Goal Achievement
Trouble Staying Motivated? Monitor Your Progress Today to Achieve Your Goals Tomorrow
A few tweaks to how you keep track of your work could make all the difference when it comes to meeting your objectives
Lack of motivation is a killer for us high achievers who want to set and achieve lofty goals. What, then, will help us to supercharge our motivation? A well-done meta-analysis (a study of studies) has shown that six dimensions of motivation are related to one factor: monitoring. You have to monitor your progress to achieve your goal.
1. Focus of monitoring
When we monitor our progress, we’re focusing on one or more factors: behaviors and/or outcomes.
Let’s say your goal is to write a book. A behavior you might measure is how many words you write each day — Steven King says he writes at least 2,000 words each day. You might also call it a habit; in this case, King has developed the habit of writing at least 2,000 words daily. That habit is part of his process.
The outcome would be finishing a chapter (and eventually, the book).
Although the Donabedian Model was designed for healthcare professionals, the King…
