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I wasn’t a planner person.

I wasn’t a schedule person. I had two tiny humans with the oldest being 3 when I started Simplifying DIY Design, so having to “adjust” is just something I’ve to deal with when it came to my business. 

I can’t even tell you how many times I relied on nap time to get things done but one of them didn’t want to sleep or woke up after a half hour. Things change. We adjust.

Learning to set blogging goals that I could actually achieve and plan them out made all the difference with my blog. I needed to have crystal clear focus on WHAT I was working on. It HAD to be something that was going to move the needle forward in the least amount of time.

I struggled a long time with this. I could set the goals but figuring out how to achieve them was a whole other obstacle. I tried Trello a few times and other planning systems but I couldn’t figure it out.

A blogging friend, Kristen from Blog Your Genius, told me about her whiteboard system that she uses in her office. Around the same time, I took the 12 Week Blog Growth Strategy.

Armed with those things, I created a Trello board system that actually worked for me! Since then, I’ve added in Cultivate What Matters PowerSheets planner.

Creating this system that worked for me was seriously a game changer!

I want to walk you through how I set my Trello board up. However, if you want to really understand how to effectively break down goals into actionable steps that you can essentially “roadmap” through each quarter, I highly recommend The 12 Week Blog Growth Strategy. Plus, you can also get $10 off if you use the coupon code: FIDD

>>Click here to check out the 12 Week Blog Growth Strategy <<

Trello Goal Setting System for Actually REACHING Your Blog Goals

Before you get super excited and rush off to create your own Trello board (don’t have Trello? It’s FREE- just sign up here) I actually have this as a Trello Board Goal Setting Template in my design library. You can sign up at the end of the post or just click right here.

At the end of this post is a video tutorial that walks through this entire system. Be sure to check it out if you learn best with video!

Let’s get started! First, we want to identify our 3 goals for the quarter.

These should be attainable, but big enough to push us a little. I personally find that when my goals are too “easy”, I don’t feel motivated. However, if they are too big, I end up feeling defeated.

It’s a balance.

I also like to choose goals that directly related to my bigger blogging goals.

So, if my BIG blogging goal is to make 6 figures per year, then my quarterly goals need to bring me closer to that.

For this example, let’s choose 3 goals:

1. Make $100 blogging
2. Increase subscribers
3. Increase traffic

Now- if your goals look like this then I need you to stop right now.

Blog and business goals need to be specific and measurable.

Let’s go back and refine those goals:

1. Create a tripwire product to generate $100 per month
2. Increase subscribers by 100 new subscribers for the quarter
3. Increase traffic from 10k monthly views to 20k monthly views

Now we have more specific goals. We have not simply stated that we want to make money but we’ve designated a task to accomplish that (for example, the tripwire product). In addition, we’ve specified how much we want to grow our email list and how much we want to increase our traffic.

The first column of my Trello board system is for the goals. It’s there so that I can see them all the time.

Next, we want to break down our goals into a master task list

For this, I want to brain dump all the possible things I would need to do to reach each one of those goals. If it’s a task that I need to do but it doesn’t DIRECTLY relate to one of my THREE quarterly goals, then it does not go in the list.

Sometimes, if I feel the task is still important, I’ll add it to an overflow list.

I spend a decent amount of time (and sometimes, research) stepping out these goals into tasks. If I’m not sure how to break it down then my first step is researching because it’s something I’m going to need to learn about.

For example, if you have no idea how to grow an email list- how are you supposed to know what tasks to do? You’ll need to learn about email lists first.

Pro tip: It helps to label each of the three goals from the first step with colored labels so that you can identify which task goes with each goal OR you can make “sections” in your task list (as shown below)

To add a colored label, simply click on those three little dots and choose “Edit Labels”. Choose a different color for each goal.

Now that you have all your goals stepped out into tasks, arrange them in the order that they need to be completed.

If you find that one of them can be broken down into even more steps, simply add a checklist to that card. To do that:

1. Click on the card
2. Located the “Checklist” option on the right side of the card
3. Add tasks to the checklist
4. When you complete a task, just click on the checkbox to mark as done

As a side note: I try to assign due dates for each of my goals which I used to map out on extra large peel-and-stick dry erase calendars on my wall. I found that printing blank calendars worked even better because I could bring it with me wherever I had my laptop open. I’m a big picture person and I need to see my entire quarter at a time. Once I have it mapped out on my calendars I assign the tasks due dates in Trello.

Next, I plan my week!

For me, I plan by the week. Trying to plan each day is just too hard. I drag and drop tasks from that master list into the next column. I choose as many tasks as I can reasonably complete in a week. If you want to make another column for daily tasks, then absolutely do that!

Why is this is magic? I never have to think about what I “should” be doing when I sit down at the computer.

My time is so limited and when I have 5 minutes to work, they need to be highly focused blocks of time that I can complete focus on one of my tasks that are directly related to my goals.

Once your tasks are completed, move the card into the “Done” column!

It’s oddly satisfying, trust me.

Watch the video below!

(Side note: if you enjoy this video, please check out and subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more!) 

So there you have it. Are you ready to set blog goals and rock them?

Everything I do for my blog has a rhyme or reason. It’s pushing me to my bigger business goals.

This is why so many people turn off comments. They have apps that block social media during working time blocks. They need focus. They can’t waste a single second.

This method is what works for me. It gives me focus when I sit down to work.

It helps me reach my goals every quarter.

I can also see what tasks are constantly being pushed aside and evaluate why I’m not getting them done. If something needs to be broken down more, I do it.

If I don’t know how to complete a task, I research it.

I actually almost NEVER ask questions in facebook groups because I will get sucked into facebook. I go to google or youtube and type in my problem and 99% of the time find my solution without the time suck of social media.

Another tip from someone that’s been there: get a crockpot and use it! I set up dinner while I’m making lunch for my kids.

By the time my husband gets home, I go upstairs to knock out some tasks, come down and eat dinner, then go back upstairs for another hour.

I come down, hang out with the family until bedtime and then after the kids go to bed, it’s back to work. It gives me back SO MUCH TIME and my family still has a yummy dinner.

Don’t forget to grab my Trello board goal setting template (there are TWO other Trello boards in the design library too for content planning and design organization) Just fill out the form below!

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