How's 2025 going so far? Maybe this will help

Monday Money Missive

My dear Kindred Spirit,

It’s that time of year, when goals are on our minds and in our conversations. Have you set any for this year? How’s it going so far?

As I write this, it’s 9 days into 2025 and, if you’re like most people, it’s probably not going as well as you would like. The fresh energy of the new year is already fading a bit, and real life has intervened (I’m looking at you, big snow storm!) trampling your ambition and aspirations.

Does that mean you should throw in the towel? No!

But you may want to do a bit of revision to make your goals more effective.

When we think about goals, what tends to come to mind are outcome goals. These are the big picture type of goals we typically set at this time of year (aka “resolutions”). Goals like “I will be debt-free in 2025” fall in this category. There is nothing specific about this goal; all we know is where you intend to arrive.

“I will weigh 135 lbs by June 1st” or “I will lose 60 lbs in 2025” are a bit more specific, but these are also outcome goals. There is no inherent plan.

Most of the time when a new client comes to me, and I ask what she wants to work on, she will say something like:

“I want to make money from my writing.”

“I want to earn enough money from my business so I can leave my job.”

“I'm going to receive a big inheritance, and I want to become someone who is comfortable with, and very good at handling money.”

These are outcome goals. They describe the destination. There isn't anything wrong with them, but they aren't' terribly effective on their own.

I like to help clients turn their big, desired destinations into a process. We identify the steps and the repeated processes necessary to get where they want to go. These process goals contain a specific action.

An example: Years ago, I set a goal to stay in consistent touch with my audience (that's you!). My process is to write my Monday Missive almost every Thursday morning in my Content Writers’ Creation Circle, and schedule it to go out to you the following Monday (Tuesday for my Aussie friends). It’s a process that has worked for me for years, and one I don’t have to spend any time thinking about.

When considering something long-term, such as replacing income from a job with income from your business, it helps significantly to set a process goal that can become habitual. You know the amount of money you need to earn, and you figure out what that means in terms of the actions you need to take.

Let's say you're replacing $4,000 in monthly gross income. Instead of hoping and praying you hit that 4k, and scrambling around in a variety of ways to do it, it's a lot easier to be specific. Say you have a one-on-one client container that costs $4,000. With that, you need to add one new client per month to meet that target. If that takes 5 discovery calls each month (with a closing rate of 20%), then your process is to book 5 discovery calls each month (or maybe more, depending on the number of no-shows you typically have) and work your magic. The money is the target, the discovery calls are the process.

There are some important keys to setting effective process goals:

1. Keep it small and doable. You can always do more in a given day or week, but any extra is a bonus. Similarly, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your process goal isn’t enough. You can always increase it later. If you start off setting a wildly ambitious goal, and struggle to maintain it, you’re setting yourself up for defeat.

2. There must be an action. “I will lose four pounds a week” doesn’t contain an action. “I will eat five servings of vegetables every day” is something you can do.

3. The action must be measurable. I could follow you around and see that you’re performing it. I can’t watch you lose weight on an hourly basis, but I could tell if you were walking for an hour every morning. If you could see me right now, on Thursday January 9th, you'd see that I'm in the Content Writers' Creation Circle writing my Monday Missive. You can also see that it landed in your inbox, so you know that I'm following my process.

4. Tracking is important. Keep it simple, but create a way to check off your action, whether it’s reporting it to someone else (with my clients, I often have them report to me; the added accountability helps), or creating a repeated task in your google calendar.

Once you’ve created your process goal (or goals… it’s okay to have 2 or 3), they become your focus. You don’t forget the destination, but you’re not dwelling on the fact that you’re not there yet. Tomorrow, when I drive to Minnesota to visit my 24 year old, I won’t be calling myself a failure the whole time I'm driving through Indiana because I haven’t made it to Minnesota yet. I will understand that the time behind the wheel is a very necessary part of the process. If I keep moving in the right direction, I will get there, even if there are snow squalls, detours and speed traps.

The same is true for you. As long as you’re completing your action, you will eventually arrive where you want to be.

Does the thought of breaking this (or any goal) into a process make your eyes cross? Then perhaps you'd like to join me in 2025 Is Your Year: A 90 Day Coaching Program. I will do all of that with you, and step-by-step you'll get where you want to go, with me holding your hand. I have room for 1 more client to start in February or March. Book an exploratory call with me here, and let's see if we're a good fit.

with all best wishes for 2025,
Laura