At TWC we had a saying, “Things Will Change.” And so, as is common in business, they often did. I could be near completion of a campaign, ready to approve creative for print or distribution and get a call to stop everything, “We’re going to add an affiliate offer to all possible creative — effective immediately.” Or maybe you were on your way to a pivotal meeting that you had been planning for weeks or months, but your flight has just been canceled.

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Did it throw you off?

You may not be able to foresee every possible change and have a contingency plan in place for all scenarios, but you can set yourself up for resilience so that you can return to your goals quickly through an established routine for self-leadership.

1) Have goals and review them daily.

Goals do not prevent things from changing, but they do provide focus. I block time for myself to review my goals yearly, quarterly, weekly and daily.

Yearly Review:

It takes a full 8 hours to plan for my yearly goals. I think of it as a holiday, a time to think about what I want to happen next. I look back at the year before, congratulate myself on my achievements and think about any aspects of my life that I want to give more attention to for the coming year: health, relationships, work, recreation, financial, spiritual, intellectual. I write down all of the ideas that come to mind for ways I could improve or things I want to accomplish this year. Then I prioritize and choose just 7 or 8 to really focus on.

You may be familiar with SMART goals:

Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve?

Measurable: How will you know you have achieved it?

Actionable: Start with an action verb — something other than “be”.

Risky: If it isn’t risky, it isn’t exciting and if it isn’t exciting it isn’t a goal, it’s just a task.

Time-keyed: Give it a deadline.

Try not to put all of your deadlines in the same quarter. Choose 2 or 3 of your yearly goals to highlight per quarter; I’ve found that more than that is just overwhelming. Write them down somewhere where you can easily review them every day. But don’t share your goals. Research has shown that when you share your goals, your brain tricks you into feeling like you have already achieved them, and you may be more likely to lose interest.

Quarterly Review:

Sometimes goals need to be revised, replaced, or even simply removed due to changes in your life or perspective. Sometimes reaching for a goal is a learning experience. For example, two years ago I had a goal to sell at least 3 sculptures every month. It seemed achievable at the time. But try as I might, it wasn’t happening. I had constant social media going on with a decent following, a solo gallery show, I participated in an art fair, won a prestigious award from AWA, ran an ad in a national art magazine, contacted previous buyers . . . I sold 2 small pieces during the entire year and I was growing more and more unhappy and stressed. During a quarterly review, I came to a change in perspective. Art is not going to make money for me. It’s going to remain a source of joy instead — as a hobby. Therefore, my goals had to change for the following quarter.

Weekly Review:

I do this on Sunday night or Monday morning before I open any email. Congratulate yourself for tasks you’ve completed that led you closer to your goals. Write down things you learned. What went well? What didn’t? Write down three larger tasks you want to focus on in the coming week. Choose the best days and block time on your calendar.

Daily Review:

Review your goals every day to see what tiny steps you can add to your daily schedule for tomorrow. Make 3 tasks the most important, but list your daily tasks as you normally would. I like a piece of paper or notebook page with boxes I can check off as I complete them. Block time in your schedule to complete your tasks. I normally do this at the end of each day, because it settles me and lets me rest easy knowing I have a plan for tomorrow.

2.) Accept that life will get in the way.

Your plans are never set in stone. When your child’s school calls to tell you that she has a fever and you have to leave work to pick her up, that’s ok. When the director calls to tell you there was a change in the offers for the campaign you just approved, that’s ok. When your flight gets canceled, that’s ok.

Regroup.

Take a look at your schedule to see what is urgent and what can wait. Contact the key stakeholders or vendors for urgent tasks. Delegate where possible, postpone whatever can wait. Go back to your goals to review them the next day, or the next week, if you are pulled away for a while. Reschedule and restart. No drama necessary.

3.) Practice daily gratitude.

I’ve mentioned this before. I’m mentioning it again because it will help you fend off the worst enemies of your goals, cynicism, and negativity. Spend 5-10 minutes every day thinking about things you are grateful for, however small. Write down at least 3.

For example:

1. Coffee was hot and delicious today.

2. I had a great conversation with my financial advisor and learned a lot.

3. My husband made my favorite tortilla soup for dinner.

At the end of the day, I always find more than enough reasons to be grateful, no matter what setbacks have occurred. I can sleep better knowing that I have a good life, have accomplished everything I could today and will have more to be grateful for tomorrow, no matter what happens.

What would you like to achieve? What habit would you like to instill in your life?