How to Organize Your Goals and Crush Them
Sep 24, 2018
I have a PSA:
The time to start figuring out your 2019 goals is now!
DON’T FREAK OUT THOUGH.
This is the fun part.
It only requires you to daydream, read, research… and repeat.
About ANYTHING / EVERYTHING you’re passionate about.
So whether it’s jumping fences, painting nails, skateboarding, video editing, or collecting unique insects — GO FOR IT!
Don’t wait until January and then be like
“Oh fuck I have no clue what I want for myself this year.”
If you want to build your dream life, you better add dreaming to your to do list!
Of course, the reading and researching part in addition to the dreaming is critical to igniting your passion and further fanning the flames; mix up the media you’re consuming from Medium articles to podcasts, YouTube videos, tiny niche blog posts, etc to keep things interesting and expand your mind.
Then, whenever you find something you adore or an idea pops into your head — WRITE IT DOWN. Doodle. Make a list. Sketch it.
Whatever gets your heart pumping.
Tracking those light bulb moments is exactly how you start to turn your dreams into goals that you can make come true.
How to Dream Like a Planner to Get Shit Done
Don’t wait to get started on these initial steps:
- Daydream
- Read and research
- Daydream and repeat
You can start this creative vision process at any time:
- Vision boards
- Word / Theme of the year
- Overall yearly goals
Then each quarter break out what you’d like to achieve in those three months based on your yearly goals, and figure out your monthly / weekly / daily action steps from there:
- Q1 goals
- Monthly / weekly / daily action steps
- Q2 goals
- Monthly / weekly / daily action steps
- Q3 goals
- Monthly / weekly / daily action steps
- Q4 goals
- Monthly / weekly / daily action steps
Starting with an overall vision and main goal priorities will give you the north star you need throughout the year when you’re trying to figure out what action steps to take next.
Personally, I schedule time for myself at the end of every quarter to review my goals for the past three months, and reflect on what I achieved and learned. (Note that I frequently don’t achieve most of the goals I set for myself, but it’s better to aim higher and give it your best shot.) Then, I review where I’m currently at based on my yearly goals, and set goals for the next three months.
From my quarterly goals, I break out my monthly actionable to do list. This is where the magic happens. You know what you want to achieve, so you break it out tiny step by step.
I’m super obsessively organized, so I keep my quarterly and monthly goals written out in one notebook, then break out my weekly / daily action items in a smaller, separate notebook that I carry around with me everywhere.
The most important thing is to use whatever works best FOR YOU.
I would err on the side of not doing what I do :) Don’t make it complicated. Just take a piece of paper and write down shit you want to do.
You can try using Google Docs, Evernote, iPhone notes, written notes, etc. Just go with whatever is most convenient and enjoyable for you to work with.
