Achieving Short Term Goals

[KrishRads]

Hi,
I am a new member out here.What has frustrated me of late is my inability to achieve short term goals.I keep telling myself that "Yes I can do this and that" but at the end of the day I don't achieve what I am supposed to.I have read many a self help book but I get too entangled in the "technicalities" of goal setting and goal achievement.Lack of action is my biggest problem.But now I have told myself that enough is enough and that I need to set monthly goals and achieve them.

Any ideas are welcome.

 

[kewms]

What's the next action?

Suppose you want to start exercising regularly. Excellent goal! But do you want to run, join a gym, take a yoga class... what kind of exercise do you want?

Suppose you decide that you want to run three miles a day. Excellent! Do you have running shoes? That fit? Do you know a safe place to run near your house? Do you get up early enough to go running?

I'm not asking these questions to put obstacles in the way of your goals, but because the answers determine what you should do next. Maybe you need to get a physical in order to be medically cleared for strenuous exercise, maybe you just need to set the alarm 30 minutes earlier tomorrow morning. Either way, the key question is "What is the very next physical action to move this goal forward?"

Figure out what it is. Write it down. Then do it.

Then do the same for your other goals, and do the same tomorrow.

Katherine

 

[TesTeq]

Be honest with yourself.

Hi,
I am a new member out here.What has frustrated me of late is my inability to achieve short term goals.I keep telling myself that "Yes I can do this and that" but at the end of the day I don't achieve what I am supposed to.I have read many a self help book but I get too entangled in the "technicalities" of goal setting and goal achievement.Lack of action is my biggest problem.But now I have told myself that enough is enough and that I need to set monthly goals and achieve them.

Any ideas are welcome.

Maybe these goals are not really yours. Maybe you do not need to do it. Maybe you want to completely change your life. Be honest with yourself. Think about your values and long-term goals.
TesTeq

 

[Brent]

Can you please give us some examples? It's difficult to diagnose the exact problem without knowing the exact context.

 

[The Cactus Leaguer]

Since you have apparently read a "bunch of self-help, get motivated" details, there is no need to repeat any of that here.

I would like to share an insight from GTD-Fast audio series that I heard the other day which was quite useful to me in helping to get "unstuck".

GTD talks about viewing tasks vertically as well as horizontally. Vertically means runway, 10,000 foot level, 20,000 foot level, etc. (that's in the GTD book which I assume you have)...

Anyway, his point was that if the problem lies in implementation, then you need to "drill down" to specific (next) actions. The more clearly you can visualize that next action and what it will feel like to get that task completed, the easier it is to do.

On the other hand, if the problem lies in confusion, then you need to "go up" to a higher level of thinking and get more clarity in terms of short term goals, long term goals, purpose/principles, etc.

So the formula is like this:

Unable to implement ---> "drill down" ---> focus more clearly on next action.

Confusion ---> "go up" ---> clarify goals/purpose/intention.

I hope that helps. I feel like this is a good way to look at goal achievement through the GTD lens.

 

[LeonGTD]

Add in incentive for yourself and also drilling your goals into smaller piece of tasks will help you on this case.

For me, achieving long term goals are far more difficult than short term goals as short term goals can see the benefit quickly, but long term ones couldn't.

Hi,
I am a new member out here.What has frustrated me of late is my inability to achieve short term goals.I keep telling myself that "Yes I can do this and that" but at the end of the day I don't achieve what I am supposed to.I have read many a self help book but I get too entangled in the "technicalities" of goal setting and goal achievement.Lack of action is my biggest problem.But now I have told myself that enough is enough and that I need to set monthly goals and achieve them.

Any ideas are welcome.

 

[severance1970]

Hi,
I am a new member out here.What has frustrated me of late is my inability to achieve short term goals.I keep telling myself that "Yes I can do this and that" but at the end of the day I don't achieve what I am supposed to.I have read many a self help book but I get too entangled in the "technicalities" of goal setting and goal achievement.Lack of action is my biggest problem.But now I have told myself that enough is enough and that I need to set monthly goals and achieve them.

It would be more practical to set weekly reviews than monthly goals. By "short term goals" I'll assume you mean what are called "projects" ("10,000 ft.") in GTD, as opposed to more protracted levels of focus like 1-2 year objectives ("30,000 ft.") or 5+ year objectives ("40,000 ft."). 30-40k levels are what you review at your discretion. Projects and next actions are what you need to review formally at least once a week to make sure you've defined the very next action to take to move each of your listed projects forward. Once you've got each of these actions parked on a list that's specific for where it needs to happen (e.g. "Email Janet for feedback on proposal" on your @computer list), then you look at your list for the context you happen to be in at the moment and decide which action to take.

 

[Busydave]

I think you answered your own question: “Lack of action is my biggest problem”.

Taking action feels completely different to what you thought it would feel like when you were thinking about what you should be doing. It can be disappointing, disorienting, distracting … and there is a lot of movement also. But don’t let that put you off - just do what you know you should be doing.

Dave