Most goals don't fail because people lack willpower. They fail because the goal was fuzzy, too big to start, or quietly forgotten by March. Good goal setting fixes those three things. This guide walks through the whole process, from deciding what you want to looking back on what you did.
You don't need an app to follow it. A notebook works. Where Lifetick has a feature for a step, we link to the help article that shows how.
Start with what matters to you
Before you write a single goal, decide what areas of your life you want to put effort into. These are your core values. Common ones are Health, Family, Career, Finance and Spirituality. Yours might include Learning, Friends or Adventure.
Four to eight values is plenty. They do two jobs. They help you think of goals you might not have considered, and they show you when all your goals sit in one corner of your life. If every goal is about work, that tells you something.
Read more in Core values, the reason under goals.
Keep a list of dreams
Not everything you want belongs on this year's list. Some things are "one day" ideas: live by the sea for a year, write a children's book, walk the Camino. Write them down anyway, so they stop rattling around in your head.
A dream list gives you somewhere to put ideas without committing to them. When the time is right, you pick one and turn it into a goal. In Lifetick, dreams have their own page, and you can mark how likely each one feels. See Create a dream.
Turn one idea into a SMART goal
A goal is a dream with a plan and a date. The simplest way to write one is the SMART method:
- Specific. Say exactly what you want. "Run a half marathon", not "get fit".
- Measurable. Decide what done looks like, such as a distance, an amount or a finished draft.
- Achievable. Hard but possible. More on that below.
- Relevant. It serves one of your core values.
- Time-bound. It has a date.
The full walkthrough, with an example for each letter, is in How to write SMART goals, with examples.
Choose how hard it should be
Goals that are too easy don't change anything. Goals that are impossible get dropped. The sweet spot is a goal that feels like a stretch but that you can picture finishing.
Lifetick asks you to rate each goal as Easy, Doable, Challenging, Daunting or Audacious. It's a useful question even on paper. If everything on your list is Easy, raise the bar on one. If everything is Audacious, swap one for something you can win this month.
Write down why
Under each goal, write one or two sentences on why it matters. "So I can keep up with the kids on holiday" is more use on a cold morning than "get fit". You'll read it when motivation dips, which it will.
Break it into tasks with dates
A goal is too big to do. A task isn't. "Run a half marathon" becomes "Buy running shoes", "Run 5 km three times this week" and "Enter the race by 1 March".
Good tasks are small enough to finish in one sitting and have a due date. Some repeat, like a weekly long run or a monthly deposit into savings. Put the next few tasks in your diary or in the goal itself, not all fifty at once. Add more as you go.
Each task you tick off is visible progress, and that's what keeps you going. See Add tasks, dates and reminders.
Work on a few goals at a time
It's tempting to set ten goals on 1 January. Most people do better with two or three active goals and a list of dreams waiting their turn. Fewer goals means each one gets real attention, and finishing one frees you up to start the next.
Check in with yourself every week
A goal you don't look at for a month is a goal you've stopped working on. Pick a regular time, such as Sunday evening, and spend ten minutes on three questions:
- What did I get done this week?
- What got in the way?
- What are the next few tasks, and when will I do them?
Writing the answers down helps. A short journal note each day or week gives you a record you can look back on. See Why keep a goal journal.
Tell someone
Goals you share are harder to quietly drop. Pick someone who'll be encouraging, not someone who'll keep score. In Lifetick you can invite a supporter to a goal, or share it with someone to work through the tasks together. See Share a goal or add a supporter.
When it isn't working
Plans meet real life. When a goal stalls, you have three honest options:
- Change the dates. If the goal still matters but the timing was off, move it. In Lifetick you can move due dates in bulk.
- Make it smaller. Cut the goal or the next task down to something you can do this week. See Stuck in a rut? Start smaller.
- Set it aside. If now isn't the time, turn it back into a dream. That isn't failure. It's choosing what gets your effort. See Turn a dream into a goal and back.
Finish well
When you reach a goal, mark it done and take a moment. Look back at the tasks and notes that got you there. Then pick the next goal from your dream list, while the momentum is fresh.
At the end of each quarter or year, look back across all your goals. Which core values got your effort? Which goals stalled, and why? That review is where you get better at goal setting itself.
Goals at work and school
The same ideas apply to teams and classrooms, with one addition: a regular rhythm of check-ins and conversations. See Goal setting at work and Goal setting for students.
Start with one goal
Lifetick is free on iPhone and the web, and five quick questions make it a SMART goal.
