The 4 Goals Every Life Boss Needs to Set (That Have Nothing to do With Work)

At Chronic Boss, being a Life Boss means building a work life, whether that’s entrepreneurship or a 9–5, that actually supports the life you want to live.

It means loving the work you do without letting it become your whole identity. It means working so you can enjoy the parts of life that fuel you: the people you love and the things that light you up inside.

Being a Life Boss is rejecting hustle culture’s pressure to work 24/7 and choosing a version of success where work fits into your life, not the other way around.

Goal Setting for the New Year (Life Boss Style)

As we head into the new year and start thinking about our goals, I want to share the four goals I set every single year to work towards what I consider Life Boss status.

What’s important is that none of these goals are about business. Even though I set business goals, I always make sure I’m prioritizing goals in other areas that matter just as much. You can even break these goals up by month or quarter to keep it fun and manageable.

If you’re looking for inspiration, try setting goals in these four categories:

1. Relationships

It might feel strange to set goals around your relationships, but in a world where we’re constantly busy and more disconnected than ever, it’s one of the most important areas to be intentional about.

Whether it’s family, romantic relationships, friendships, or coworkers, time passes quickly, and it’s easy to wake up one day and realize you haven’t truly connected with the people you care about.

Try this: Take inventory of your relationships in categories (family, friends, coworkers, romantic). Ask yourself:

• Are there relationships that need more nurturing?
• How can you put in effort to cultivate those relationships?
• Do you want to create new relationships in a certain area?

Think not only about what you want to receive from your relationships, but also about how you can show the people you love that they matter to you.

Here’s an example from my life: I have a lot of long-distance friends. One year, I set a goal to reach out to one long-distance friend each month to set up a call or FaceTime. It may seem small, but it helped me stay connected and consistently prioritize time with friends who can sometimes feel “out of sight, out of mind.”

2. Hobbies

Hobbies give us joy, just for the sake of it, so this is a great category for goal-setting, especially if you find your hobbies slipping to the bottom of your to-do list.

Take inventory of your hobbies and think about how you can enjoy them more, or explore a new hobby you’ve been curious about. Now is a great time to make a plan to get started.

You might set a goal to join a hobby group, dedicate one night a week to the activity, or finally pick up something new you’ve been wanting to try. The point is to intentionally create space for the things that bring you happiness outside of work.

3. Learning

Work often pushes us to keep learning, but what about learning just because you’re curious?

Think about what you want to explore beyond your job:

• Is there a culture you want to learn more about in hopes of traveling there someday?
• A skill you’ve always wanted to figure out (like changing your car’s oil)?
• Something you loved as a kid that you’d like to revisit?

Learning goals bring a little whimsy back into life. You can create a plan of books to read, podcasts to listen to, an app to download, or museums to visit.

4. Health & Wellness

Many of us Chronic Bosses are already used to setting health-related goals, but I like to think about this category by focusing on routines that support my overall wellbeing.

For example, I know I’d benefit from not using my phone first thing in the morning…but do I still do it? Yep.

It’s easy to name the things we should do, but harder to actually commit to them. By choosing just one habit to focus on, it becomes so much more motivating to follow through, and you get to enjoy both the benefits of the habit and the satisfaction of achieving a goal.

A Final Reminder

As you set your goals for the new year, remember to be realistic, give yourself grace, and think about goals that will allow you to enjoy life more.

These goals are about giving yourself permission to explore, grow, and make room for the things that create the fullness of life.