8 January Goals to Start the Year Right

Setting monthly goals is always a great idea, but that’s especially true in January. The beginning of the year is the very best time to set new goals and hold yourself to a higher standard. These January goals will help you change your life and start the year off right.

If you want and you’re feeling ambitious, you can set every single goal on this list for yourself. Or you can simply pick one or two of the ones that you think would help you the most. You know what is best for you.

Make sure to make your new January goals achievable, so that you don’t accidentally forget all about them a couple of days later. Monthly goals require time and effort, but if you stick to them, they can make a big difference in your life.

1. Set yourself a daily productivity target

Do you want to be more productive? It’s possibly the most important thing for you to learn if you want to reach your goals in life.

Being productive isn’t always easy though, especially if you are tired or have some really difficult tasks to tackle. That doesn’t mean it would be impossible though or even all that hard, once you just get started.

To become a more productive person, set yourself a daily productivity target, either in hours or in tasks completed. This will help you get things done and you can spend your free time feeling accomplished and proud of yourself for reaching your daily goal.

2. Start learning a new skill

As you know, the new year is a great time to start something new. Why not do that by starting to learn a completely new skill? If you’ve for example never played an instrument, how about you try that?

I’m sure there are many skills you’d like to pick up, but you might be intimidated by the time needed or maybe you feel like you’ll never really use that skill.

But you can always choose a skill that will for sure come in handy. And you are free to learn something just for fun. There are also many skills that only take a few hours to learn, like cooking certain dishes or learning the basics of sewing.

3. Quit a bad habit

We all have some bad habits, whether it’s being on your phone when you should go to sleep or leaving unpleasant tasks till the last minute.

But imagine if you could quit those bad habits. What if you could easily go to sleep when you should and you could wake up the next morning well rested? What if you got in the habit of getting things done early so that you wouldn’t have to be stressed or do things hastily?

It’s all possible if you just decide to quit those bad habits, once and for all.

4. Be more efficient at your job

While some people certainly do their very best at their job, many people give up trying to impress their boss after a few months in the job and have a hard time finding enough energy to do more than the bare minimum.

I completely understand this. But if you have a job in a field you like and you have a chance to possibly be promoted or to get useful work experience by putting in some extra effort, why not do that?

Being more efficient and getting more done will impress your boss and make time go by faster. It’s still always important that you don’t exhaust yourself.

5. Start learning a new language

Learning a new language is a perfect goal for January. Have you always wanted to speak Japanese or Swedish? Do you dream of being a polyglot?

If you start learning a new language in January, you could easily be conversational by September and if you have a good technique and enough time on your hands, fluency is not necessarily nearly as far as it may seem.

Set a goal to start studying the language of your choice for 30 minutes or an hour every day. Then when February rolls around, you can see whether it would be possible to increase the time or maybe come up with new ways to learn the language.

And by that time you will already have learned a lot!

6. Get a better job

Do you feel like there’s something better out there? That your current job maybe isn’t what you want to do for the rest of your life?

Then you need to take action. Start going through job ads and sending applications. Even if you feel like your chances of getting a good job are low, it’s always worth trying.

You don’t need to be perfect to get a good job. And even when you don’t get a job you applied for, you still got more experience in writing an application and maybe even being in an interview. That’s not nothing!

7. Learn a good habit

Habits do make a big difference. Bad habits will hold you back, while good habits will help you reach your goals and live a better life.

January is a great time to pick up a new good habit or maybe even two. You can print out a habit tracker to make sure you don’t skip any days. That way you’re much more likely to stick to your new habit even after January.

Related article: 14 Good Habits to Start that Will Make You Successful

8. Set new weekly goals regularly

I am a firm believer in the power of goals and I think you should set new ones regularly. Too many big ones at a time can get overwhelming quickly, but setting yourself simple goals that don’t take much time to complete every day or that make your life easier, are always a good idea.

Set yourself a goal to set a new simple and clear goal every Monday. You can for example quit eating red meat or not check your phone before noon. Weekly goals are the perfect way to try new things and see what has a positive effect on your life.

Final thoughts on January goals

Are you excited to start the new year with these January goals? Which goal do you think will help you the most? Share your thoughts in the comments!

If you are in the goal-setting mood, why not read more about how you can make your goals effective?

January is the best time of the year to start changing your life. If you need some motivation to do so, you can sign up for my newsletter! You will also get my free 30-day challenge, which will help you change your life in only 30 days.