Review: Achieve-IT!
This was basically the first piece of software that I encountered in my search. This also happens to be my first review on this blog. Because my testing procedure is not yet quantified and transparent - this will be a totally subjective review (as are most reviews).
Lags
It's been a busy month. The saw is rusty and needs sharpening - and my blog needs some attention.
I can hear it sobbing because of the lack of my nourishing hand 
PS. The Achieve-IT![!] review is on it's way.
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.
Review: GoalWriter.com
This will not be a very long review, because the software in question is short and sweet.
A word of warning in advance - this particular piece of software needs some getting used to. Also - don't mistake it for what it is not. It is a really simple tool for some really simple yet powerful stuff.
The software gives you an online interface for stating the following:
- Vision statement
- Mission statement
- (SWOT) - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
- Wants and Needs
- Write Your Goals
If you are not clear on what all of that is, have no fear, the help system is... around. Basically steps 1 through 4 will build you up and help set your goals.
And that's it. Yes - you read right - nothing more. Well, you can print your results - but that's it. And that simplicity is what I like about this application.
I have to admit that when I first opened up the website - it disappointed me a bit. As it ripened however in my open tabs, I came to realize that it might be useful to review the fundamentals on a regular basis.
I've already set up a personal reminder to return to this site every week. And I advise you to do the same. I somewhat regret that functionality is not built into the app.
This is hardly what I personally would call a goal setting system, but it's some kind of help to organize your life and get clear about the things you want to accomplish.
PS. If you don't like web interfaces, you can visit GoalComposer.com and try the same thing but offline.
GoalWriter.com
Goal software 101: Trait #3: Measurable actions
The computer was invented primarily to help humans do numbers. It has evolved enough to not show you all the complicated math going behind the scenes - but it's still there. Today we will be talking about how we can learn for computers.
But first... some goal setting 101. There is a fairly basic methodology of setting your goals which everyone is probably familiar - that goals should be
(picked my favs - see the whole list here)
There is some big wisdom here. But SMART is a basic technique applying only to your goals and not the follow up: the action plan. When the goal is set - achieving it can be a lot more reliable is you actually set SMART actions that are to be acomplished. Those might be something like "I will enjoy a brisk walk every weekday afternoon" if your goal is related to fitness or weight.
This is great way to get you started on your goal and commit to doing something on it. In the ideal world, you would compose a checklist of all your actionsand track it on a daily basis. The problem with daily habits that haven't sunk in yet, is that the next day something unexpected happens (working late, partying or whatever your heart desires) the habit dies. If your list gets more than 2 days behind, chances are you will never use it again.
Now this is where the patience of a computer pays off. If you do the thing electronically - the software could bug you with an SMS message every hour until you get it. It may give you reports on how you've followed through. This has big advantages because you can keep track of whether you stayed with the plan - if you've screwed up- try again. If you came through and nothing is happening - get a better plan.
I actually came across the need for something like this when I was developing a plan for my fitness goals. I needed something that would keep track. I stuck with a spreadsheet but this is not what I would ultimately like to use.
Anyone have something interesting like this they' like to share?
Goal software 101: Trait #2: Automated steps
Not that fancy isn't it? Well... No. But crucial. Having the ability to:
- remind yourself of your goals on a daily basis
- generate automated motivational text relating to your goals
- remind yourself at random times (aka "oh it's the five o'clock reminder SMS- don't have to check it just now")
is just priceless.
Mind you this can be achieved by some clever basic level programming and the use of Google Calendar, but that's another story.
Goal software 101: Trait #1: Systems approach
Consider two situations, that might occur on the day you plan to set some goals:
- You sit down with a cup of (beverage) looking forward to your goal setting session just to find out your (prefered information storage utility) is not at hand. You get up, gather the needed utilities and sit down. In midst of setting your goals you continuously have to look through your notes about goal setting. The creative mind gets bogged down by the other functions it has to fulfill. You end up exhausted and with no particular feeling of excitement or expectation towards your goals.
- (beverage) in place - let's set goals. The run the goal software you're using. It gives you clear, predefined suggestions on what to do step-by-step. Goals set. Well defined. Attaining to your standards. You feel great.
The second point ilustrates the power of a process approach. Once set up - your software can do all the repeatable work for you.
The mid-tech approach would be to have a digital checklist with all the appropriate qualities of a goal made once and then copied to subsequent goals. This is the approach I use, with the help of the greatest to-do and checklist manager - Todolist. This however is not perfect - it does not guide you effortlessly throught your steps.
Low-tech would be just printing some sort of questionnaire - but as above - this is not the ideal.
The software I am testing now - "Achieve-IT!", does have some of the functionality I seek (but more on that on the upcoming review).
Bottom line - goal software should have a system of wizards for setting goals.
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.
The search begins
This is the start of a search for more.
Goal setting can give huge advantages and profits. There is but one enemy to goal setting - getting caught up.
If a system is not ideally designed and is even slightly slower than pen&paper - it failed. Miserably.
Unfortunately most systems that I have come across that promise miracles don't provide. I am here to help you make up your choice for the tool that is going to manage your life from now on. Heavy stuff.
For me - the ideal goal software (aka goal setting software) should:
- be simple, compact, easy to use and fast - if you won't like it - you won't use it
- remind you of good goal setting standards, with the possibility of tweaking those standards
- have integration with (at least) Google Calendar
- provide ways to measure goals
- provide easy ways to produce accountability - both internal (self-evaluation via performance charts) and external (sending out performance charts to your chosen coach)
These are the preliminary requirements - some may be added to the list, but the above are absolutely essential to me, as I will explain later on.
I'm going to test every piece of goal software there is available - and if nothing turns out the way I plan it to - make my own system.
Till later, stay passsionate
GregK
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