Now is the time of year when you’ll probably get online and be bombarded with people sharing their goals, or telling you what you should focus on for the year and why it should matter to you.

Instead of making a piece about “healthy habits you should incorporate” or “things to focus on this year” I thought it would be more beneficial if I instead shared my methods for setting goals and structuring my year in a way that makes things achievable without adding stress to my day.

Have you ever described yourself as a perfectionist, or had others mention you tend towards it? Perfectionism is often framed as a positive trait of high achievers. But it has far more downsides than you might realise.

As a recovering perfectionist myself, I’ve seen first-hand how perfectionism can sabotage progress and degrade self-esteem.

Do you tend to beat yourself up when you don’t live up to your own expectations? Many people think that they have negative self-talk as a result of failing, but it tends to be the other way around. The way that you talk to yourself can either set you up to grow and reach your goals, or it can sabotage your success.