Goal. vs. Project - 10.000 feet vs. 20.000/30.000 feet

[kabell]

Hi there.

I'm looking for some input here. I'm trying to define my higher altitudes, which is an amazing excercise. It really brings some clarity and help in prioritizing.

But I'm struggeling a bit with the difference between goals (e.g. 1 year goals) and projects. Let's say I have a goal for next year to move to another place with a couple of friends. We want to rent a house, we need to save money for deposit, we need to make deals clear. All within the next year, so it's ready for the semester starting october 2009.

So my goal is: To live in a house with cool people

But wouldn't that also be the title of my project at 10.000 feet?

And in general - how do you manage projects vs. goals?

As I see it right now it might be helpfull to keep all goals in one seperate system, and then duplicate where appropriate into projects (same title).

Well, I guess I'm just feeling a bit lost here. Any input?

 

[Todd V]

re: Projects vs. Goals

Pragmatically, the only difference between projects and goals is how often you need to review them to get them done. It is easier to just treat goals as projects, define all of the projects and next actions to achieve them. Get those that can be worked on now onto your active lists. Keep the goal and the projects on your projects list and review them as needed to ensure you are on track - and just think of them as projects rather than distinguishing them as a project or a goal. It's possible to make distinctions, but at the end of the day all that matters is that they are getting done.

For higher altitudes, such as "Areas of Focus", just make a list of your major areas (e.g. student, friend, career, family, etc.) Keep this list in a folder of Checklists you can pull out and review with your Weekly Review to capture any new projects, next actions, or someday-maybes you may come up with.

Hope that helps.

 

[moises]

Let's say I have a goal for next year to move to another place with a couple of friends. We want to rent a house, we need to save money for deposit, we need to make deals clear. All within the next year, so it's ready for the semester starting october 2009.

So my goal is: To live in a house with cool people

But wouldn't that also be the title of my project at 10.000 feet?

And in general - how do you manage projects vs. goals?

As I see it right now it might be helpfull to keep all goals in one seperate system, and then duplicate where appropriate into projects (same title).

Well, I guess I'm just feeling a bit lost here. Any input?

Don't fret. You could put it both on your goal list and your project list. The most important thing is that it be on your project list. You seem to have a lot of specific outcomes already defined. It sounds like you know who the housemates are. I'd create a project, something like "Rental house occupied with X, Y, Z friends by October 1, 2009." The I would create subprojects. One subproject would be "Lease signed by September 1, 2009." That subproject would then have its own subproject: Budget Determined, Candidate Properties Visited, etc.

Many roads lead to Rome. I'm sure that others on the forum can give you other perspectives.

As to your more general question, I have a 1-year list of goals, based on the book by Ditzler called Your Best Year Yet. I also followed David Allen's advice and, in 2005, made a mindmap of my 5-year goals. Each week, as part of my weekly review ritual, I examine my 1-year list of goals and my 5-year mindmap. I then go through my trusted system, which consists of projects and NAs, and evaluate what changes I need to make in order to achieve what is in my long-range plans.

 

[Borisoff]

I think that a Project and a Goal are the same; they are both Outcomes. The Goal is a bigger outcome that generates Projects supporting it. I'd even say that the Goal is a motivator that moves your projects further. So your Goal will be: "Move to a new house with cool people" and underneath Projects will be "Save X amount of money by doing Y", "Rent a house" etc.