With every passing year, I am more and more convinced that I have adult ADHD. Don’t get me wrong, I can sit quietly if I need to and I’m not a fidgety person for the most part. My issue is that I have so many things I want to do and accomplish, and I feel like I can’t slow down and get organized enough to do any of those things successfully.
Case in point: I have 13 items on my 2023 New Year Resolutions list and I have a separate 50 before 50 list I’m working on that needs to be finished before March 6, 2024. I’m also working through not one, but two different courses that I’m hoping will eventually provide some side-gig money. Throw in a full-time job and you can see where I might be a bit stretched. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget about this blog!
The thing is, I feel like all of these things are important. Obviously, I have the same 24 hours a day that the rest of you do. What’s the secret to prioritizing goals then? Obviously, I don’t have the answers yet or I would be a legitimate superwoman and I wouldn’t need to be writing this blog post. Here’s the action steps I’m going to take to try to accomplish all these things.
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Mentally Get Organized
Several items on my New Years Resolutions and 50 Before 50 list are similar or work together in achieving them. Getting my will made is on both lists, as is completing NANOWRIMO. A resolution is to go to the gym or workout 4 times a week and my 50 Before 50 list has me going to the gym 100 times before March 6th. One new recipe a month was on the resolutions list and 10 new recipes is on the 50 list….etc.
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Set Weekly Micro-Goals
I tend to do better when I’m working off a list and when I have a deadline. I’ve always been a fan of monthly goals but with so much going on right now I think I need to break that down even further so I’m going to create weekly goals for each of my priorities.
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Set Boundaries
I need to learn to set better boundaries. This applies with other people and myself. I tend to overcommit because I want to be all things to everyone. Realizing I don’t have to say yes to everything will be important. I don’t need to work late every night. I don’t need to waste time playing games on my phone. Watching one more episode of House Hunters instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour needs to stop. I don’t need to go to that party if I don’t want to.
Setting boundaries also means I don’t need to pick up another book at the library when I already have 7 checked out. Definitely don’t need to sign up for any more classes/webinars until I complete the ones I’m already committed to.
Final Thoughts
Some of you are probably thinking, Holly, there’s a simple solution to this and it’s stop trying to do so much. That’s fair. I like to stay busy though. I’m also in the second chapter of my life and feel like there’s a lot I need to get caught up on. After my husband died, I got super focused on my kids and trying to make sure they were my priority. Now that they’re grown, I realize I better get busy on my own goals since I’m not getting any younger.
How do you figure out what goals to prioritize first in your life? Obviously family and friends will always come first (for me) but how do you settle on personal goals and what to do first?
