Is it Worth it to Make Plans or Goals as a Mom?

All our lives we are put on a schedule, we make goals, we have planners, we create dream boards, and we reach for the stars. But when entering into motherhood those plans, goals, and schedules get lost. It may happen as early as that first trimester when you are throwing up nonstop and can’t eat all day. If not then maybe in your third trimester if you get put on bed rest, you’re a swelling, you are tired, and nothing seems to get done. Now let’s assume for the 10% of the women left it hits when baby gets here. You are now waking up every 3 hours, you are recovering from a C-section or Vaginal tears, or you have a baby who only wants to be held. At one point in your motherhood you are bound to give up the structure. Its motherhood, it is okay.

Once you give up the dreaming, the goals, the structure, and organization your days are going to blend together and feel wasted. It seems fun at first binge watching Netflix and snacking all day. But after a while you may get depressed or feel lost. It is time to dream, plan, and make things happen again. But how do you do that as a mom when “something” always happens. I am here to walk you through my process.



Step One Start Brainstorming


You need to brainstorm some ideas to start. Pick a certain amount of time. For me it is January so I am planning out the whole year’s goals. Feel free to plan a month at a time or a quarter at a time. Now get some paper and write down anything and everything you would like to happen during this time. Think of goals for your children and how you want to raise them, financial goals, spiritual goal, learning or self-development goals, giving or volunteering goals, travel goals, physical goals, social goals, and career goals/money making goals. You can dream a little bigger than normal on some of these because once you have your list you are going to choose the ones you deem worthy of committing to.

Now that you have your big list you pick the goals or items that you want to do this for this season of life. You may be able to do it all or you may realize somethings won’t fit into this year or aren’t important enough to work on. Rewrite that list and choose the ones you really want to accomplish during this time. Don’t throw away the big list keep it and after your end date you may be ready to try on those goals.


Step Two Cast your Vision


Let’s make a graphic that will remind you of your vision. In this tech age most find it easiest to edit a collage to become your phone wallpaper. You can also go old fashioned and make one on poster board or paper. Create a graphic that will make you dream. Create a graphic that will make you push through the hard days. Here is an example of my phone background for this year. On it I use tons of pictures I found on Instagram or interest. Picture one represents my goal of staying on the Baby Steps and Budgeting. Picture 2 is a graphic from my blog to remind me I want to create a new blog weekly. Picture 3 is to inspire me as we move into a new space this February to create a farm house, minimalist, and Montessori style space. Picture 4 is to inspire me to hit business goals and earn a trip to Florida with my team. Picture 5 is to inspire me to go travel this year mainly in the form of camping. Picture 6 is to inspire me to work hard in my business as well and go to our annual leadership event. Picture 7 is to inspire me on my breastfeeding journey and at least breastfeeding till one year. Picture 8 is to inspire me to have one date night a month. Picture 9 is to remind me WHY I want all of that.

Credit to photos(Pic 1 @thebudgetmom , Pic 3 Natasha Hello Happiness , Pic 4 @Jatanajackson , Pic 5 @mason_camping , Pic 6 @Teambeachbody411 , Pic 8 @datingdivas)

Step Three Make Action Plans


Go through the list of things you want to accomplish this year and find the items that are going to need a plan in order to achieve them. Examples of items on my list that need a little more detail: Start the Baby Steps, Blog Weekly, Create a Farm house/minimalist/Montessori loft, Launch a Website, and 1 Date Night a month. There was more to be planned than just doing them. I have used many tools in learning how to reverse engineer projects and goals. I would love to share a few with you so you get how to do this.

1.       The PUSH Journal is one of my favorites. I have used three of them and they are amazing for pushing towards BIG goals. It lays out for you the exact steps for getting to your goals. I have achieved amazing things when using this journal. I highly recommend it for anyone who has big goals because you are going to need to take goal planning further than the average mom. You can grab yours here.

2.       Jenna Kutcher is one of my all-time favorite teachers. I had to share with you her blog/podcast on Reverse Engineering your Goals. Its dynamite. You can check it out here. https://jennakutcherblog.com/reverse/

3.       If you want to be super simples this is an amazing way to really nail down some details to your goal. It is using the SMART method. Check it out here. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/754493743808762566/

Step Four Getting Accountability 


You have made some amazing goals now. I know you can do this but you are going to need help along the way. Find certain people to hold you accountable and check in on you every once in a while for each goal. Let me help you see how I am picking people. I want to have Date Night every month so I told Daniel to keep me accountable. I wanted to work on becoming closer to God so I joined a Bible Study and shared that with my sister who is a leader at her churches women’s ministry. So if I skip she will bug me into going back. I have income goals for my business so I will be sharing them with my business mentor. Pick someone who is passionate about that goal for you as can be. Pick someone who is comfortable calling you out. Pick someone who truly care about you.



Step Five Take Action


Congrats you have created goals. You have cast your vision and set it into your mind. You have made detailed plans to help you succeed. You have put your goals into the world and have people walking with you. How does it feel? Now do not rest and think that you are done. You have so much more to accomplish. It is now time to go out and crush your goals. Be okay if you do not hit your deadline or if a few days seem to fail. It will all be okay. You will get more done with half ass effort than no effort at all. You can do this. If you need help on organization I want to recommend the Top 3 planners I recommend and love using.

1.       The PUSH Journal This is the best one for the go getter with huge push goals.

2.       The Rustic Daily Task Planner This planner is forgiving and perfect for the busy mom and it is made by mom's small business. 

3.       Busy Bee Undated Planner This is a great organization planner for things that need to be dated. It is undated so you don't have to start at a certain time. 

I wish you the best of luck reaching for your dreams and starting to plan your life out. No matter how many goals you miss; your life will be better that it was before. This is an amazing choice you are making for yourself. Be sure to tag me on Instagram with your planners! @thewildwestdeborah