Did you set a new year’s resolution, First name / friend? I’m not a big resolution person, myself, and I’m not here to tell you to throw yours away completely, BUT…in my positive psychology-based coaching practice, I encourage you to choose a goal that's so-easy-you-can't-help-but-do-it as a stepping stone to that big goal/resolution.

 

I call these micro goals: MVEs. Minimum Viable Experiments.

 

These smaller changes are more manageable, and accomplishing them gives you a boost to keep going—not to mention the ability to pivot if something needs tweaking.

 

So if you set a new year’s resolution, my recommendation is to break down that goal to the tiniest baby step, and once you’ve accomplished it, choose the next step, or MVE.

 

Although I rarely set resolutions, I’m constantly dreaming about my best possible future, creating vision boards, and making MVEs to move forward.

 

I’m sharing the 5 steps I’ve been using every day that take just 5 minutes in the morning and evening. I call this sheet “Dream. Do.”

1. In the morning I write down “5 things I want.” This could be a big goal, like buying a more spacious home with a curved staircase (actually on my vision board), or something that I want at that moment, like more sleep (this has been on my list most mornings since having a baby last month!). There are no rules.

 

2. Then I write “Ideas to propel me forward.” This is an open brainstorming area where I’ll write down anything that pops into my mind that might support the “things I want.” For example, if I wrote down, “A more spacious home with a curved staircase,” ideas to propel me forward could be “spend 5 minutes on Pinterest pinning photos,” or “research mortgage rates,” or “look at real estate videos on YouTube.” In this brainstorming area you might write down five ideas for one thing you want, or one idea, period. You don’t have to come up with an idea for every thing you want.

 

3. Third, I choose an MVE. What’s the minimum thing I could do to propel one of my ideas forward? Using the example above I could block my calendar for 20 minutes in the afternoon to take a break and scroll Pinterest for 5 minutes. I also recommend adding in “where” and “when” you’ll do your MVE, like “On the living room couch at 1:00pm.”

4. At the end of the day I write down how my MVE went in “Post-MVE Notes” for accountability. Usually it’s as simple as, “Spent 5 minutes looking at staircases on Pinterest.”

 

5. And last, I write down “3 good things” I appreciate from the day. Examples: 1. My cup of coffee this morning. 2. A new coaching client. 3. A video catch-up with my friends.

 

Example:

You can print this sheet to fill out by hand every day for a week, or fill it out online to save the paper. Now that I’ve memorized the format I’m actually writing in this beautiful notebook a friend recently gifted to me.

Do you want personalized support while you chase your goals? I *just* opened my schedule to accept 4 new clients starting in February. 🎉 Grab a complimentary 30-minute chat to see if one-on-one coaching with me is right for you.

Respond to let me know your MVE for today; I love hearing from you, and I'm cheering for you, First name / friend.

 

Warmly,

Nicole

In an interview for The Heidi B Show, I was asked to share my top 3 tips for developing happiness and joy, and I couldn’t help but over-deliver and share 5 ideas for simple, fun ways to get happier TODAY.

 

On The Choice podcast with Amy Bett, we talked about my road from dream job to overwhelm (and out!), how to build resilience for when life throws you a curveball, ways to avoid burnout, and how to overcome an Imposter Experience, aka Imposter Syndrome. 

 

For the Women's Empowerment Conference at San Jose State University I gave a virtual talk including three stories of taking risks (like starting a travel company during a pandemic), with encouragement to take micro-risks, practice failing, and build your resilience.