Incremental goal setting
Goal setting is something I’ve been giving greater focus to recently. It’s not for everyone, but I’ve found it’s helped me clarify the things I want to achieve in life and has been particularly useful with my studies in Naturopathy.
There are various ways and methods of goal setting. One I’ve found most effective is incremental goal setting. This is where you set small, achievable goals for yourself. These can be on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis. Incremental goal setting has been found to be effective in reducing sitting time in older adults and a report on the effectiveness of goal setting in neurological rehabilitation found that goals that were specific, time limited and had incremental steps leading to progressive achievement were most successful at achieving patient outcomes.
Below are some examples of how I’ve incorporated incremental goal setting into my routine:
1.Writing a daily task list
In the morning, often after I’ve completed my morning meditation and gratitude practice, I write down a list of tasks I’d like to complete that day. I make them small and brief (e.g. do a load of washing, play guitar 15 minutes, call mum). I may not get through all of them, but at least I’m aware of what I want to achieve that day. If I don’t get a task done, it often goes on my list for the following day.
