2024 has just begun and, as every year, routines, commitments, and especially that typical January desire to make a list of goals to achieve have kick off again.

However, how many times does this list become a burden, a self-imposed obligation and, by the end of the year, nothing has changed?

This is something that happened to us too but fortunately, we understood where we were going wrong and today we want to share with you our experience so that you too can take some food for thought and, why not, improve your goals list.

Spoiler: the secret is not to have a list of goals! But let's start step by step

An experience to learn from

At the end of 2022 (yes... 2022) we had set ourselves to be more organized so as to waste less time tidying up during the weekend.

We speak in the plural because, in case you didn't know, Weekly Menu is created and managed by Alessandro and Silvia, husband and wife who share this beautiful project together

We started with so much enthusiasm but, just as quickly, we lost all good intentions.

Why?

The reasons we identified from experience are three::

1. It was not clear what “being organized” really meant for us;
2. We had not decided which actions to take;
3. It was perceived as a burden by both of us.

These may seem trivial reasons but we assure you they make a difference.

Assume that one of the goals for 2024 is to read more. If you are like us, just the thought of picking up a book and sitting on the couch considering all the things to do, would be a burden.

How did we solve it then?

• We defined a schedule: 10 minutes every morning from 7:30 AM to 7:40 AM after breakfast;
• we defined the actions: tidy up the rooms following the order kitchen, living room, office, bedroom, bathroom (we move on to the next only when the previous one is tidied up).

10 minutes a day do not weigh on us and the result encourages us to continue because we do not waste precious time during the weekend tidying up the house.

Going back to the previous example, dedicating 5/10/20 minutes to reading or reading a certain number of pages every day at a specific time, is a much more precise goal and therefore easily achievable.

But what does all this have to do with meal planning?

We apply exactly the same method!

On Friday evenings after dinner, we sit at the table and plan what we will eat during the following week so we won't have to waste time making easily avoidable runs to the grocery store.

But wait... these are not goals!

We are convinced that to live in a balanced way, it is not necessary to set and chase big goals but rather to search for and pursue small habits that improve our lifestyle and our daily well-being.

We are not the only ones to say it!

Also the author of Atomic Habits, global bestseller by James Clear, says it in his book:

New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome.
For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results.

Tip from Silvia: start building one habit at a time. Do not overdo it because you think you want to prove something to someone. Only when the new habit is consolidated, move on to the next one. Building new habits should not be a burden but a pleasure instead because it is something you are doing for yourself

Tip from Alessandro: when I work on a new habit (reading, practicing yoga, etc.) I prefer to do it in the morning as soon as I wake up so I am sure that I will not be disturbed and that moment of the day is just for me.