I’ve been setting yearly goals since 2019. I set them at the start of each year, and then review them at the end. For the first few years, I really struggled to achieve them. At first, I chalked it up to not being motivated enough (which may be partly true), but I think the real reason was that I was setting bad goals.
Here are some examples of what my goals looked like:
“Play guitar a lot”
- What is a lot?
- How do I answer yes or no at the end of the year?
“Read 12 books”
- What if I read half a book?
- So if I read short stories, I achieve my goal faster?
I’ve learnt from my mistakes and now use these principles for creating goals that are achievable and useful:
- Actionable – Can be implemented through directed actions
- Measurable – Can be ticked off each day/week/month
- Continuous – Where applicable, achievement can be measured partially
- Intentional – It won’t happen by default, it requires intent to achieve
- Aligned – The action aligns closely with the intent of the goal
Along with these principles, I also measure goals using a 0-100% rating rather than a simple “yes” or “no”. If my goal is to read every day, and I miss a day, I still achieved: 364 days / 365 days = 99.7% (not bad!).
No matter how dedicated I am, I’ll inevitably have to skip a day/week. With this system I am much more likely to continue towards my goal.
So, what do my goals look like now?
“Read for at least 30 minutes each day”
- Inclusive of reading more (e.g. 1 hour)
- Reward is aligned with the intention – spend more time reading (quickly or slowly, big or small books)
- Partial achievement can be measured as percentage of days in the year
- Can be graded as achieved (>90%), partially achieved (>70%), or not achieved (😟)
- Reviewed halfway through the year to see if I’m on track or if I need to make any changes
This system is really about turning goals into habits and removing some of the barriers to completion. These barriers are often external, but they can be internal. We all know the feeling of committing to a New Year’s resolution (I hate that name), missing a day, and never starting back up again.