Are you looking forward to have a blast this December? And so are we. With Christmas and New Year holidays ahead, what’s not to love about the month? As it is expected to be one of our busier months, start planning early by downloading one of our free 2024 December calendar collections.
We have an amazing collection of printable and editable calendars for you. These includes desk and wall, Christmas and winter-themed calendars as well as calendar planner sheets – all crafted carefully to facilitate your monthly scheduling. But before you dive into our collection, we would like to give you some tips on how to use your calendars for effective goal-setting. This topic is relevant for December as we typically begin setting our new year’s goals and resolutions at the end of month. Thus, read through, and we hope that you have fun-filled and productive December using our free December 2024 calendars.
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How to use your calendar for personal goal setting?
Setting personal goals is essential for growth, productivity, and overall well-being. However, turning those goals into reality often requires effective planning and organization. One powerful tool at your disposal is your calendar. Here’s how to use your calendar to set, track, and achieve your personal goals.
- Set your goals
The first step when planning is setting your goals, and to be able to this requires reflection of what do you want to achieve and why. So, ask yourself: Where are you in your life at the moment and where do you want to be after a year? Write all the goals you want to achieve and categorize them into distinct areas (I group mine into personal, career, and financial goals) to help you prioritize.
From this long list, choose which ones you consider as the most important. Pruning the list is necessary to avoid being overwhelmed and to be able to focus your time and energy to what really matters. It will also allow you to allocate resources more efficiently. When choosing goals, make sure to strike a balance between what is realistically achievable within the timeframe (one year for this matter) but challenging enough that would stretch your limit in terms of effort and ambition. This will keep you motivated. In my case, I choose 3-4 major goals a year.
So, how to frame your goals? Be FAST, not SMART. We were taught that our goals should follow SMART principles, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. There’s nothing wrong with this method. However, I came across this article written by Donald Sull and Charles Sull at MIT Sloan Management Review introducing a new concept called FAST which stands for “Frequently Discussed, Ambitious, Specific and Transparent” citing how companies like Google and Intel have effectively applied elements of the framework in their employee goal-setting practices.
While both FAST and SMART support having goals that are measurable, they differ in the sense that SMART focus on individual performance metrics while FAST encourage greater collaboration and frequent discussion. I believe that FAST is a good framework for personal goal-setting given the benefits of regular reflection and involving the people close to us in the process.
The question now, therefore, is how to apply the FAST framework to personal goal achievement. First, it involves revisiting our goals more often (Frequent Reflection). For this matter, consider having a regular periodic review of your progress towards your goal be it quarterly, monthly or even weekly. This will allow you to remain focused and motivated as well as to develop remedial actions as soon as possible if you’re off-track.
It also involves setting challenging goals (Ambitious) beyond your comfort zone. Additionally, it is necessary to provide clear metrics and milestones (Specific) to be able to monitor progress.
Lastly, you should share our goals with people close to you and you can trust such as our spouse/partner, family, and trusted friends or those who can help facilitate their achievement such as life coach, mentors, etc (Transparent). Sharing our goals motivates us to stay committed and accountable to our plans and fosters buy-in from the people who could support us in achieving them. They could also provide us with valuable feedback and advice. The figure above provides a snapshot on how to apply FAST method for personal goal setting.
- Break down your goals into sub-goals and activities
After setting your goals, break them down into smaller manageable sub-goals or objectives that can contribute to the achievement of the main goal. For example, let’s say your goal is to achieve a healthier weight by losing 30 pounds within one year. Breaking the said goal into smaller outcomes can include:
(a) Increased physical activity; and
(b) Improved nutrition and diet
The next step involves subdividing the outcomes into specific outputs or activities that needs to be completed to achieve the intended outcome. Thus, going back to our example, the activities under the outcome (a) Increased physical activity can include:
(a1) Develop an exercise routine.
(a2) Engage in physical workouts and gradually increase their intensity and duration to ensure continuous improvement and avoid plateaus.
After identifying the activities, break them down further into smaller, time-based tasks. At this stage, you may also provide a time limit for each task and a deadline for when the specific activities or tasks should be completed. For instance, item a1 (Develop an exercise routine) can be further disaggregated into:
(a1.1) Set Exercise Goals (January 2, 1 hour)
(a1.2) Research Exercise Options (January 3, 2 hours)
(a1.3) Consult Fitness Professional (January 4, 1 hour)
After establishing your activities, provide indicators to monitor your progress over time. In our example, for instance, we can subdivide the goal into quarterly milestone targets of reducing weight by 8 pounds. Consequently, this provides a more detailed view of progress over time and helps track whether your goal is on schedule. - Write your goals and activities in your calendar
Organize the information listed from the previous steps into a structured format using your calendar. Then create a step-by-step plan that includes activities, dates, time allotment, and intended outcomes. Lastly, integrate the activities with your other commitments. By providing a visual representation of time, your calendar helps you allocate time efficiently. In our free December 2024 calendars collection, we have various designs that enable this top-down approach to goal-setting exercise. See Figure 1 below as an example.
Printable Calendars
Minimalist Calendar
We’re providing 3 minimalist calendar options for you. All these calendars are simple, modern looking and give you the space you need to write down your activities for the month.
Simple Calendar with Goals and Notes Section
December 2024 Calendar with Hourly Planner
A staple in our monthly calendar collection, the free December 2024 calendar with hourly planner is a comprehensive planner calendar with features such as goals, designated tasks and person responsible, personal to-do list as well as notes section. It also has an hourly planner covering from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM. Despite being a feature rich template, it was crafted in such a way that it looks clean, modern and functional, making it ideal as an office daily planner. The template is available for each day of the week.
Stylish and Classy Calendars
Tired of using the same dull and monotonous calendars? Then snag one of our stylish and classy calendar templates. These templates are adorned with bare minimum graphic images in pastel colors and use cursive fonts giving you a sophisticated appeal. We have four (4) stylish and classy templates to choose from. Thus, download one that best suits your personality, style or mood for the month.
December Calendar with Bare-Minimum Bird Designs
December 2024 Calendar with To-Do List
We used this template as an example on how to use your calendar to disaggregate your yearly goals into monthly milestones and activities. It includes sections such as goals, to-do list and corresponding deadline column as well as miniature calendar for the subsequent month (January 2025). Thus, check our tips on “How to use your calendar to help achieve your goals” in the introduction section to maximize the use of this template for your personal goal-setting process.
Wall Calendar
I personally use this monthly calendar and make sure to download multiple copies each month for my office and home use. With its size (A3) and clutter-free design, as well as features such as a to-do list and miniature calendars for the previous month and the following month, I find it very useful when planning my activities.
Winter and Holiday Season-inspired Calendars
What’s a December calendar collection without winter and holiday season templates, right? We’re offering various calendars for the month inspired by the winter season (which begins in the third week of the month) and the Christmas holidays. Integrate these calendars into your December decor and be inspired as you plan for the busy month ahead.
Portrait-Oriented Calendars
Monday Start Calendars
There are two main reasons why we’re offering Monday-start calendars in our monthly collection. One is for regions that follow the same calendar system, and the other is that it is ideal to be used as a work calendar. Since Monday-start calendars visually separate the workweek from the weekend, they make it easier to plan activities for both. Thus, we are offering two different types of Monday-start calendars, one landscape and the other portrait-oriented
December Calendar with Holidays and Observances
Christmas, a US federal holiday, falls on a Wednesday in 2024, while New Year’s Eve falls on a Tuesday this year. Countdown to these special days with our December calendar that clearly marks them. Plan your activities ahead so you won’t miss a beat this season.
Editable Free December 2024 Calendars
Blank Calendars
We offer editable blank calendar templates in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint formats. Thus, if you wish to unleash your creativity and design your own calendar, then download this template.
December 2024 Photo Calendars
Put your favorite photos in these PowerPoint editable calendars and be inspired as you plan for the holidays. Thus, complete your decorations on your wall or desk using these holiday-inspired DIY Sunday and Monday start photo calendars.
Editable Basic December Calendars
We provide two December calendar designs, editable in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats. The first features large dated boxes, and the second includes notes and a to-do list.
December Fun Facts and Special Days
December is a holiday-filled month, with Christmas and New Year being celebrated during this time. However, it’s not just these two holidays; there is also St. Nicholas Day, celebrated on December 6th in Belgium, Germany, and France, and on December 5th in the Netherlands. In these countries, children receive gifts on these days. Saint Nicholas, known as “Sinterklaas” in Dutch, is the patron saint of children, and it is believed that the infamous Christmas character Santa Claus can be traced back to him.
December has two different birth flowers. First is the “holly,” which is being used as a Christmas decoration and is a symbol of Christ’s crown of thorns, while its red berries symbolize his blood. The other birth flower, narcissus, is said to represent fresh beginning, hope and prosperity.
If you’re a celestial lover or simply looking for a unique date time with your loved one, why not camp outside on December 13 for a chance to marvel the Geminid meteors. It is the most active shower of the year.
Do you want to learn more interesting facts and folklore about December such as zodiac signs and December-born personality, birthstones, Pearl Harbor attack, aviation history, special days, and more? Dig into our infographics below.
Beautiful calendars. Perfect for planning the holidays!
Thanks @homeprintables.com