How to Set Achievable New Years Goals

Setting New Year’s goals, especially with ADHD, is tough. Here’s how to set goals you can actually accomplish!

How many of you make New Years Resolutions every December?

Most importantly- how many of you actually follow through with them?

I, like many of you, have set pretty ambitious goals over the years.

• Make 6 figures on a business that’s barely making 5 figures
• Journal my feelings perfectly every day (With a new fancy journal and stickers)
• Run 5 half marathons in a year

Those are all good goals, don’t get me wrong! But does just looking at them give you anxiety?

After I was diagnosed with ADHD back in 2022, I realized that I need to change the way I’ve been approaching things. Especially goals.

Instead of looking at the big goals and getting overwhelmed, I needed to create an ADHD-friendly strategy that works WITH my brain.

Today I want to share some tips that have worked for me and can hopefully encourage you to do the same.

And remember: Progress is more important than perfection. Guilt has no place here- so just take a deep breath!

Why Traditional Goal-Setting Doesn’t Work for Everyone

People with ADHD brains have a few common struggles when it comes to setting goals:

• We feel overwhelmed at the big goals
• We lose motivation super easily, especially when it doesn’t feel fun anymore
• We get stuck on the details, trying to make sure we do everything perfectly but never actually getting started
• We can’t figure out what’s most important, because it ALL feels important

It’s super frustrating, right? I think the problem is we keep looking at the goal as a whole, instead of breaking them down into manageable pieces. More on that below!

Focus On What Matters Most

Okay but seriously- what really matters most in your life right now?

I want you to find 1-3 goals that truly align with your values or current needs. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and brain dump all the ideas you have. Then pick only up to 3 priorities.

For me, this looks like:

• Building my business
• Getting back into good physical shape
• Spending more time with family

Break Goals into Bite-Sized Steps

Now that you’ve identified your big goals, it’s time to break them down. Make them small and actionable.

For example, my goal of getting back into shape could look like these smaller steps:

• Do a 20-minute workout 5 days a week
• Walk for 10 minutes a day
• Eat a salad every day

I track some of my goals in my planner, which both helps me remember that I actually did it and lets me look back to see my progress.

Build Momentum with Tiny Wins

If even what I said above sounds overwhelming, start small. Like, incredibly small.

• If you can’t walk for 10 minutes, walk for 5 minutes.
• If you can’t eat a salad every day, start with a couple baby carrots.
• If going to the gym is too hard, pull into the parking lot and sit for 5 minutes, then leave.

The book Atomic Habits by James Clear talks about this. These tiny little wins help build confidence and motivation.

Is it weird to sit in the gym’s parking lot and not go inside? Sure. But you made that first step. And maybe next time you’ll actually walk in and stay for 5 minutes.

Celebrate those small victories! It’ll reinforce those positive habits and you’ll eventually be able to do more and more.

Plan for Imperfection

My brain hates imperfection. I feel like I have to keep trying to get it all right.

But honestly, setbacks and distractions will happen. Maybe you get sick and can’t work out for a few days and that messes up your groove.

If you know these things will happen, then it’ll be much easier to cope when the unexpected DOES happen.

Try making “if-then” statements. Like, “If I miss a day of working out, then I’ll restart it tomorrow without guilt”.

Or in my case recently: “If my daughter has a snow day tomorrow, I’ll lighten my workload and only get the easy stuff done”.

Avoid the All-or-Nothing Trap

Perfectionism hinders progress, a lot like what I said above.

Do you ever think, “If I can’t do this perfectly, there’s no reason to do it at all”?

Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Remember, doing SOMETHING is better than doing NOTHING.

If it’s raining outside and you can’t take your planned walk, take a few laps around the living room or do a walking workout video on Youtube.

If you planned to declutter the whole house and it’s overwhelming, just set a 5-minute timer and do what you can.

It’s progress! And even that little bit helps.

Use ADHD-Friendly Tools and Supports

There really is no magic tool that works for every ADHD person, but you may find a few things here and there that can help:

• Habit tracker apps (I really liked Habitica because it game-ifies my tasks)
• Set alarms to remind you of your tasks
• Set timers when you’re working on something
• Use visual reminders (Post-it notes) where you know you can’t miss it

Practice Self-Compassion

One thing I’ve learned about goal-setting is that self-compassion is not optional- it’s essential.

Life happens. With ADHD, distractions, energy dips, and unexpected challenges are just part of the journey.

When things don’t go as planned, just remind yourself that it’s okay. One missed day won’t ruin your entire progress.

Shift your perspective. Instead of getting mad at yourself, look at what you’ve already accomplished and celebrate the small wins.

Using this blog post as an example- I’ve had to come back to this post multiple times because it’s long and I feel like I’ll never finish.

But then I look up and realize I just wrote a few paragraphs. It’s progress!

Reflect and Adjust as Needed

You don’t just set the goal and be done with it. A goal is like a living, breathing being. It evolves with you!

That’s why reflecting on your progress is so important. Take some time each week and review your progress.

What’s working well? What needs tweaking? Where can I adjust to make things easier?

As an example: If your goal is to meal prep every Sunday but get overwhelmed at all the steps, try stepping back a bit. Instead of making ALL meals for the week, try just making breakfasts and snacks.

When you adjust your goals and expectations, you’re not failing- you’re just adapting to what works best for you!

In the end, achieving goals isn’t about being perfect. It’s about making progress, even if it’s just one small step at a time.

You can do this! Embrace the journey. Celebrate your wins. Let go of guilt.

I’d love to hear what your goals are for the new year. Leave a comment and tell me your goals, how you plan to achieve them, your worries… tell me all of it! Let us encourage you!