Why I started setting 3-month goals instead of yearly goals
Does any of the following sound a bit like you?
You’re spontaneous. Adventurous. You have lots of ideas but you’re afraid to commit. You often dive into one thing, decide it’s not for you and float on…to the next purple, dreamy cloud where you think you’ll find [insert your definition of success].
Here’s the reality check: while this way of living can work, it’s also extremely tiring.
The past few years (ever since I started setting goals) my life looked like a version of what I just described above.
I’ve been a bit of a drifter and a dreamer. A person with too many ideas, unable to settle.
Also, I set myself goals that were too big.
They were great goals, yeah.
And were they achievable? Heck yes.
But they weren’t actionable. They were a little…shall we say ‘fluffy’, like a Sunday morning pancake.
So I didn’t achieve many of my goals. And I got frustrated about the fact that I wanted to change my goals so many times.
So here’s what I recently decided to do instead:
(disclaimer: I’m still working on this, update post on how well I go will follow)
Set 3-month goals that are actionable
According to experts including author Michael Hyatt setting 3-month goals is way more productive than setting 6 months goals or yearly goals. They are also more likely to beat procrastination.
Why?
Because they’re actionable.
Personally I began using the Best Self Journal to help me set actionable and ‘smart’ goals.
You divide them into results goals, progress goals and daily actions & tasks.
This is an example of my 3 results goals (the 3-month goals):
1) In 3 months I want to have my podcast published and released 8 episodes
2) In 3 months I want to have 30 blog posts published on Medium
3) In 3 months I want to have saved $8000 for a trip to Europe
Before I did this I felt anxious and overwhelmed by my goals. I was also hesitant about whether I’d be able to stick to the same goal for a whole year (because I suffered from ‘shiny object syndrome’).
But now my goals are actionable. And the likelihood of actually sticking to them is much higher than before.
There are 3 other reasons why I love setting 3-month goals.
3-month goals create balance in your life
Having shorter term goals means that you’ll be checking in with each key area in your life more often (health, relationships, money, career, personal development, etc).
This allows you to evaluate where you’re at in each area every couple of months and decide what to focus on next.
3-month goals create clarity
In the Best Self Journal there’s only room for three 3-month goals.
This means your goal setting process will become more minimalistic. It’s way better to set yourself only 3 main goals at a time instead of an overwhelming number of yearly goals.
We live in a society of constant information OVERLOAD.
That’s why you need to simplify to create CLARITY in your life.
Having less goals makes this possible.
3-month goals allow you to build sustainable habits
Don’t just focus on the outcome, but on the process itself. Setting medium term goals will force you to put habits in place.
For example, if your outcome goal is to draw 12 unicorns in 3 months, then your progress goal would be to draw 1 per week. The habit that would stem from this is having to pick up your pen daily to draw your unicorn.
The cool thing is that once you start working on your habits, they will continue to be habits which will allow you to generate momentum for your next set of 3 month goals.
3 month goals take the pressure off. They allow you to leave room to adapt to today’s rapidly changing economy, while still refining and mastering your skills.
Planning your life this way allows you to live a life of adventure. Be spontaneous, try lots of different ideas. And at the same time you’ll actually get shit done.
by Katharina Alf.
Thanks for reading! Tap the ‘clap’ if you enjoyed this article and I’ll send you virtual hugs :)
