I have done something similar to the list approach for a few years now, with a small modification. Next to the column with the “what” I place a column saying “how does success look like”.

In the example of “become a fitter person”, success might be “workout regularly three times a week for a year” or “have a bmi of xx”.

Another example would be “Become a better photographer” and the success column could say “have xx followers on Flickr” or “show my photos at an exhibition”.

I find it more fun when I can clearly define success, it also makes me think a bit harder about the why and what of my goals.

Thank for the inspiration!