The difference between goals and action plans
The flaws of some NY resolutions
This is the time (day? week?) of year when most people take a brief look at their lives, form a sentence that is supposed to destroy whatever vice that first popped into mind, and go on with their lives as usual. If you're like that - I will not be able to help you. If however you're more serious about your resolution - read on.
I used to think that a statement such as "I will jog for 60 minutes every other day by the end of February" is a goal. This statements adheres to the S.M.A.R.T. guidelines, but it has several flaws:
- It doesn't recognize the need to achieve goal incrementally - starting small and building momentum to achieve ultimate effect. This can be fixed by phrasing the goal like "I jog every other day, increasing the time by 2 minutes daily and ultimately running 60 minutes by the end of February".
- It doesn't really convey any benefits (on it's own). If someone were ignorant of the health benefits of jogging, this single statement would not mean anything. If we want to be motivated to do something we must keep the benefits constantly in mind - a goal like the above might be hard to accomplish because we tend to loose track of the ultimate reasons for achieving the goal (the desired end result).
- It would be hard for me to integrate this into my self-image.
- Why are you jogging? To get fit? To get strong? Increase stamina? Lose weight?
- What if jogging doesn't work out? You could develop knee problems, be attacked by dogs on a regular basis or having a really uninteresting neighbor join you. What then - do you drop the whole goal and quit?
All of these are result of mistaking actions for goals.
- A goal is an end state in which your life changed in a desirable way, consistent with your self image.
- A goal is achieved by setting up:
- reasons (why do I want this),
- an action plan (how will I achieve this).
The immediate practical applications could be:
- Suppose we change
"I jog every other day, increasing the time by 2 minutes daily and ultimately running 60 minutes by the end of February"
to:
"I am fit enough to allow me to jog for 60 minutes by the end of February"
- If something happens to disrupt your jogging schedule, you can work on your fitness levels in other ways. Also - you will be less likely to get bored this way because you are not limited to jogging.
- Maybe you will find a better way to get fit if you gain more knowledge about fitness in general. You can experiment with different training programs and measure which one works best for you.
- "I am fit and full of energy" seems to fit better into my self image than just being a jogger.
Change actions to goals
This is a fairly easy process:
- If your resolution is an action, look for the ultimate goal, write it down. The previous action will become part of your action plan.
or
If your resolution is already a goal (losing weight for example) don't do anything with it yet (maybe phrase it to be SMART) - List all the reasons for achieving the goal. This should be two lists: 10 benefits of achieving your goal and 10 painful consequences of not reaching it. This step is really important - ever since I started to integrate a list of reasons into my goal setting routine I've achieved far more than without them. The key is to really feel into the good (and bad) feelings that these hypothetical situations elicit.
- Get some knowledge about the subject in question and formulate an action plan. Your first item might be already there.
- Have daily habits to track the actions, revisit goals and action plans. Change them according to results. You may find a low tech way to keep track of goals in my previous post.
Do you have examples of transformed resolutions or other ways to better them? Let me know in the comments.
The power of measuring goal progress
Last month I've realized that I've been setting goals on weight loss for 2 years. The measurable result of these was at most temporary. I've realized that somewhere along the way there was a flaw in my process. I lacked two things:
- Knowledge - I knew enough about exercise but lacked the essential knowledge regarding energy balance and nutrition. This made my plan effective in terms of increasing overall health (which was quite satisfying), but did not lead to weight loss.
- A plan with (easily) measurable daily actions.
Improving the plan goal achievement process involved the following:
- Reading somewhat about it. Since weight loss is a limitless sesspool in desinformation, I skimmed throught a few books and sticked to those that made sense and did not promise to make me lose 5 kgs overnight. I stuck with "The body fat solution", by Tim Venuto. Also - I got some great mantra type articles from ZenHabits: example.
- I've already had a measurable goal, but I did not set up a plan for the measurements and alas - they failed. Armed with that knowledge I framed the simplest measurement schedule I could think of:
- Phase 1 (first 21 days). Using a pocket notepad and pen.
- Write down everything I eat with the amounts
- Weight myself in the evening.
- If doing any exercises, write them down.
- Phase 2. All the data went into a database for progress measurement.
- Count daily calorie intake and protein percentages of the foods
- Weight myself at least once a day (preferably in the morning and in the evening)
- Make an exercise plan and follow it.
- Phase 1 (first 21 days). Using a pocket notepad and pen.
I started simple and a month later am still building my way up. This is the natural progress of the goal measuring process. Begin with lo-tech low maintenance logging tools. This may even be all you need. I am currently on my way of building my own custom weight and calorie tracker (built for my specific needs), but mainly as a means to improving my programming skills.
The effect is that the goal of losing 1kg/week is steadily coming along, and I have full control over all of the variables, which is very gratifying.
Because I have some spare time and some goals, I'm going to resume testing goal setting software suites for those of you that do not have the luxury or the ability to write your own app 
Stay tuned.
The best daily goal setting system ever
There is one test in the world of goal setting when I comes to systems of writing down your goals every day.
This is the big secret: The ideal system for everyday goal setting is one that is comfortable enough to do every day. In fact - one that let's you look forward to the next moment you get to work on your goals.
If you do that and adhere to the SMART guidelines, you will see incredible results.
Now I've tried my share of systems over the years, but only recently have I perfected my own system. I do not claim this is better than anyone elses in overall - it's just better for me. I'd like to share with you my way hoping that it may well get you on your way to unleashing your potential.
You will need:
- This simple sheet (recommended)
or
A5 notebook
or
one A4 sheet of paper - A pen.
- 15 minutes of leisure time.
What you should do:
- If you chose not to use the sheet, download it anyway and look at the layout. Make your own notebook or sheet resemble that layout.
- Put yourself in a relaxed, yet energized frame of mind. Or you might feel better whilst calm and quiet. Whatever it is, make sure you enjoy it and feel comfortable.
- Fill in Part 1, keeping in mind these guidelines:
-
- Keep your goals SMART (Yes, I will mention this on every occasion).
- Phrase your goals so that they evoke feelings of power, fun, excitement. A goal like "Each day I substitute 1 meal for a healthy one and open up new horizons of flavour" is *slightly* better than "Eat healthier food".
- Make your goals ambitious, but realistic. On the edge of your current possibilities. And that edge is bleeding my friends...
- Set a date. This is not and end-all - just an estimate.
- Prioritize your goals as you see fit - the most important ones at the top
- Your goals will change, especially in the beginning. This is a good thing and one of the key benefits of goal setting - you refine your goals and set the ones that really matter.
- Fill in Part 2. This is a basic step for giving your mind the reasons for achieving the goal. The crucial thing here is to really feel the benefits of achieving the goal. Take a moment to savour the moment in your minds eye. Feel it. Experience it. Be there...
Also - think what will it cost you if you don't achieve this goal. Loss is hard to bear for the human mind, and if you associate enough things that you could lose - you will have more will to follow through.
Work your list of goals consecutively on the following days. If you have more time - you might want to do more then one goal on a separate sheet. - Fill in Part 3 . This is the next action for every goal. This should be a single action that is possible to make now. Do these actions as soon as you are ready. Don't over schedule - take it one thing at a time - don't try to cram in 10 actions - it will just numb you down to them and you won't achieve much more.
Example:
Goal: "I weigh xx and my fitness level gives my great energy and allows me to do 50 push-ups"
Action: "Make exercise plan" or "Do my daily exercises". - Fill in Part 4 . This differs from Part 3 in the lighter fashion in which you an treat these actions. These are things you can do in your free time. These actions are usually something like a habit.
Example:
Goal: "I weigh xx and my fitness level gives my great energy and allows me to do 50 push-ups"
Action: "I contract my stomach muscles while in the elevator" or "I drink at leat 5 glasses of water a day" - You have finished! Put your signature at the bottom to make an agreement with yourself that you will follow through.
- Print one sheet each day and put it somewhere that you know you can't leave without having to deal with it. Tape it to the door, put it on your shoes, attach to your monitor and so on... Make filling out the sheet your priority.
- You've got the system - the rest is up to you.
I believe in the effectiveness of this system because of it's double whammy approach - it give you the benefit of a well formed, inspiring goal with the momentum builder of every day actions.
Also - having the action stated in plain, normal language gives some relief from the intelligence challenging (but subconscious effective) task of forming your goals in the present tense.
The reasons for your goal reinforce your commitment and remind you why you are doing this.
And the part 4 actions remind you of the importance every day habit forming.
As a last tip, I would recommend that the most important goal for you in the next week or two is:
"I rewrite m goals daily and realize the amazing changes that already are entering my life".
I wish you much luck.
Goal software 101: The ultimate goal setting system?
I've been getting some questions recently about whether I advise getting rid of the old pocket scrapbook.
The answer - NO!
Don't get me wrong - I'd rather pull out my trusty pen and pocket-diary than my laptop or Blackberry - it's just that software gives us the things that were never possible using paper (or they were quite cumbersome).
In this series of posts I'll try to explain why I think be should move to the next dimension and use goal-software for day to day use.
Important note: None of the goal software I came across to date has been able to fill all my criteria - and I don't think they will. I have managed to pull together something of a system of my own from free tools, but this is far from comfortable. This is basically the motivation behind this blog - to find the best goal setting system there is - or build my own.
PS. Still testing "Achieve-IT!" Sent some questions to the author - I should be done testing by the end of the week.
Some good advice for this year
Braad Isaac has just published a list of great posts related to goal setting. Braad is the person, whose software - "Achieve-IT!" I will be testing as the first in my quest for THE goal setting software helper.
In touch
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