November is the month I start brainstorming my goals for the following year.
It’s a running list on my Reminders app, making fleeting ideas very easy to capture. During November, this list will expand to about 10-15 possible goals for the following year. Then, in December, I will take several days (up to one week) to review this preliminary goals list, along with all of my existing projects, to finalize my goals for the following year. (I call this week “Think Week.”)
I try to keep this final goals list short—hopefully to just 3-4 goals—because its purpose is to act as a guide during my Sunday Morning Weekly Reviews when I upgrade, downgrade, and delete any projects I am working on.
Of note, it’s also a reasonably stable list. It’s not written in stone, and if a significant event occurs during the year—such as a family health event—then it can radically change, but its stability is what makes it a useful measuring stick. (It’s certainly more practical than my 5-Year Goals list, which is relatively airy-fairy!).
Anyway, it’s November brainstorming time, a time to think outside of the box about what next year might offer in terms of challenges. Heck, in the world of goal setting, it might even displace December as the most wonderful time of the year!