I always have goals. And more often than not, I either have big lofty goals or I have BHAGs (bee-hags). What’s a BHAG you ask? A BHAG is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. A goal that sometimes, at the time of conception, seem completely unachievable.

For example, my sophomore year of college I had a communications professor who was utterly obsessed with Cosmopolitan magazine. And because she loved it so much, she found a way to infuse Cosmo-related conversation and activities into every class. And then one day as I was flipping through the pages, I made the decision that I wanted to work there. From that moment on, it became my (big hairy audacious) goal to get an internship at Cosmo — with no prior magazine experience and not a single connection to the publication industry. Seven months after that initial thought, I was walking into 224 W 57th (Hearst Publications’ building at the time) for my first day of an integrated marketing internship. That internship turned into full-time work for me which I’m certain has opened up the doors for so many of the opportunities that have come down the pipeline…and it all started with one crazy ass dream that I made my #1 goal.

That said, I’ve been thinking a lot about my goals and what I’d like to accomplish this year (some which I shared just the other day). And while having big lofty goals and BHAGs are amazing, I’ve realized that they can be extremely overwhelming. So after reading my friend Erica’s newsletter on goal setting recently, I decided I want to break down some of my larger, more lofty goals for this year, into more specific but digestible sub-goals that I know I can realistic achieve in the month of January and cross-off my list. And what better to break up yearly goals then to divvy them up by month?

Here’s a look at January:

Unpack my life here in SF. I’ve moved in but my things have not yet arrived. I hope to get my things and have everything in its place by the end of the month. I’m tired of living out of a suitcase and as I always say “messy bed, messy head”. When my room isn’t in order, neither is my life.

Develop a new monthly budget. New city, new expenses. It’s time to look at the hard facts and develop a new financial budget.

Pay off two of my graduate student loans. My grad student loans aren’t consolidated yet (I know, I know) but the benefit of that is that I can knock out a few of my smaller ones before consolidating them all. (Thank you yearly bonus). One step at a time, right?

Attend three fitness classes here in the Bay. I’ve got to learn my way in and around the fitness scene starting with a spin class at a small boutique fitness studio in Oakland this weekend.

Make two new friends. While I have friends from business school in the area, I also want to make an effort to meet some of the many friends of friends I’ve been connected to.

Update my dating profiles. With the new year and the move, I’m dusting off the cobwebs and updating my dating profiles.

Identify someone to redesign my blog. I recently joined this blogger project which has me thinking a lot about growth for The Path, so this month I’m investigating hosting services and a looking into designers who could possibly work with me on a blog redesign.

Do you goal set? Care to share a goal?