Goals You Can Set & Achieve in 2021

Alexa Burban
Jan 18, 2021
5 min read

The start of a new year is known to bring the feeling of optimism and hope. Many people like to take this time as an opportunity to set new goals they would like to achieve throughout the year. However, new year’s resolutions have a bad reputation as people don’t tend to stick to the resolutions they set out for themselves, failing in as little as a few days. I can attest to this, even at the start of this year I attempted to curb my swearing - it lasted a day. I also want to add that the start of 2021 is different than the beginning of any other year. The world is still battling the COVID-19 pandemic, many areas of the world (including my own) are on lockdown, restricting people’s access to their jobs, shopping, and leisure. The feeling of optimism and hope may be lacking this year - I know it is for me.

I sat down sometime in December and tried to plan out where I want to see myself by the end of 2021 and I had a hard time pinpointing both what it is I wanted and how I was going to get there. I shared this with one of my best friends and she suggested I create a vision board so I could visually see what it is I wanted and become inspired by it. I created mine using Pinterest and included images of positive quotes, healthy food, working from home, and people who inspire me. A vision board is different for everyone. You can include goals you want to achieve varying in topics including happiness, love, career, education, health, family, friends, travel, and self-love/confidence.

If you’re still struggling to set out goals for yourself this year, that’s okay. While we’re a few weeks into the new year, the year is still young and you have plenty of time to find inspiration even in the bleakest of times. To maybe inspire you, I’m sharing some goals I’ve set out for myself, or areas in my life I would like to improve in by the end of 2021 that I strongly believe are attainable and realistic.

For the last few years, I’ve set reading goals for myself on Goodreads and tracked my reading process throughout the year. In 2018, I broke my own record of books read in a year but in 2020, I fell out of love with reading. Looking back, 2020 would’ve been the perfect time to read with the increased amount of time I was spending at home but, I struggled to focus on any book I did pick up. I don’t think it was the quality of the story or writing that was deterring my interest, but the amount of things happening around the world that was getting my full attention. As much as I wanted to focus on anything but world news, I couldn’t. Now that Southern Ontario is in a second lockdown, I’m trying my best to reignite my love of reading.

If one of your goals for 2021 is to read more but don’t know how to set an attainable goal and stay motivated, here’s what I plan to do this year:

Create a Goodreads account and connect with your reader friends and family.
Set a reading goal for the year. If you’re a new reader I would begin with the goal of 12 books. Goodreads allows you to change your reading goal throughout the year and if you find yourself nearing completing 12 books with months to spare, increase your reading goal by a few.
If you’re struggling to find books you’d like to read, join a (virtual) book club! Not only will you gain new perspectives but you’ll also make new friends! I’ve decided to launch my own book club - more on this in my next blog post!

Save, Plan, Invest

I’ve always believed that financial literacy is crucial for survival, however when speaking with others, I’ve found very few people are planning for their future or have any desire to do so. I believe this stems from a lack of education surrounding finances and expenses in school, so many people feel left in the dark with this subject. And don’t get me wrong, it absolutely appears to be daunting and intimidating, but with a bit of research and speaking to professionals, you can set up a plan or goal that you would like to achieve financially.

Over the last few years I began saving for retirement so when it comes time to it I’ll be prepared. If retirement seems too far in the future and not a goal that’s pulling you, that’s okay, start saving for something that is calling your name. A vacation (when we can all freely travel again), a car, your first home. Whatever it is, the right time to start saving is now!

Here are some things that I’ve done in the past and continue to do to reach my financial goals:

Seek financial advice. If your bank offers financial services or you have access to another financial advisor (friend or family member), contact them and share what your financial goals are including short-term, long-term, and where you want to invest your money.
Set up a TFSA (tax-free savings account). While the amounts change as years pass, this year you can deposit up to $6,000 into a TFSA that will earn you interest and allow you to save for your future.
Create a budget. From a young age, my dad taught me to save 75% and spend only 25% of each paycheque. While I haven’t always stuck to this method and would often not understand why my dad wanted to restrict my spending, looking back, this was a great habit to get into. While you may not have many monthly bills now (and if you do, you’ll understand why this is important), this is great practice for the future. Budgeting is a crucial skill that unfortunately, isn’t taught in high school so if you don’t start now, you may learn the hard way why it’s an important skill to have. Maybe start 50% save 50% spend and overtime you’ll see the importance of saving just in case one of those dreaded rainy days occurs.

Better Your Body

This has got to be the top New Year’s resolution that people have! And while many people start with the right intentions, it’s easy to lose sight of your end goal. I recommend starting with a small goal and then adding onto it as the months pass.

Here are some things I’ve done over the last few years and plan to continue working on this year:

Drink more water. Buy a large, reusable water bottle (that you actually like) to track how much water you drink and keeps you encouraged to drink more. Your skin will thank you for this later.
Make conscious decisions on what food I put into my body and how my body reacts
Create a fitness routine that I enjoy (walking on the treadmill, yoga, Zumba, etc)
Visit/speak to a doctor about a checkup just to make sure everything is okay on the inside

Focus on Self-Love

This is an ongoing struggle that I’m sure many people have. Self-love isn’t just about loving yourself completely it’s also a practice to surround yourself with positive things and removing negativity from your space. Give yourself the love and attention you give others.

Clear up your social media feeds of content that doesn’t make you smile
Spend less time on your phone and more time with your family and friends
Reflect on your relationships (romantic and not) and remove anyone who exudes toxicity and replace them with those who make you feel good about yourself