
Do you set goals? - bkj123
Hello.  Do you set goals?   If so how do you go about doing it, I'm talking about things like...<p>- certain categories (finances, relationships, etc.)?
- do you limit the goals and/or prioritize them?
- do you use a SMART method (Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time related)?
- do you set a plan for each goal?
- how do you keep focus, avoid distractions, and keep attacking the goal?
- do you write them done or do you use certain software?
- does setting or not setting goals helped you?
- what has worked the best for you?
======
pistoriusp
I set goals. For 1 month, 1 year, 5 year, 10 year and 20 year intervals.

I break them up into categories: things, learning and financial.

I start off with ridiculous goals, things that seem unachievable, at the 20
year milestone and bring them closer to reality as the time interval shortens.

I write them down and display them in my home office where I can view them in
plain sight each day. I have been incredibly fortunate in achieving almost
everything I've written down at the 1 year interval for 3 years running.

I refine these goals every so often which helps me realign the mental image
that I have of myself. I think if you can imagine it vividly and remind
yourself of this image then you'll naturally move toward becoming it.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
I do the same thing, but one additional step that I like to do is have a few
daily habits that I try and do every day (in my case Mon-Fri) that are
"connected" to my longer-term goals and ambitions. For example, one of my
long-term goals is to learn how to play piano, so I have a daily habit of
practicing for 25 mins. Another of my daily habits is to review my goal plan,
just to keep it fresh in my mind.

~~~
bkj123
Thanks Ryan for posting. Do you find that the time of the day matters? For
example, do you practice on the piano first thing in the morning? I've found
that the longer in the day I do something, the more chance I have of not doing
it.

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gaius
I like to put myself into a position where I've got no choice. For instance, I
signed up for a Marathon in May and told everyone that I had. Better get
training for that then...

~~~
bkj123
Thanks for the post gaius. Makes sense and what I like in your case is that
you gave yourself time to do it. Alot different than saying I need to have
some big huge thing done tomorrow and setting yourself up for failure. Also,
like the idea of letting everyone know and the motivation of "saving face"

------
simianstyle
This may sound a bit shallow, but the only thing that's ever worked for me is
I always ask myself the question: "What is the next step that I can do right
now to make me the wealthiest man on this planet?"

This usually leads me down a path of questions that result in me having to
teach myself something to build something to solve a particular problem which
fulfills a need. I know that this may seem vague, but try it in your own
context of life and see what answers it yields you.

~~~
markessien
Did it work for you?

~~~
medianama
I guess not, unless he is Warren Buffett

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palish
Most of my long-term goals fail, or (more often) are redefined, or (still more
often) are left in a state of purgatory where "I may complete them someday,
but not today". So I don't set long-term goals anymore. Living in the present
keeps me focused and productive.

That said, a todo list _of small goals_ is extremely valuable.

~~~
bkj123
Good point palish. sounds like focusing on the small goals keeps everything on
track. Maybe you are breaking down the big goals without even knowing and
thus, having success. Thank you for posting.

------
RiderOfGiraffes
I was deeply, deeply skeptical, but then I read a lot of blogs and comments
from people with whom I clearly identified who said it was fantastic and
absolutely worked for them.

"Getting Things Done" - the personalised version.

I read the summaries, then some snippets, then a "Zen" version, and thought -
actually, this could work for me. I started some of the techniques and kept
track of time spent, and lo - time was saved.

I bought the book. Despite the very high "Ginger Factor" in places it
communicates well, albeit slowly.

Now I have a GTD system running, and am putting my life into it. It gives me
my goals, it lets me review and prioritise my projects and activities, it has
delivered my life from worrying about whether I've done things, or whether
I've forgotten something.

It helps me set goals, and it helps me see how to achieve them.

More importantly, it helps me keep things in perspective and do what really
matters.

YMMV, but it works for me.

~~~
bkj123
Nice post RiderOfGiraffes. Can you give some detail of you GTD system - paper?
application? how you turn goals into next actions? etc. Thank you.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
I'll write a longer reply later and put it on my web site. For now, as a quick
response:

I started with a filing system. I've always had trouble knowing whether to
file the car insurance under "Car" or "insurance". My filing system is now
undifferentiated. Every item gets a (mostly) unique number, usually YYYMMDD
where the date is vaguely relevant. Then I put in a file a line for that item,
starting with the ID, and then loads of keywords - anything relevant. Now I
can find anything I want quickly by grepping that file.

* Update - that file is now on my home wiki so my wife can also put entries on it and search (using F3).

* Thought - the keywords turn the single mass into implicit "files", each item belonging to as many "files" as it has keywords, and each keyword giving a different "file".

* I do still have a separate filing system for things that have an obvious designation, and are frequently referenced or searched - like CC and bank statements.

Then I implemented the 43 folders idea, and put into that things like bills
that needed paying, statements to check, etc.

Thirdly came the single "In box", and everything went into that. From there I
try to apply the processing that GTD defines, although I still have some
trouble. But now most things have destinations: Bin, Filing, Folders, "Other".

"Other" consists of two places at the moment. One is "Projects to Create" the
other is "Read and File/bin". The "Projects to Create" folder is what I yet
need to define and make more rigorous.

Next, I have a collection of lists in my PDA: On-line, Off-line, Email, House,
Phone, Work, Today. On these go classic "To-Do" style notes. I don't adhere
too rigorously to the "Next Action" mantra, but I do keep it in mind, and my
work-style is mutating towards it. Thinking about it is helping, even though I
haven't implemented it in its full glory.

Finally, ideas, results of on-line browsing, results from work, etc, all get a
separate piece of A6 paper (scrap A4 cut into four) and put in the "In box",
and so the cycle begins again.

The hardest part is forcing myself to use the lists as my guide, but the
rewards from doing so are reinforcing the action. I am starting to get things
done, and I can see that one or two of my projects are being turned into items
on my lists, that become actions that happen, which progress the projects. My
work-flow is mutating towards GTD, although it may settle on something
different that suits me better.

I ought to write this up, but I've been reluctant to create yet another GTD
zealot/derivative page.

Comments and questions welcome.

~~~
RiderOfGiraffes
Some more reading around here on HN and checking on other people's
recommendations has led me to this:

[http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/practicing-
simplified...](http://lifehacker.com/software/feature/practicing-simplified-
gtd-335269.php)

This actually matches pretty closely what I started with. My system has
evolved a little further, and it seems I deal with more paper, but this is a
better summary than I otherwise might write.

These are linked to and form a crucial part of it:

[http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/the-art-of-
the-d...](http://lifehacker.com/software/geek-to-live/the-art-of-the-doable-
to+do-list-270404.php)

[http://lifehacker.com/software/top/geek-to-live--empty-
your-...](http://lifehacker.com/software/top/geek-to-live--empty-your-inbox-
with-the-trusted-trio-182318.php)

The email advice is especially important to me. I do file things into
reference folders, but I have scripts to do the donkey work on that.

------
Jacoblk
I'll occasionally get on a to-do list kick, but the only thing that has
consistently worked for me is to find things that are moderately productive
while still being a little fun. Then whenever I feel like procrastinating, I
do one of those things. It allows me to take breaks from the boring stuff
without ever fully stopping.

As an example, this past semester I used this technique to switch between
take-home tests (boring) and fun yet productive tasks such as programming
assignments that weren’t due for months or (non-school related) reading that
I’d been meaning to catch up on.

~~~
bkj123
It seems one of the hardest, but smartest, things to do is get started on
something. Sometimes, anything will do. But your idea of having things that
are fun (easier to get yourself going) and somewhat productive make for a
better change of success. thanks for posting Jacoblk

------
kirubakaran
Setting goals helps me get _other_ things done. It is as if I rebel against
myself.

But I am more productive when I set goals.

Nowadays I set hourly 'goals' <http://smacklet.com/>

~~~
bkj123
interesting about the rebeling part. Really like smacklet, thanks for
mentioning it.

~~~
kirubakaran
Thanks. Please email me if you have questions about Smacklet. I'll add more
features like graphs etc if it gets many users :)

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sidsavara
I set goals and also use GTD. I have a constant struggle between setting lots
of goals, spreading myself too thin, and then coming back to a small set of
most criticals goals. Then, the cycle continues - I feel like I am not
accomplishing enough, widen my scope, set lots of goals and spread myself thin
again.

Over time I accomplish just about everything I set out to do, it would be nice
to know exactly where my limits are. I've been getting better, but it is is
still imprecise.

------
akaalias
Re: - how do you keep focus, avoid distractions, and keep attacking the goal?

Keeping focus researching/browsing often is for me the hardest thing
(<http://xkcd.com/214/> describes it best). I built this mini-mini-mini webapp
for myself called defumble.com to remind me of what it actually was that I set
out to find.

------
nonrecursive
Keep them SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-boxed.
<http://www.topachievement.com/smart.html>

~~~
pasbesoin
SMART reminds me of performance evaluation at my last employer. In theory, it
made sense, but in practice, the landscape often changed during the relevant
timeframe and one was left retrofitting the goal to actual experience.
Further, in practice the grunts were more subject to the SMART regimen.
Management was free to (re)write their own definition of success; of course,
they almost always succeeded.

If it's not too off-topic, I'd like to ask whether others have developed
aversions to "goal management" based on experiences like the above? How did
you separate yourself from the process? I hate B.S., and it was a constant
struggle to make myself "give up" and "play the game".

I suppose the real answer is to get out of such a job. Perhaps my questions
are more rhetorical that literal. However, one can't always immediately change
jobs. Further, I wonder to what extent such experiences can negatively
influence one's own mindset and behavior. Faced with such a lack of control,
does one learn not to plan?

~~~
nonrecursive
A performance evaluation has a much different context than that of setting
your own goals. With performance evals you don't control the criteria for
success (as you mention). With setting goals, you do.

If you're constantly retrofitting your goal to the actual experience, IMO it's
your responsibility to figure out what went wrong and do something
differently. Maybe your goal was too ambitious, maybe there were extenuating
circumstances, whatever. But there's no reason to be afraid of yourself and
try to sneakily convince yourself you met a (personal) goal when you didn't.
There's no reason to be afraid of failing. Just learn and adapt.

Your post wanders around a bit. For example, your last paragraph mentions "the
real answer is to get out of such a job", which confuses me. I don't know if
you're talking about a job or setting goals. Hopefully this response helps,
though.

~~~
pasbesoin
Thanks for the response. I was debating deleting my comment, as it probably
came in part from a poor frame of mind. But I'll leave it, now.

I was referring to getting out of a job that imposes such an approach. I've
inhabited a number of corporate positions, and the goal-setting and attendant
performance evaluation often follows the same pattern. In large part, your
manager tells you what your goals are going to be. You may be responsible for
"developing" them, or even "collaborating" on them, but you soon learn that
what is really expected is to record what the manager tells you.

These goals are based upon: a) Assumptions (often overly aggressive or "rosy")
as to what will actually happen; b) What your manager believes more senior
management wants to hear.

During the course of whatever timeframe is addressed (typically a half-year or
year), several significant variables change. Budget is found, or more
typically not. Senior management changes and want to establish a new / its own
direction. Estimates prove to be too low, and work in the pipeline takes
significantly longer and/or consumes significantly more resources.
Unanticipated support needs consume significant time and resources. Etc.

As a result: First, your goals were not really yours. I don't mean just or
primarily what you "want" to do. I mean also, they don't adequately reflect or
at least consider your expectation of what is realistically achievable or
important. Second, the goals, which are -- despite all the corporate speak
regarding continuous review and re-evaluation -- typically not visited again
until near the end of the timeframe, become woefully out of touch with
evolving circumstances.

In my albeit limited observation, higher levels of management seem to be more
able to redefine their goals as circumstances evolve. If you are lower on the
totem pole, you are at the mercy of your manager. They can agree to redefine
things. This leaves the original goal seeming somewhat pointless; all the more
so if/when you "fudge" the language of the evaluation to portray a successful
outcome, instead of being open about what prevented its achievement.
Alternatively, they can use your commitment to blame you, punish you, and/or
manipulate you into a further course of action.

The communication occurs largely in one direction. You can't really "own" the
goal; instead, it becomes a fence that constrains your behavior, typically
towards a very conservative, corporate norm.

Perhaps my own goal management suffers more from personal issues such as
possible ADD tendencies and the like. But I've observed in coworkers as well
as myself not infrequently a "submissive" and/or frustrated attitude where the
largest truly personal goal with respect to the job, however ill defined this
goal's pursuit may be, seems to be to somehow leave the job and do something
better.

So, I've been largely speaking of formal work goals as defined for a
performance plan. SMART immediately reminded me of the heavy emphasis of this
approach at my last employer. However, when each component of a goal could be
redefined at will, it lost value and left a distinct distaste for the whole,
corrupt process.

I think you are speaking more about personal goals. In my apparently long
winded fashion, I'm asking whether experiences such as mine in corporate life,
have put others off of the whole "goal" terminology. I guess the other
question would be whether that environment is irrelevant and that, rather, the
negative experience I describe comes from poor self-management.

I probably should not have followed up, as its becoming apparent to me that my
post had more of an emotional basis than an intellectual one. I don't want to
become the "vents about corporate life" troll, here. (Really, I don't. Note to
self...)

But by way of explanation, I'll submit this clarification and then slink off
to lick my wounds. ;-)

------
nx
I write them _down_ , usually, I set my goals for the next day and write them
down on a sheet of paper I'll see first thing when I wake up.

~~~
bkj123
I've heard so many times that writing them down (and reviewing them daily) is
critical to success. Thanks for the post.

------
mhidalgo
I tend to write down every month large goals that I want to do. For example, I
want to become a successful entrepreneur or I would like to win the world
karate championships. After that I just focus on every day and see if my day
matches my long term goals. I tried to plan too much in the past, I realized
my time horizons are defined by now and my ultimate dreams.

------
bluefish
Not goal related directly; I've found this lecture by the late professor Randy
Pausch regarding time management to be very interesting. I'm not sure I agree
with his hands-free phone + bike use tip, but I think his talk has a lot of
good points.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTugjssqOT0>

------
transburgh
I have never set goals. Not on purpose, I just am focused on going forward
from where I am now that I let it work itself out. Might sound bad but it has
worked so far.

------
abalashov
No.

------
ahoyhere
I work my goals in a variety of ways:

* very specific ones (e.g. x number of dollars of biz a month, 25-45 min exercise a day, doing y things for friends every week)

* semi-specific ones (my big thing for 2009 is to be self-sustaining with my web service/products by 2010, & to get healthy because I'm turning - gulp - 25 this year)

* really generic ones -- I used to write goals down as kind of an affirmation exercise. Not "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better" kinda crap ( _retch_ ), but "I am a recognized authority, speak at cool conferences, and people laugh at my jokes." kinda thing.

On the latter, they sound totally frou frou Stuart Smiley, but there really is
something to stating something out loud / on paper. Not that you have to stare
in the mirror and say it every day. But the act of writing it down and
thinking about it seems to prime one to recognize opportunities when they
come.

I can't tell you how many times I've looked back on my old notes and seen
goals written down like that, that I'd forgotten ever writing, but in the mean
time, they'd come true. With lots of effort from me, of course, but I think
that writing them down and thinking about them guided me & helped me grab
opportunities when they arose.

~~~
shard
Nit: I'm sure you meant Stuart Smalley
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley>), not Stuart Smiley.

~~~
ahoyhere
Right you are, I always mix up the fictional Stuart Smalley with the real
Stuart Smiles, who wrote "Self-Help" in 1859.

