Writing your goals down... every day!
 

Well, I thought I'd kick off the first topic in the Personal Effectiveness forum...

One of the best techniques I have learnt for goal attainment and daily motivation is the practice of writing out your long-term goals (and affirmations) in full each and every day. This is something I picked up from one of Brian Tracey's books and when I eventually tried it, I was suprised by the results. I became so much more focused and motivated each day and I began to make very quick progress towards achieving goals that I had set some time ago but up until that point had only written down once or twice.

Has anyone else tried this? What results did you see? Personally this has to be one of the most effective techniques I had tried for keeping a steady focus on your goals and maintaining a high level of motivation!

The reason it works is of course very simple, it keeps your goals and aspirations very clearly in mind - and this has a positive effect on the decisions you make throughout the day. It becomes much easier to relate your daily activities to your long term goals, which provides you with motivation. In addition if you cannot relate an activity or task to one of your goals - you are more likely to question whether or not you should be doing it in the first place!

I'd be interested to hear about your experiences with this or any other techniques that you use to keep focused and motivated on a daily basis?

I have used the writing lists technique and it definitely works for me. It feels like I actually got something accomplished when I can cross it off of a list. It also keeps me focused. I am VERY forgetful and easily distracted because I have a million "goals" swimming around in my head at any given moment. My problem is that if I don't do it first thing, I get distracted and forget to write a list. I need to get in the habit of starting a new list every night with "WRITE TODAY'S LIST" on the top so I don't forget.

Hi Trina, actually I was referring to writing down long-term goals (like fitness, income, career goals) rather than daily tasks but I realise I didn't make this clear in my original post! (Have edited it slightly now!).

But, in terms of daily tasks lists - I agree, it is that real sense of accomplishment that makes it work so well. It has become a time-management cliché but it does work! You get a feel-good factor which motivates you to go on and complete your next task (well in theory anyway!) But I have the same problem, I haven't yet formed a solid daily habit of doing this and like you, I easily get distracted first thing and can then sail through the day working on whatever seems most important at the time, without a clear list of what I actually need to achieve.

When you said write them down every day I assumed that you meant daily goals. Sorry!!

As for long term goals, I need to figure out exactly what they are first. LOL. I have a few goals, things like keep practicing with my photography and maintaining a good marriage. Nothing really specific though. Sometimes I feel lazy or unfocused because I don't have big dreams and grand goals in life. I just want to be happy with who I love doing what I love.

Well that sounds like an first-class goal to me!

Hi Trina,

Have you read or heard of "Getting Things Done" (GTD) by David Allen? Part of his system is to get those those thoughts out of your head and into a trusted system. The GTD system includes writing lists, which you've noted that it does a great job of becoming more focused. I personally like what they call the weekly review where I review all those list on a weekly basis (although for me its bi-monthly :o )

Great advice, I think I'll start doing something similar myself!

Regards,
From Shannan :cool:

I haven't but I am definitely going to check it out now! I really need to work on my focus. LOL. Thanks for the suggestion!

Personally, I have a daily or weekly to do list that I put in a notepad file which resides in my startup items folder in Start > Programs. That way every time I start my computer up I've got my to do list staring me in the face, and its really easy to add things or cross things off. And whenever I'm looking for something to do I know exactly where to look.

As far as long term goals, I have those written down somewhere...but most of my daily or weekly goals are baby steps towards my bigger, long term goals, and I find doing it this way keeps me on track for my larger goals.

Oh, GTD!
I've read the book and I think it is very good. If properly implemented, it greatly improves productivity, if you have a fragmented lifestyle common between those who spend a lot of time online, or live in a large city.
It took a bit of effort to actually set up the system that works for me, but when it is up and running, it helps a lot. The stress is gone, more and more is done every day. Beautifull.

I run a project called 101 Things in 1001 Days (it's not originally my idea, I just run a blog with the brazilian version of the original project). The project consists of having people list 101 things/goals they want to accomplish in 1001 days and posting this list and the progress in their blogs. People list both short and long term goals. As more and more people join the project, I've started getting more and more feedback. What people usually tell me is that:

1) Creating the list is an exercise in itself. It forces them to take a deeper look on what they really want and define/redefine their goals more consciously.
2) Because most of these lists are public (people post them in their blogs) and because people report their progress in their blogs too, they feel more motivated and commited.
3) Having such a list keeps them very focused.

This is the general feedback I usually get. I have a list of my own and I noticed that it helped me a great deal! I definitely stayed more focused, I've already accomplished several of my goals - both short and long term - and many of the short term goals are steps to long term goals anyway.

I don't know if writing your long term goals on a daily basis is effective or not, I suppose it might work for some people while to others this would seem redundant, but because I'm getting all this feedback, I'm starting to believe that keeping a list visible/accessible and taking a look at it constantly definitely helps. People have been telling me about different methods they are using to keep them focused and I had this one person tell me that for each and every item of her list, she associated an image to represent them and put them all in a folder. Every night before bed she looks at these images and thinks about which steps she's going to take the next day to get closer to those goals that are prioritary at that particular moment. I found this method very interesting (and I also believe it is helpful for intention manifestation, but that's subject for another forum ;)).

Anyway, just my 2 cents. Bottom line is, I think different methods work for different people. If you find something that works for you, stick with it. :-)

What an excellent idea! I think I'm going to try it out, too.

I'm glad you liked it, SimplyGold. :) That's exactly what I thought when I first learnt about this. Obviously, I liked it so much that I didn't simply create a list for myself, I *had* to go a bit further. :D It's very interesting to go through other people's lists too.

I just finished creating the list! It was an eye-opener in the sense that I was struggling to finish it by the time I got to 50. I honestly thought I had a lot more things I wanted to do in the next 2.5 years.

Define long term...?
 

I think that writing down my long term goals every day would drive me loopy...after about three days! However I can see the attraction of having them written down and clearly on my radar. What I decide to do each and every day (to do lists) may not always get me nearer to those goals but having them there means that I know when I am straying from my ultimate destination.

I am also intertesed in using a system like GTD. I have the book, I've read it...I now just need to put it into practice! My plan is to blog my experience of applying GTD on a new site I'm building with Chris Hayford. Please drop-in and give me support - I will need it!

I know exactly what you mean and I'm actually surprised to see how fast you were able to list 101 items! It usually takes people much longer than that. You're probably a lot more in tune with your own goals than I was when I made my list (to be honest, I wasn't able to finish it at first and then as time went by I decided to make many changes to the original list and I'm still tweaking it every now and then as I'm going through a big life shift). The process itself of creating the list can be a soul searching one, forces us to look deep inside ourselves to figure out what we really want (after all, if you really commit to accomplishing the items of your list, these things will affect your life in the following 2.5 years at least) and this can be easier or harder depending on your level of awareness and how much your life is already aligned with your purpose(s) and goals. And interestingly enough, many people start off just thinking that this a nice idea for keeping track of things, but then when they start thinking about what they really want or what they need to do, they realize the project can be a good tool for personal development and start questioning things on a deeper level. I would point out some posts people wrote on their blogs reporting this, but they are all in Portuguese.

Anyway, I realize this is getting off topic, as the original question was about methods for keeping ourselves focused on long term goals, so after this, maybe we should open a topic to discuss the project idea specifically, what do you think? If people feel this could be an interesting topic to discuss, I'll open a thread for it and then edit this post with the link to it. I would certainly love to do that, I'm really interested in getting more and more feedback and ideas, because apparently many people are getting very good results from participating in the project. So, please let me know. :)

Patricia: I think we should start a 101 Things in 1001 Days thread in one of the forums once the forums are officially opened to the public. I'm sure it's going to interest at least some people. :-)

I think we should make a distinction between short term goals that are:

- daily to do stuff, that are not necessarily related to long term goals

and

- steps towards long term goals

Personally, to me, my long term goals are pretty clear and present on my mind at all times. I do have them written down (for a different purpose), but I don't feel the need to be reminded of them on a daily basis. It's the short term goals and to do items that I really need to keep track of. And even though I don't do that systematically, I prefer to have separate lists to each of those. Short term goals would go on a somewhat "permanent" list and to do items are listed on a "disposable" list that I throw away after everything gets done.

Ok, I'll do that, then. :)

Hi Chris,

I did exactly as you described for a month and saw amazing results even in the first week. I wrote only 9-10 longterm goals every day -not reading previous days' notes. It also helps to clarify your goals when you write them again and again and you begin to catch some conflicts inside you.

Also please read 'It Works' by R. H. Jarrett written in 1926 (you can buy it from amazon.com but it is public domain now, so you can find some links in the internet):
It Works

I guess this book is the father of every other personel development book.

Writing goals down every day sounds like a good idea.I think that keeping the goals fresh in your mind would definitely make things clearer. I did something like this. I printed out some pieces of paper with individual goals on them and i put them in my room and next to my computer so i see them every day. I also put pictures of what my goals will lead to next to my computer so I stay motivated to continue to work towards my goals.

Hi everyone,

whenever I write out a goal (long or short term), I always include how doing it or achieving it will make me feel emotionally. This is a great motivator both on a day to day basis, and over a longer period of time. Then, as you are writing, the feelings of motivation and momentum grow right away. I've gotten some great results from this! I think this is because I relate more to the feeling of doing something rather than just the idea of it...

I don't write down my goals often. I think I done that once or twice during a retreat as per the facilitators' instructions.

My goals are engraved in my cranium and heart. I think and feel about it everyday from the time I wake up to the time I sleep. So I guess I don't have to write that down.

I agree. I write them down once in a while but I've pretty much internalized long-term goals.

I DO write down short-term tasks though.

I journal every day. The first thing in the morning is my preffered time to write. I include both long and short term goals in my journaling. The writing has become a habit, the stating and restating of goals has become a habit and thinking about and actively pursuing my goals has also become a habit.

It works for me.

Gene

I took a stress management class back in college as an elective and it gave me a ridiculous amount of insight that I can forever use. One assignment was this same task, writing out long term goals on a piece of paper, and we had to write 5 goals we wanted to accomplish in 30 years, 15 years, 10 years, and 5 years. When writing them down I saw how vague and unclear my goals were. Making my goals clear helped me so much in actually making progress towards them.

Chris! I also read about the idea of re-writting your golas everyday in some of Brian's books. It definitely worked for me. I have done it for one goal so far.

First, I defined my goal very clealy. Then I have been re-writting it every morning. After 2-3 weeks I have achieved that goal!! :D

I think, re-writting all your goals everyday is too much to stay focused. I guess its better to do one goal after another. And very important: always use positive affirmations!!

Now, I will start re-writting my next goal!!:)

Agree 100%, I have written long-term goals for myself on 2 main occassions over the last 10 years covering areas such as health, family, financial, and entertainment.

In every case I have exceeded these goals - it really is amazing, something I would never have truly believed when I first wrote them out.

Another really interesting thing is how I got there was quite different than how I originally "thought" I would get there. Clearly, the path doesn't really matter, its the end result that guides the ship.

Cheers...

Jeff

I need some ideas in this area, thats for sure!:(

But where to start. It all looks so overwhelming!

Goals 20 years away etc? Goals for a month?

Do you start long term and work back best or vice versa?

I hear people saying that you should write your goals down. Okay, but where, when, why? In different categories or just as they pop out?

I agree that everyone should tweak their own system but is their a generally acknowledged good template to start with for goal setting?

Goal setting the Napoleon Hill way
 

Well I have found the Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill way of writing down goals is ideal. Your goals need to be detailed and exact. You shouldn't say, "I want to lose a lot of weight". You should give a time limit for your goals. You should state what you intend to give.

Also, it is good to have one main goal in life. Hill called it a Definite Major Purpose. It should be a life goal that will take you a long time to achieve that will have great rewards. Any other goals should help you obtain your Definite Major Purpose.

I'm not very good at really long term goals but I think that's because life can be unpredictable and I know my goals now will probably not be the same as my aspirations in 10 or 20 years time. Everyday and monthly goals though are a must to keep me on track for my year to year goals.

I have a list of goals for each month which I review every morning and cross off as I achieve them, and to break this into more manageable pieces I have daily goals which I write up week by week. This means I can refer back to my monthly goals and set time to achieve them across the month. It's always worked well and definately means I get a lot more done than if I don't have any goals, I've found it's too easy to get caught up in non-essential things if I don't have a daily checklist.