How to set a year’s goals and make sure they happen:

Wisdom on setting and meeting professional goals, from time management author and expert Laura Vanderkam.

Mary ·

Before You Start

Goal: Write your goals for the year ahead, break one into small steps, and put the first two on your calendar.

Watch: How to Gain Control of Your Free Time — Members are encouraged to watch beforehand, but a quick recap at the meeting works too.

Laura Vanderkam's TED talk shows how to fit in the things that matter most. In this meeting, you turn a year of goals into small steps and schedule the first ones before you leave.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Activities · 20 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Think of a goal you've reached in the past. What's one thing that helped you make progress on it?

Key Takeaways · 5 mins

Read these on your own or take turns reading them aloud.

  • "I don't have time" usually means "it's not a priority" — Try saying "I don't do X because it's not a priority" about the things that matter less to you. That frees up room for the ones that matter most, according to Laura Vanderkam.
  • Treat your goals like emergencies — When a water heater breaks, people find hours in a packed week to fix it. Give your goals the same urgency by putting them on your calendar.
  • You can do a lot in a small window of time — A ten-minute slot is enough to send an email, make a call, or draft an outline. Choose next steps small enough to fit.
  • Plan your week in advance — Pick the same time each week, such as Friday afternoon, to put your next steps on your calendar. Scheduling the planning session itself helps it happen.

Activity 1 · 10 mins

Write your year-end performance review

  1. Imagine it's the end of the year and you're writing your own performance review. It has been an excellent year. Write down 3-5 things you accomplished that made it that way.
  2. Circle 3 of your 3-5 "accomplishments" as your professional goals for the year.
  3. Make sure each one is concrete and measurable, for example: "Increase my team's client renewals by 15%."

Discuss as a group:

  1. Which goal on your list are you most excited about?
  2. What did you hear from others that you'd like to add to your own list?
  3. What would have to happen by the middle of the year if you were on track?

Activity 2 · 10 mins

Break one goal into steps and schedule them

  1. Choose one goal from Activity 1. Quickly brainstorm every step you can think of to get there. For example, for a sales target: "Review my client list for growth potential," "Schedule coffee with last year's top performer," and "Ask my manager about the travel budget."
  2. Circle the two smallest steps you can take next week. Estimate how long each will take and add some buffer time.
  3. Open your calendar and block time for both steps.
  4. Then choose a recurring weekly time to plan next steps towards your goals, such as Friday afternoon, and put that on your calendar too.

Discuss as a group:

  1. Which of your two steps are you most looking forward to?
  2. What might get in the way? How can you make sure nothing gets in your way?
  3. What's one way your Circle can help you with your next steps?

Optional take-home activity: Paste one of your goals into an AI tool and ask it to suggest a four-week plan of small steps. Edit the plan so it fits your schedule, then bring it to your next meeting and share how it compared with your own list.

One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Complete the two steps you put on your calendar, and keep your recurring weekly planning time for the next four weeks. Come ready to share how it went.

Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between