Goal Setting for Summer (or Anytime!)

Summer. That care-free time when we make a list of fun activities—and a list of good intentions for teaching and growing. To be sure that the summer doesn’t pass you by with unmet goals and regrets, I wanted to apply some of our goal setting information to your summer!

If you have heard us talk about goal setting for your family, you know that we encourage you to make your goals like this:

1. List an outcome you want

2. Determine an action that will help you achieve that

3. Put the action into the schedule or routine

Let’s walk through a couple potential summer “to do” items to see how you can make these real for your family:

Sample ONE:

1. List an outcome you want: Learn More About Creation Science This Summer

2. Determine an action that will help you achieve that: Have each child choose a creation science book to read for the summer

3. Put the action into the schedule or routine: Have creation science reading time after breakfast and chores each morning (or at bedtime or whatever…follow our attach it to something in the schedule advice! 🙂 )

Sample TWO:

1. List an outcome you want: Talk to kids more often and without distractions

2. Determine an action that will help you achieve that: Fire Pit Talks With No Electronics (Read about Techno-Free Talks here!)

3. Put the action into the schedule or routine: Thursday night easy dinner followed by marshmallows and fire pit with no electronics and whole family for one hour

One thing I didn’t mention is to be sure that everybody has the action on their schedule/calendar! This is more likely to happen if you have calendar meetings or other family times that give direction to the family’s week.

The point is that good things do not just happen. Those things have to be purposeful, planned, and followed through on.

We can make abstract goals and ideals forever…but until they are given actionable tasks and times, they are just goals (i.e. dreams) and ideals. You can make good things happen for your family!