to pivot your career or simply want to find more joy in your daily work, setting goals is an essential step in reaching your ideal life. And because goals require time for introspection and planning, the sooner you start envisioning the 2025 you’d like to have, the better. Here’s how to begin.
Visualize Your Ideal Lifestyle
Before you turn your attention to setting goals, take a moment to think more broadly about what sparks joy for you. You’re going to envision your ideal lifestyle, or kurashi.
What does your perfect workday look like? What about your ideal weekend? How do you feel at the end of each day?
Spend some time journaling, allowing yourself to explore these questions deeply. You might also create a vision board to visually capture your aspirations. What patterns emerge overall? What priorities feel strongest for you? These values will help you set goals that matter to you.
Remember, your goals are unique to you because different priorities spark joy for different people – and that’s okay! As long as you ask yourself honestly what matters, you’ll set the perfect goals for your new year.
The Power of Planning
Once you have some general ideas of your priorities and dreams for 2025, it’s time to start planning.
Putting pen to paper can be a transformative process, and a personal planner is an excellent tool for bringing clarity and structure to your aspirations. Marie’s new planners for Blue Sky are meticulously crafted to accommodate all types of goal-setting because they include:
- Journal Prompts: Inspired by the KonMari Method, these prompts guide you to uncover what truly sparks joy in your professional life.
- Habit Exploration: Reflect on and refine your daily habits, aligning them with the lifestyle you envision.
- Weekly Planning: Space to jot down events, plans, and appointments, including dedicated time for self-care and goal check-ins.
Each of these items can help you set inspiring and attainable goals.
Step-by-Step Action Plan to Achieve Your Goals
Find a quiet and inspiring place and set aside a couple of hours to dedicate entirely to planning your goals and milestones for the next year. Make sure you have a notebook, journal or planner – writing everything down helps make it feel more concrete!
Step 1: Organize Your Goals
Refer back to the journaling you did when imagining your ideal lifestyle. Categorize your goals into short-term, mid-term, and long-term. Understanding the timeline of your aspirations helps you align your daily and weekly actions with your broader vision.
Step 2: Do a Follow-Up Joy Check
Read through your list again, and visualize yourself once you’ve achieved each of your goals. Does this future resonate with you? Does it give you a sense of happiness and fulfillment? If not, reconsider and refine your objectives. Remember, your goals should align with the person you aspire to become.
Step 3: Set and Observe Deadlines
Add checkpoints to your planner for three, six, and nine months. At each milestone, spend an hour or two checking in on your progress. Don’t get frustrated if you aren’t as far along with your goals as you would like! These check-ins are gentle reminders to realign if necessary.
Step 4: Share Your Goals with Loved Ones
It can also help to share your goals (and even your Step 3 check-ins) with a spouse or friend who can serve as your accountability partner. Marie and Takumi often walk together to discuss their work, goals and aspirations. This practice not only strengthens your bond but also provides mutual support along your journeys.
Step 5: Reflect and Adapt
Life is inherently dynamic, and so are our priorities and goals. Use regular journaling and check-ins to confirm that your goals still spark joy. If not, don’t be afraid to adapt! Flexibility is critical to creating a life that keeps you engaged, passionate and fulfilled.
