How to do the Great Lock-In for the Rest of the Year

TikTok has a new trend that I absolutely love: the Great Lock-in. Instead of waiting for new years’ to try something new or improve yourself, the idea is to use the time you have right now to make those big changes. Take your goals, whether it's related to your career, health, or hobbies, and lock-in.

But this doesn't have to be overwhelming. I'm a big proponent of having a well-rounded life, so I'm always working on multiple goals at once, but you can definitely just pick one! Grab a notebook, and let's make a guide for the rest of your year!

Step 1: Pick on aspect of your life that you want to improve (like painting, for example) and write it down.

Step 2: Decide on a goal (or goals if you're ambitious), around that. Your goal could be to create three new paintings by the end of the year. Beside it, add your why. Why are you trying to achieve this goal? This may sound silly, but the why is arguably the most important part of this entire process. Do you want to work on health and fitness so you can go on that hiking trip next year? Do you want to earn a certificate to add to your resume so you have better prospects in the future? Find your goal(s) and your why and write them down beneath the aspect you want to improve.

Step 3: Next comes the things you need to achieve that goal. Write out any and all supplies you need, things you need to learn to accomplish that goal, and anything you need to do before you can start to work towards this goal. I find doing all this work up-front is really helpful. I like to separate my planning brain from my follow-through brain as much as possible.

I love a visual aid <3

Step 4: Decide on a timeline. Do you want to paint one piece a month? Start all three at once? Give yourself tiny deadlines and tiny goals that you can accomplish between now and new years'. If you're ADHD like me, you need more than one deadline or you'll find yourself locking-in at about 11:30pm on new years' eve.

Step 5: Lock-in! This is the hardest part, because this is requires consistency. It requires determination and dedication to the goals you've set. This is the part you have to take on for yourself. Stay focused on your why (see, I told you it would be important!) - maybe even writing it down nearby to remind yourself why you're doing this, and follow-through!

Let me know what your goals are - I'd love to hear them!