6 Research-Tested Steps Toward Effective Goal Planning and Motivation Improvement
Tackling a goal takes energy and focus and motivation, three things that are in limited supply in any person, no matter how driven. — from The Power of Less by Leo Babauta
At the beginning of this year, I spent some time re-reading one of my favorite books, The Power of Less by Leo Babauta. Babauta is the author of the world-renowned blog Zen Habits. I truly believe this blog will improve anyone’s life. It provides beautifully concise and practical advice regarding productivity, mindfulness and improving daily living.
The insights and value I’ve gained from this blog as well as Babauta’s many books and eBooks have been life-changing. (And no, I am not affiliated with Babauta in any way, shape or form. Just a loyal reader that loves his content)
In re-reading this book, I was inspired to compile some notes around effective goal planning as I sought to put together my goals for 2016. I spent some time doing just that while also integrating other resources to put this post together.
I shared this information with my blog readers and the feedback has been very positive so I wanted to share this with you as well. Using this information I’ve created a simple, 6-step worksheet to help you effectively plan for and achieve your goals while maintaining motivation. This is available for download here.
Helpful Tips for Effective Goal-Planning
You’re not superman. You’re human. You have limited resources available to you to achieve your goals, so you must choose your goals wisely to be effective.
Be selective, stay focused and above all, be sure that your goals that with your core values.
It’s essential that you choose goals that you actually care about. Don’t waste your time setting goals that you don’t care about. You won’t achieve them, then you’ll feel like a failure, and then your motivation will be shot.
Below you will find several steps toward effective goal planning, paired with research-tested:
Create a list of the most important things in your life.
Family, a job, a side project you’re working on, a hobby, etc. Whatever you feel is important, write it down.
Motivation Hack: Eating foods high in dopamine (dark chocolate, chicken and oatmeal) have been found to improve motivation. Source
Reduce the above list to five essential items.
What items on list one mean the most to you and are absolutely essential? Some questions to help… How does this improve my life? Does this align with my values? What negative effects would come from dropping this item?
Motivation Hack: Leveraging public accountability has been shown to be a very effective way to maintain motivation. Source
Create a list of your goals for the year that incorporate your essential items.
Now that you’ve identified the most important items in your life, use these items as a guide to creating your goals. This will align your goals and values, essential to perseverance and maintaining motivation.
Motivation Hack: Students who wrote down goals versus just thinking about them were 21% more likely to achieve their goals. Source
Reduce your goals to one.
This is the toughest one, but worth it. Choose a goal that will take you roughly 6 months to a year to accomplish. You have to want to achieve this goal so badly that you foresee this being a top priority for several months.
Motivation Hack: Those who wrote down their goals and relied on a friend for support were 33% more likely to achieve their goals. Source
Break your goal into smaller, sub-goals.
Break your large goal into sub-goals that will take you 1 or 2 months to accomplish. This prevents you from being intimidated by breaking your goal into more manageable chunks.
Motivation Hack: Shifting your thinking from the outcome ( goal) to the process (steps required and sub-goals) enhances your motivation and ability to plan effectively while reducing anxiety. Source
Create weekly and daily goals based on your smaller, sub-goals.
Each week, create a single weekly goal that will move you towards your sub-goal. Each day, choose one task that moves you closer towards your sub-goal. This task should be the single most important task of your day.
Motivation Hack: Rewarding yourself before actually achieving your ultimate goal has been shown to maintain motivation. Source
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Thanks for reading!
