Setting Goals as Anchors: How I Plan for a Steady Year
There’s a version of goal setting that feels loud. Big declarations. Color-coded planners that are thrown out by February. A sense that if you don’t overhaul your entire life this year, you’ve failed.
That’s not what this is.
At The Steady Week, I think about goals differently. Not as pressure. Not as hustle. Not as one extra thing. But as anchors - something solid to return to when your year inevitably gets choppy. (Surprise surprise - life is going to throw you a curveball this year, and the next, and the next)
I don’t set goals to transform my life. Goals should feel exciting, not heavy. Life doesn’t move in straight lines but through peaks, valleys, detours and long stretches of quiet maintenance. In those moments, motivation isn’t a reliable tool to bank on - direction is. Goals should orient us when work gets intense, when family life is full and loud, when energy is low, or when clarity and priorities feel lightyears away. They give you something to gut check against:
Is this still where I’m headed?
Does this decision support the life I’m building?
What actually matters right now?
Am I letting myself get distracted?
I plan my year using a structure inspired by the Full Focus method by Michael Hyatt because it’s clear. Here’s the process I follow.
Step One: Start With Life, Not Tasks
Before I write a single goal, I look at the major areas of my life: career, health, family, finances, home, relationships, faith (spirituality, not myself).
This step matters because goals shouldn’t compete with your life, they should support it. If a goal only works on paper but makes real life harder, it’s not a good goal.
Step Two: Choose Fewer Goals Than You Think You Need
If you try to focus on everything, you’ll wind up focusing on nothing. More goals usually leads to more guilt, not more progress. I aim for 7 goals (MAX) for the entire year knowing that different seasons will demand different energy. Some goals become background anchors, not daily priorities. As you brainstorm the areas of life that are most important to you, narrow that focus as much as possible. If you can set one goal that impacts multiple areas, you know you’re headed in the right direction.
Step Three: Write Steady Goals - Not Perfection Goals
My goals aren’t about perfect optimization, they’re about sustainability. Instead of “be more productive”, I ask myself, “What does better actually look like? How do I want this area of my life to feel by the end of the year? What will tell me I’m moving in the right direction?”.
The best place to start writing a goal is envisioning what success looks like. Metrics are critical to any goal. If you leave it broad, it’s easy to lose your way. Here is an example of my financial goal and success metrics for 2026:
By December 2026, I will increase our financial stability by maintaining a fully funded emergency fund and clearly defined savings buckets. Success looks like 3-6 months of expenses saved in a high yield savings account, automated savings and sinking funds for our top 5 savings goals, and monthly financial check-ins where we evaluate our progress to goals and pivot as necessary.
I can’t tell you how many times my impulse buys have been tempered by just asking myself, “does this get me closer to my goal?”. I also couldn’t tell you one thing I was going to buy and decided against, which tells me I’m moving in the right direction.
Step Four: Separate Direction from Daily Pressure
This is where goals become anchors. I don’t wake up every morning trying to achieve my annual goals. I use them as a reference point. When I plan my quarter, month, week, day, hour, I ask:
Which goal does this support?
Which one needs my attention right now?
Which ones can stay quiet this season?
The goal itself doesn’t demand constant action, it simply stays present.
Step Five: Return to Your Goals When Life Gets Messy
This is where the superpower of goals comes to life. They aren’t just for momentum, they’re for regulation. When things get overwhelming, unclear, or reactive, come back to goals. If the thing pulling for your attention doesn’t lend itself to your vision for the end of the year, you are allowed to say no. Let me say that again…
You are allowed to say no.
More on how to do that without burning bridges later. Equally as important as saying no is understanding that goals are fluid. As life throws things your way you couldn’t have seen coming, it is okay to sit down and determine that a goal is no longer serving its purpose. It’s healthy to revisit your goals regularly and ensure that it’s still the best direction for your year. That’s steadiness.
What a “Steady Year” Actually Looks Like
A steady year isn’t calm all the time. It’s not perfectly balanced. It’s not always “productive”. A steady year is one where you know what you’re building. You can course correct without having a full scale panic attack. Most importantly, you don’t lose yourself in the noise of the moment. Goals make that possible by grounding you inside of it.
That’s how I plan my year - one grounded decision at a time.
- Faith