Places Pointer: Setting Goals

Setting goals for yourself is a great thing to do anytime of year, but more of us tend to do so once January comes around.

The start of a new year can be an ideal beginning point for prioritising your health and wellbeing - all on your own terms. Whatever your aim is, we're here to support you. Your best year yet starts today!

If you’re setting yourself a challenge, don’t forget to tag us in it using #ChallengeAccepted

The question on many people’s minds is how to make their goals stick so that they can really see long-term transformation. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but you’ll hopefully notice some short-term benefits on your journey.

We’ve put together some pointers for getting your goals started!

Set smaller goals

Ease yourself into things instead of making an overwhelming adjustment. For example, if you want to run your first 5k, you wouldn’t run it all at once, you would make a training schedule of smaller distance runs every so often to build up your speed and endurance. One step at a time!

Create a timeframe for your goal

A lack of timeframe makes it easier for you to lose sight of the goal and for consistency to wear off. When you have a deadline, you create more structure and accountability. This is where setting smaller goals can help too. One example could be that you want to complete your first 5k by Easter, so in the meantime you’re going to run three times a week.

Track your progress

Whether you use a journal or log your progress digitally, it’s important to record how far you’ve come every week. In a couple of months, it will serve as a great reminder of the milestones you’ve achieved! The Places Leisure app can help here too – it’s free, will GPS-track your runs, and provides virtual workouts for you to try. You can also pair other apps and wearables with it! Check out the link here for more information about the app.

Don’t forget to celebrate your progress too!

Tell a friend

Having a strong support system not only feels good, but helps keep you going if your motivation starts to drop. It can be even better if you’re both working on the same goal! When you have a workout buddy it can be double the fun, you’re able to keep each other accountable and push yourself harder, which will hopefully mean you’ll meet your goals faster.

It’s worth noting that these points are handy anytime you’re setting a new goal, no matter the time of year!

Sources: The Psychology Behind Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail (Verywell Mind) | Get running with Couch to 5k (NHS) | Social reward and support effects on exercise experiences and performance: Evidence from parkrun (National Library of Medicine) | Aerobic Exercise Is Promoted when Individual Performance Affects the Group: A Test of the Kohler Motivation Gain Effect (Research Gate)