We often think about goal setting at the beginning of a new year, but as we approach a new quarter, I’d like to suggest a different style of goal-setting: seasonal planning. Rather than planning your entire year (a really big bite), focus on 12 weeks at a time. Set goals for the immediate future, the upcoming season, and see how much you can accomplish.  

I’ve always been one of those people who try to set goals each year. Yep, when the New Year is approaching, I pull out my notes from years of planning and dreaming, and I set new or similar intentions for the year ahead. I consider new habits to work on and dream about more books to write. About this time of year as the leaves begin to change color, however, I wonder what happened to those goals? It’s almost the end of the year, and I’ve dropped the ball. Often, those goals and dreams are listed in another notebook or in my Notes App, but I haven’t looked at them much since January. In fact, I’ve probably avoided the list entirely. 

Like time itself, the goals have slipped through my fingers because I did not pay attention to them. I dreamed big but didn’t make a way for it to happen. 

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Seasonal Planning: How to Organize Your Personal Goals

I’ve heard this quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln. “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” It’s all about gathering the best tools, preparing, and planning. Note that he was going to chop down one tree with one axe. 

When I look at the entire year and think about what I’d like to accomplish? That’s like gazing upon an entire grove of trees that needs to be cut down and holding one pair of dull scissors. Well, perhaps I’m exaggerating. But you get the picture. 

Enter Seasonal Planning. That’s my not-so-creative name for what is very simply looking at the entire year in smaller chunks, four quarters, four 12-week gifts ready to unwrap. It’s not rocket science at all, but it is brilliant, simple, and it’s working well for me. 

Why use Seasonal Planning?

Perhaps you are like the old-me and you default to an annual goal-setting practice. Once a year, you write the infamous checklist on a piece of paper or in a notebook and then with good intentions, you step into the fresh new year. It’s exciting. Exhilarating. This year I will . . . And  you believe you will!  

You turn the pages on the next weeks which turn into months. Then you remember those goals and plans. And then you feel guilty. This quote returns to me. “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” And maybe you determine, like me, that next year will be better. 

I’ve been playing this goal-setting game for about 30+ years, and I think I’ve finally found a better way. 

People much wiser than I have been doing this whole goal-setting process differently. (In fact, there’s at least one good book dedicated to the topic, The 12-Week Year which is on my to-be-read list.) They practice goal-setting in smaller chunks of time. Instead of considering the entire year, what would it be like to strive for a goal that might be smaller, more attainable? It’s not so overwhelming. 

I’m reminded of my grad school days decades ago when I had to read a lot of books. Big books. And not just read them. Know them and write about motifs, character arcs, all that. In the Dickens class, for example, we were required to read almost all of his work. After a moment of panic when I looked at the syllabus, I grabbed a pencil and calculator and did the math. One book, 1,088 pages. (Bleak House) Six days. That’s 181.3 pages per day.  I didn’t stress about the .3 part. I scheduled it and read daily. It wasn’t so overwhelming. (I love that novel.) 

How does Seasonal Planning work?

This same, bite-size approach to goals can be applied at the quarterly or seasonal level. True practitioners of this system say you can use any 12-week chunk of time. That’s cool because you can turn the corner on your life, plans, goals any time of the year. It’s mid-July? Start then if that works for you. 

For me, that would make my brain a little cranky because I love the natural rhythms of the seasons that God created. This becomes a faith-filled practice for me as I shift with the seasons of the year. It’s natural and easy. It also matches some calendars and planner systems already out there (Michael Hyatt’s Full Focus Planner–not an affiliate link–is designed with these four quarters, for example.) 

So here are some suggestions to help you do this Seasonal Planning.

1. Set aside time to pray and journal.  

Halfway through the month before the season changes, I set aside time to visit my intentions for the next season. I begin with a prayer asking the Lord to guide me. Sometimes I will pray words from Psalm 19. Here’s the verses from The Message, a paraphrase which is in more contemporary language. “Day” can be replaced by season, if you like. 

Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!

    Keep me from stupid sins,

    from thinking I can take over your work;

Then I can start this day sun-washed,

    scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.

These are the words in my mouth;

    these are what I chew on and pray.

Accept them when I place them

    on the morning altar,

O God, my Altar-Rock,

    God, Priest-of-My-Altar.

After my prayer, I will revisit my annual goals (I still do this big-picture planning), and then ask myself a few questions. How are these intentions going? What has changed in my life that influenced these goals? What would I like to add/change/omit? What’s working well? What is not working? 

2. Start with a fresh page.

Literally, pull out a clean sheet of paper or turn the page in your notebook and write “This Season” at the top. If you like a little fun with your planning, add a seasonal sticker or highlight the title with a colorful marker. When I have time, I love the creative part. 

3. Choose categories for this season. 

If you have not thought about your categories, here’s a brief overview that helps me. This comes from decades of planning and goal-setting. (When I was teaching full-time, I had work-specific goals which I kept separate from my personal goals. If you are working outside your home and it’s a job where you need to set goals, I’d recommend you maintain a separate list for that.) For this season of my life, I usually have several goals that relate to my work/writing life, and the rest are personal. My categories include the following:

• Faith
• Family
• Health/Fitness
• Friends
• Finances
• Work
• Home/House/Meals
• Learning
• Volunteering
• Recreation/Vacation

Ten categories. These are not necessarily in a specific order of importance, but I do keep the first one first all the time. 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 

4. Narrow Down Your Categories

Experts suggest that we shouldn’t juggle ten different goals at the same time, especially if we are trying to do something new, like start a new practice or develop a habit. 

For annual goals, I write intentions for each of these life areas. I brainstorm about them, things I’d like to change, thoughts, possibilities, ideas. Some of these may become actual goals I’d like to reach throughout the year, and specifically during one season. 

Let me give you a snippet of my brainstorming for the year about Home. Sometimes I just write a long list of ideas as they come to me. Other times I’ll write an actual paragraph with fragments like this. 

Home. So many projects to tackle! Organizing the basement. Bookshelves. Old files to sort through. Old files to burn or shred. Too many plates and cups and saucers. I should get some plastic bins to help with the deep cabinet storage. Set aside snowy/rainy days for these projects. I really want to paint the front porch chairs and table. What color? And new pillow covers for each season maybe? What about a fresh finish on the porch swing? Back porch screens. Back porch new pillow covers and a new rug maybe? Landscaping is another challenge. What to do about the deer? They keep eating absolutely everything we plant. Research this some more. Make a list of plants that are deer resistant. 

This “braindump” activity always works for me. I get the hundreds of thoughts out of my head and onto paper. Then I can process and sort and set intentions. 

Once you move into the seasonal planning, I would suggest focusing on just 3-4 categories for projects and goals. Play with it and see what works best for you. 

5. Set up your brainstorming sheet. 

On another fresh sheet of paper, list each of your chosen categories, leaving plenty of room beneath for your ideas. 

6. Brainstorm the possibilities. Right there. 

For example, Home is one of my categories for this next season. My brainstorming might look like this:

Home. You are a blessing to me and my husband. I love so much about this space. But there are some things that are irritating me. What are the things around the house that I want to tackle now? Is something frustrating me about the space I live in? What projects have I left undone or avoided that I should face? Why do I want to set a goal for my home right now? It’s the holiday season and I want to welcome family and friends into my home, so it will feel more comfortable if I tackled a few of these. 

Then, set it aside for a day or two. This is important. Take your time, and let the ideas sink in. 

7. Choose your goals.

When you return to it and make decisions about one or two goals within each category. Projects you want to accomplish in this next season. If it’s a project that might overlap into the next season, that’s fine! Just set the intention to begin the project. First steps.

8. Write them somewhere prominent. 

Finally, write your goals somewhere you will see them frequently. Maybe this will be on your monthly calendar. Or perhaps in your planner, Notes app, or a Word doc. You could also create a Season Goal card or page that you print and then clip to your fridge or hang on a bulletin board. (Do you still do those things?) Because it is important that you see the goals weekly.

Leave Room for the Holy Interruptions

As I wrote this post, I was reminded by a wise friend about holy interruptions or distractions, those little (and big) things that gently invite us to turn away from our to-do lists. Now I’m not talking about scrolling your social media or binge-watching that Netflix show here. I’m talking about those interruptions that are good and fruitful. They are not planned. The phone call from a friend who needs to chat. The neighbor whose car won’t start. The child who tugs on your pants for attention when all you want to do is tackle that to-do list. 

Leave white space in your seasonal planning for these beautiful Spirit-led opportunities to love and serve. Perhaps take off one or two items from your to-do list each day. Or hold them all loosely. Then rest in Christ, your Lord and Savior, who redeems our messes and forgives the holy interruptions we miss.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

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