It’s time to think big about making your dream a reality! With our largest, most ambitious goals, a little preparation goes a very long way. Taking a moment to reflect on our path to our goal ahead, and why our goals are important, keeps us focused and on-track through thick and thin. For me, I find a little structured process gets me energized and thinking smarter. This in turn leads to these personal dreams becoming my new reality. I can’t wait to share my approach with you!
I start by filling out a simple two-page form that’s free for you to download:
Download here
I’ve personalized this to my own style, strengths, and weaknesses. Hopefully you find it a great starting place to make your own tweaks. Let’s take a look at what I consider valuable when starting a new goal:
Goal – I Give the goal a compelling name that excites me. I also draw a doodle or logo to recognize it easily in my set of goals and make it fun.
Why – What’s in it for me? I make it as juicy as possible to get me excited when I hit blockers or barriers. Spending time to articulate the why will also unlock new ideas in later sections. I jot down a couple bullets, nothing complex, as this preparation is for me and me only.
Success Metrics – How will you judge my success? A common mistake I can make is celebrating too early. When I have made progress or achieved some success, and get distracted or reprioritize, I lose track of the bigger win or breakthrough right around the corner. By noting what success means first, I can hold myself accountable to not stopping until I’m truly done.
Your Strengths – What is my unique or unfair strength in completing this goal? I often reference my StrengthsFinder assessment and think back to similar goals I’ve achieved in the past. What went really well? What positive feedback did I get about my actions or behavior that I should duplicate this time?
Partners – Who can join me on this journey and help achieve my goal? Who can I ask for help to be more successful and build lasting relationships? I check each name off after I’ve asked them for their insights and assistance to confirm I’m not leaving any stones unturned.
Key Activities – This todo list evolves over the course of the goal, but I limit it to three outstanding items at a time so I don’t get distracted and identify the highest priority items. It’s the classic way to jot down action items and mark progress.
Risks – As opposed to the Strengths section, I take some time to acknowledge my fears. This not only makes them more concrete and thus solvable, but also helps revise the other sections. Perhaps, for instance, there is a partner that can help overcome the risk. And if there’s nothing risky in the goal then I’m not being bold enough.
Learning Opportunities – What can I learn along the way by making mistakes? How can I share that learning with others via blogs, social posts, presentations, or conversations? Is there a new technique or practice I can implement?
Pomodoros – How much effort will it take me to achieve my goal? In a previous post, I share how I use Pomodoros as 25 minute blocks of focused effort that help make the best use of my time. Estimating how many I will need also leads me to better understanding my goal by considering how long it will take. I acknowledge the long road ahead, or consider how I could achieve my goal with less effort. I make a box for each Pomodoro I think it will take, and check them off as I do each Pomodoro (adding more checks than boxes if my estimate was low). I include estimates for time in meetings as this too (so an hour-long meeting would add two Pomodoros).
Start Date/End Date/Blockers – To help me retrospect on my goal when it’s crushed, I track when I started and completed it, and what major blockers I encountered along the way that stopped my progress.
Appreciations – I note who helped me along the way to make a concerted effort to say ‘thanks.’ I check them off after each is delivered.
Each week I start by reviewing the goals I have in progress, and make new ones, trying to keep a WIP (Work in Process) limit of three. For each goal I print, fill out, and maintain one of these forms. I keep them in a special folder for quick editing and access. I purposely make them physical, rather than digital, to encourage me to focus as I review and update them. The corporeal nature of the form lets me take them to a quiet, distraction-free place and treat them with more importance than the urgent items on my computer.
Hopefully you find this goal-preparation valuable too, and tweak it to match your own style. If you have changes you make, I’d love to hear about them in the comments!