Self-Coaching Guide: Spring Goals, Improved
Not Just Another To-Do List
The “light half” of the year feels like it’s revving up.
That means there are so many opinions out there about what it’s “supposed” to mean. New goals. Fresh starts. Big energy. Clean slates.
And maybe that resonates for you. Maybe you’re feeling the pull toward something new, and you’re ready to run with it.
I have days when I definitely feel this way!
But there are other days, especially days when I cross the line between being informed and doomscrolling, or when the world just feels so heavy, when it’s hard to focus, when overwhelm creeps in, or when I’m just not quite ready to burst out of the gate.
It’s all completely valid.
And another to-do list, for me, just won’t cut it this year.
Instead of “Just Goals,” Let’s Try Curiosity
You don’t have to think about these: “What should I accomplish this spring?” or “What should I be focusing on?”
Because: ugh! The shoulds. If there’s one takeaway here: Stop shoulding all over yourself.
Instead, how about something more holistic? Something like: What’s working for me, where is positive change possible, and what would I want to start?
More holistic, and, I’d argue, more realistic.
Because the big secret is this: seasons are not deadlines.
Just like the weather didn’t magically change as soon as we started calling it a new season, you don’t have to magically have all your goals and lists ready to go.
If you have them, I applaud you! If that’s the case, I’d still suggest working through this guide, since a bit of reflection can illuminate so many helpful things, including what feels like the most important thing, and how you’ll sustain momentum on it.
And that’s the heart of this month’s self-coaching guide: “a bit of reflection” that illuminates and supports realistic, positive change.
If you’ve been following along with this year’s monthly guides, you’ve done a lot. A LOT.
So this month, let’s let it settle.
It’s not really a “guide,” so much as a reflective practice, just something easy for a bit of insight.
Something you can offer to yourself to counterbalance the news cycle we’ve all been living through.
It’s simple, but not simplistic.
And, and this is the best part, you can change your mind. You can do this over and over again.
Because right now, what feels real to me is having something to come back to.
If it feels right, you can do it right now.
April Self-Coaching Reflective Practice
You’ll want something to write on (or type on), or if it feels better to use a voice memo to yourself, that works.
If you want to get creative, you can also draw your answers!
You’re going to be writing or reflecting on three different things, so you can use different pieces of paper, post-its, one paper folded in three, make columns on a document, or organize things however you’d like.
For each thing, it’s ok to go with the first idea that comes to mind. Go with your gut. You can always come back, revisit, or redo this at any time.
1. What’s Working
Start by thinking about your life, your goals, your values, etc. What’s working for you? What’s vibing? Where are you in a groove?
Find something that’s working, no matter how small, and recognize it.
Here are some ideas:
Remembering to hydrate.
Friendships/relationships/community, checking up on loved ones.
Work is going OK.
Spending less money frivolously, saving even just a tiny bit where I can.
You can be as general or as specific as you like. It’s entirely up to you.
Just take a moment to think about what’s going a-ok and make a note of it.
And then, pat yourself on the back, add some emojis, give yourself a high five. Celebrate!
Way to go!
This is a really important step, and one that nearly all goal-oriented work seems to miss. It’s really important for your mind (and your heart) that you acknowledge wins, no matter how small.
Something working, going great, or just going ok-enough? Really see that. Notice how it feels to acknowledge yourself. Go you!
Because that is the key to sustaining momentum here.
If you want to take a moment to think about how you’d like to sustain this, you can list some ideas.
It’s also perfectly fine if your plan is just: keep on keeping on.
Either way, you’ve got a great start on one focus point for spring.
2. What I’m Done With/Releasing/Need to Change
Or in other words, what’s not working how you want it to.
We hear a lot about “what you want to release” on social media, and my take is this: it’s not that easy to just “let something go.”
And that’s especially true if we’re talking about changing a deeply ingrained habit.
Yes, there’s mindset stuff in this.
And there’s also how mindset impacts how we actually do things.
Sometimes it’s easier to change what we are doing and then notice our mindset catches up.
Let’s take a concrete example: “I’m done with doomscrolling.”
It’s easy to think: “This just makes me feel terrible, it drags me down, I’ve gone way past the point of being informed, and now I’m just stuck in the scroll. I’ll just stop.”
That’s the mindset shift.
But then, out of habit, you keep reaching for your phone, opening up your IG, and suddenly it’s half an hour later.
Mindset is great. I mean that. Mindset shifts and reframes are things I talk about all the time.
But they don’t always get you there.
Let’s take the doomscrolling example again.
The mindset shift to stop doing that is only the first step. What are you going to do or change to support this?
For example, can you start putting your phone just far enough from you that you have to get up or stretch to retrieve it? That gives you physical space to reconsider if you’re reaching out of habit.
Can you put your social media apps in a folder called “think twice,” so that when you go to open them, you think twice about whether that’s really what you want to be doing right now?
This intentionally creates space around the thing you want to release or let go of, so that you can make mindful choices.
As you make more mindful choices that support change, you can celebrate those, even in small ways.
The mindset shift was the catalyst, but having something concrete in place made it actionable.
So, for this step, name something you want to be done with, release, or change, and give yourself one thing you’ll do to support that.
The doomscrolling example is just one. Here are two more:
Stop complaining/gossiping at work. // Post-it note reminders around my desk to check myself before engaging in negativity that drags me down.
Stop grabbing high-sugar snacks in the afternoon that make me crash. // Keep more healthy options readily available, so when I choose the sweet treat, it’s a conscious choice.
Now you’ve identified something that’s not working, and given yourself a launching pad towards positive change.
Again, way to go!
3. What I’ll Start
Depending on what you wrote in your #2, you may already have something you’re going to start.
If so, or if what you have here already seems like about as much as your bandwidth can manage, that’s totally ok! Showing up for yourself and doing some guided reflection is a win.
But if you’re feeling like you want a bit more, maybe you’ve had some things on your mind, or there are things you regularly do or start in spring, then this is the time to note them.
For me, spring means the garden. That’s the big project that will carry me through the fall.
I’ve been ideating on it for some time; soon, it will be time to put it into action.
Here are some other examples:
Getting more fresh air/sunshine on my face every day.
An art project of some kind.
Taking a class or learning a new skill.
Regular movement/exercise.
Start a meditation/mindfulness/contemplative practice.
Once you’ve landed on something, give yourself a few ideas of what that could look like, or make a tentative plan for how you’re going to get going.
For example, if I chose “regular movement of some kind,” I might brainstorm: yoga, taking more walks, dancing, making a list of nearby hikes, etc.
If I chose “start a meditation/mindfulness/contemplative practice,” I might make sure I have some apps downloaded (Insight Timer has lots of options in their free version!) and a reminder set on my phone with a gentle nudge.
I strongly encourage this part because one of the main reasons we never get from “deciding to start something” to actually starting it is that, when we actually decide to start or when time opens up, possibly in a random pocket, we have to do the ideating and brainstorming.
We have to figure out how to start.
And so we never get out of that phase. We never move from the idea to start something to actually starting.
So, pick something you’d like to start and do that ideating/brainstorming/setting yourself up right now.
Heck, if you have time, depending on what you choose, you could even start now.
If you don’t, that’s ok. It won’t work with everything.
But having some ideas of what starting could look like can make a huge difference.
And again, go you!
Way to Go!
And, the spirit of celebrating, you’ve done it!
You’ve made some spring goals. And you’ve set yourself up for success, however you define it.
You didn’t need a color-coded tracker or a 90-day plan. It didn’t have to be a big whole thing.
If you want to fill things out more fully, make a KanBan board, set more reminders in your phone, etc, go for it!
If you want to make a plan to come back to this in a week or a month or six weeks to check in, that’s another great step.
A bit of personal, friendly accountability can be a great help.
For me, for transparency, I’m working with:
What’s Working: My movement and hydration plans are working most days. I’m gonna keep on keeping on!
What I’ll Change: I fall in and out of the doomscrolling habit (don’t we all!), so I’m actively spending less time on social media. During my work time, contemplative practice, and creative time, I leave my phone in another room so I can focus.
What I’ll Start: I’m planning a big extension on the home garden, so I just hired some landscapers to help to clear a large area for planting. Next week, I’ll make more concrete plans and see what the library has for seeds this year.
What are you working on? I’d love to know how it goes!
This blog will take a week off next week as we’ll be celebrating my hubster’s birthday.