Goal Getting Made Easy (Part 1/3)

The Simplest Goal Getting Blog You’ll Ever Read

I originally had a hook, but I hate time fillers, so let’s get straight to the point.

Common reasons for failing goals include setting vague or unrealistic targets, lack of commitment, weak planning, and not tracking progress. Regardless of the reason(s), without the appropriate foundation, a goal is doomed to fail.

That is why I created this blog. I have extensively researched goal-getting, delving into many books, analyzing numerous papers, and scanning through countless articles. Throughout this process, the same recurrent themes kept popping up.

I can attest from personal experience that going through lengthy, challenging explanations can get overwhelming. That is why I’ve made this blog short, straightforward, and easy to read — because I believe that goal-getting doesn’t have to be confusing.

This is a compiled sum of my research without the added complexity. With the right guidance and themes in the following sections, I am confident that you will gain new insight to reach your objectives.

This blog is divided into three parts:

1. Part A, “Setting the Stage”, focuses on being deliberate with your goal and crafting a well-thought-out plan
2. Part B, “Staying the Course”, covers tips for sticking to your plan and navigating the journey
3. Part C, “Reaching the Finish Line”, discusses reflection and what to do at the end

Each part contains bite-sized sections and includes a summary portion that offers doable takeaways at the end. Each section can be read independently, but for optimal results, the blog should be read in chronological order.

Every great journey begins with a single step. Without wasting any more time, let’s get started!

1. Craft a Goal That Works

So, you have an idea of what you want. How can you translate that idea into a written objective that can be repeatedly referred to?

Specificity is key.

Take these two sentences for example:

• I want to become a good runner.
• I want to be able to run a marathon.

What does being a “good” runner mean? Make sure your goals are clear and specific, so you can easily visualize the end result and focus your efforts on achieving them. Identify your target, include numbers or measurements if possible, and avoid vague terms.

Set challenging, but realistic goals.

Your goals should be outside of your comfort zone, but not so difficult that they become unachievable. Finding the sweet spot between being excited by the challenge and not being overwhelmed is vital.

Make your goals decomposable.

They should be able to be broken down into smaller subgoals and habits. This will make it easier to track your progress and stay motivated. For example, if your goal is to run a marathon, you might have subgoals of running a 5k, 10k, and half marathon, as well as habits such as running every morning and focusing on rest and recovery.

Create deadlines.

Having time constraints for both your main goal and its subgoals can help you structure your plan in an organized fashion. It makes it easier to allocate time and resources accordingly.

Examples of improving written goal statements:

2. Research for Success

To make a pizza, you need cheese, tomato sauce, and pizza dough. Similarly, to accomplish a goal, you need a clear understanding of the essential ingredients that will help you reach that objective.

This can be accomplished by doing research on the subject and applying the Pareto principle. The Pareto principle states that for any system, 20% of the input determines 80% of the output.

In this case, your intent is to look into and identify the 20% “essential few” topics that will give you a strong foundation of the subject that your goal revolves around.

Here is a simple three-step formula for conducting successful research:

1. Start broad and get an overall understanding of the subject. This can involve looking at a variety of sources, such as articles, blogs, and documents, to get a sense of the current state of the goal.
2. Identify common trends and narrow down your focus. Once you have an overview of the subject, look for recurring ideas and concepts that seem particularly important or relevant. These are the 20% “essential few” topics that will give you the most value.
3. Find reliable sources and use your background knowledge to delve deeper into the narrowed-down topics. This may involve reaching out to successful people in your field or organizations that have done research on the topic.

Let’s say Jill’s goal is to start a candy selling business. She begins by searching for articles and blogs about the business lifecycle, common tips for success, and reflections on the process.

From there, she identifies the common trends of finding a target audience, conducting market research, assessing finances, securing funding, and branding the company.

Jill then delves in deeper into each of these topics, using her newfound knowledge to find reliable sources and gather more information.

It’s important to note that there is such a thing as too much research. By focusing on the 20% “essential few” topics that give you the most value, you can avoid getting bogged down in excess details. With the information you gathered, it is now time to formulate a strategy aimed at accomplishing your goal.

3. Build the Blueprint

From the largest and most complex systems to the simplest and easiest tasks, everything can be broken down. Your goal is no exception. Now that you have made a goal statement and researched your topic, it is time to work backwards and design an implementation plan.

While this plan is not meant to be set in stone, its purpose is to point you in the correct direction. This document should be printed out, laminated, and hung up in the brightest part of your room.

Follow these steps to craft a plan focused on effective execution:

1. Visualize the end result. Close your eyes and spend a few minutes thinking about what you want to achieve.

2. Write out all of the subgoals that will help you reach your target. These should be specific and measurable, and should represent key milestones on your journey.

3. Break down your subgoals into even smaller tasks. These can be either one-time tasks (such as contacting a mutual friend or purchasing an online course) or repeated habits (such as solving practice interview problems or participating in mock interviews).

4. Document all of your tasks and habits, separating them by recurring time cycles (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, etc.). Consider using a whiteboard or other visual aid to help you track your progress.

Consider Jack who is looking into the tech industry and is planning on making a transition as a software engineer. His subgoals include learning how to code, building experience, networking with current software engineers, practicing interviewing, and applying for internships.

He then breaks these down into tasks such as attending a coding bootcamp, taking an online course, updating his LinkedIn profile, and contacting a mutual friend for advice.

Jack also creates habits of setting aside one hour every morning to work on her coding skills and participating in a bi-weekly mock interview session.

4. The Timing is Never Right

If you’ve ever taken a physics course, you know that an object at rest will stay at rest and an object in motion will stay in motion.

So, don’t wait until you feel more experienced or until the timing is “right” to start working towards your goals. The longer you wait, the further behind you’ll get. Many people get caught in the “if only” loop:

But the truth is, the timing will never be perfect and there will always be new challenges. Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. Instead, embrace a proactive mindset that emphasizes action over complete perfection.

When you start taking steps towards your goals, you’ll often find that the hardest part is getting started. Once you’re in motion, it becomes easier to keep going. So, don’t wait any longer. Start now, and let action lead to more action.

Part A Action Points

• Revise your goal to make it specific, feasible, decomposable, and time constrained
• Start a broad search of your goal on Google and identify the common trends
• Find a person who has been in your situation and reach out for a one on one phone call
• Create a structured plan by breaking down goal into subproblems and breaking down those subproblems repeatedly until they are repeated habits or one time tasks
• Print out the plan, laminate it, and hang it up somewhere where it is easy to reference
• Get started!!!

Congrats on finishing Part A!

You are one step closer to achieving your dreams.

Part A makes sure that you have the right foundation to support your goal. It is the perfect lead up to the next section.

In the following blog, we will be covering how to stick to the plan that you created in Part A and navigating all of its ups and downs.

If you are ready, proceed to Part B: Staying the Course.