A Quick Guide for Setting Goals

This is a quick & rough guide to setting goals; distilled from the current wisdom on achieving goals. It's a two part process. Just having a goal is the easy part but to achieve the goal you also need to setup a system or habit. The first step is deciding on your goals. Use this handy dandy spreadsheet to walk through this process.

Step 1. Brainstorm your dreams
What do you want in life? What do you feel is missing? What are you trying to achieve in your organization? Brainstorm a list of the things you dream of achieving. 

Step 2. Narrow them down
To the things you want to shoot for this year.
Example:
- I want to get in shape!
- I want to have a thriving Amazon business.

Step 3. Choose a Measureable goal for each dream
And set a deadline.
For example:
- Run three 5Ks this year.
- Sell 2000 calendars on Amazon this year. (real life!)

Now for creating the system . . .
This is the hard part!

Step 4. For each goal, break it into subtasks
Save these in a spreadsheet.
Example:
- Buy running shoes, choose races, look-up training regime.
- Take product photos, decide price point, research competition, create ads.

Step 5. For each goal, choose a habit
This is a daily or weekly meeting that will promote achievement of those steps.
Example:
- Run every day.
- Every week spend an hour on my Amazon goal.

Step 6. Schedule out those habits
Get out you calendar ( 😉), and schedule those habits!
- Run every morning when I wake up.
- Every Monday, 10am-11am, work on Amazon goal.

This is your system for achieving your goals. When you do your habit, be working on the sub-tasks you created in your spreadsheet.

As you see, this is not a small addition to your life, it's a major change. But that's what's required to achieve your dreams! 🙊There are no silver bullets.

Step 7. Work the system
If you're a recovering perfectionist, like me, it can be easy to agonize over deciding on the system and quit it all when I skip a day. Don't do this! Remember that 20% of the effort often achieves 80% of the results. So, even if you rush through the above process, quick and sloppy: Voila! Now you have a system! And even if you don't keep to the system perfectly, you're likely to achieve 80% of your original goal.

4 out of 5 ain't bad! And it sure beats zero!

I challenge you to carve out just 1 hour to rush through this process. It will be worth it! Use this spreadsheet to help you.

Cheers!
Jesse

Photo by Isaac Smith on Unsplash