Rethinking Goal-Setting Season
“When I gave myself space to think, I stopped running my business like it was an emergency”
Every January, most of us jump straight into goal-setting mode — new plans, new intentions, new energy. But what if you did this BEFORE the year starts and do it by first designing the year you want to live?
As business owners and professionals, we tend to plan in response to what’s already happening — deadlines, client demands, revenue targets. Yet true progress comes from a different starting point: envisioning the kind of life and business we want to experience, and then setting goals that support that vision.
Designing your year is about creating structure around your values, not just your obligations. It’s where strategy meets intention — and where clarity leads to calm.
Start with the Big Picture
Before you think about revenue targets or project lists, ask yourself: What do I want my life to feel like next year?
Do you want more breathing room? More creative time? Less chaos? The truth is, the way you feel each week is often a reflection of how your business is designed. Start with that emotional vision first.
Write it down. Describe your ideal day or week in detail — when you wake up, how you spend your time, how you want to feel when your workday ends. This is the foundation for everything that follows.
Design Your Energy Calendar
We all have natural rhythms. Some people thrive on high-intensity bursts followed by downtime. Others need steady consistency to perform well. Some hyper-focus for hours, some micro-focus in bursts.
When designing your year, think about when you want to work hardest — and when you want to rest. If you know Q1 is your busiest time, pre-plan lighter months in the summer or fall. If you want to travel, block those dates before your calendar fills up.
You’re not just scheduling work; you’re scheduling sustainability.
Align Goals with Priorities — Not Pressure
Once you know what matters, you can decide which goals deserve space in your year.
Ask yourself:
Does this goal support the kind of year I want to live?
Does it align with my core values?
What will I need to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to this?
This kind of intentional goal alignment prevents you from creating a plan that’s impressive on paper but exhausting in practice.
Simplify Systems and Structures
A well-designed year has room for flow. That doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built through systems, boundaries, and smart routines.
Audit your business operations and routines. Which processes waste time? What could be automated, delegated, or dropped entirely?
For example:
Simplify your onboarding process. Make it consistent and repeatable.
Create template responses for repeat questions.
Build in one “focus day” each week without meetings.
The goal isn’t to do more — it’s to free up the mental bandwidth for what matters most.
Build in Space for Growth and Renewal
Designing your year isn’t just about productivity; it’s also about creativity and recovery.
Think of “white space” on your calendar as a strategic investment. It’s where ideas grow, where clarity returns, and where innovation happens. Schedule quarterly reflection days or personal retreats to reset and realign.
As one of my coaching clients once said, “When I gave myself space to think, I stopped running my business like it was an emergency.”
Name Your Year
Before you finalize your goals, choose a theme or word that captures the spirit of what you want next year to represent. It could be Balance, Growth, Courage, Freedom, Peace, Simplicity…you pick!
This theme becomes your touchstone throughout the year — a quick check-in to ensure your decisions are still aligned with the year you designed.
Coaching Reflection
If you designed your year before setting your goals, what might look different?
What’s missing right now?
Where do I want to spend my time?
How can I make that happen?
Designing the year you want is the bridge between intention and action — the framework that makes your goals mean something.
In Summary
Before you rush into goal-setting mode, take a step back and ask:
“What do I want my year to look and feel like — and how can my goals make that possible?”
When you design your year first, your goals don’t just push you forward; they pull you toward a life and business that actually fit.
