How to Actually Achieve Your Goals (Not Just Dream About Them)

I have an entire notebook dedicated to goal setting. It's filled with timelines, milestones, and detailed plans for who I want to become. I know what I need to do today to get closer to where I want to be in the future.

Sounds intense? It probably is, because it comes with trade-offs.

I have to schedule my hobbies into my weekly to-do lists or they won't happen. I feel guilty "just chilling" at home, but I schedule that too so that I don't burn out. Meeting up with friends requires planning weeks in advance. Spontaneous meetup? No chance.

I know this seems exhausting but the truth is that working toward something I want excites me more than anything else.

I'm not saying everyone should live this way. But if you've been stuck in the loop of setting New Year's resolutions, getting excited for two weeks, then watching them crumble by February, you might benefit from the following goal-setting system that I use:

Define What You Actually Want & Break It Down

You can't achieve what you haven't defined. Vague goals like "get healthier" or "be more successful" sound nice but mean little. You simply won't know when you get there. Instead, get specific!

Example 1: If your long-term goal is to lose 2kg by March, then you short-term goals might be:

• Exercise four days a week

• Cut out late-night snacking for two months

• Don't drink alcohol (or limit to only once or twice a month)

Example 2: If your long-term goal is to land a dream job in a chosen field in three years time, then your short-term goals might be:

• Complete a digital certification by March

• Update your portfolio/CV with three new projects by April

• Reach out to five people in the industry for coffee chats every week

• Get an internship or a relevant entry-level position by the end of the year, etc

Example 3: If your long-term goal is to become more confident in front of people by the end of next year , you need to start by understanding why you lack confidence in the first place, what could make you more confident, and how you’ll know when you become more confident. Your short-term goals may be:

• Read two books on confidence and public speaking by March

• Speak with a coach/mentor to understand why you have issues with confidence in April

• Do something that makes you feel uncomfortable at least once per week

• Practice presenting to small groups at least once per month, etc.

Notice the pattern? Every long-term goal gets broken into concrete, actionable steps.

The most important part when creating your goals is to make them specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART). This will later let you figure out what steps you need to take to achieve them.

So take your notebook if you use one and write your long-term SMART goals. Spend some time imagining yourself achieving them. Then, add short-term goals below each of them. Take your time here and think of as many possible short-term goals as you think you'll need to achieve to get to where you want to be.

I don’t recommend pursuing more than two long-term goals at a time unless they are closely related, as you might burnout and eventually lose direction.

2️⃣ Build Your Strategy - The What & The How

Having goals without a strategy is like having a destination without a map - they are pretty darn hard to reach.

Ask yourself:

• What do I need to achieve this goal?

• What skills or resources am I missing?

• Who could help me get there?

• What's standing in my way?

You can even look into conducting a simple SWOT analysis on yourself to identify where you're right now (strengths and weaknesses), what might make it difficult for you to get to where you want (threats), and what opportunities are available to you.

Then, think of the tactics you’ll need to use to move forward. Let's say your goal is breaking into a new career. If you already have the skills, your strategy might be networking and applying to positions. But if you're starting from scratch, your strategy needs to include education, building experience, developing relevant skills, and connecting with the right people.

Remember, strategy answers "what needs to be done?", whereas tactics answer "how will it be done?". Keep your tactics specific but flexible. If one approach isn't working, adjust. But the strategy itself - the overall game plan to get to your goal - should stay consistent for long enough to know if it's the right one or not.

3️⃣ Plan Your Time

Most people plan their work projects meticulously but leave their personal goals to chance, but it shouldn't be like this!

Planning goes hand in hand with your strategy and requires you to work out how exactly you’re going to get from your point A (where you’re now) to your point B (where you want to be).

So, start with a timeline. How long will it take to achieve each short-term, and ultimately, long-term goal? Let’s say… one month. Now, think of all the tasks you need to do in that month to achieve this goal. Again, these tasks have to be specific and have clear deadlines.

For example, if your short-term goal is to complete an online course by the end of month 1, then depending on the length of your course, your tasks may include: ‘complete chapter 1 in week 1; chapter 2 in week 2; and chapter 3 in week 3’, then ‘read notes on chapters 1, 2, 3 and complete the course assignment in week 4’.

Repeat this process for all your goals. Suddenly, that vague aspiration becomes a series of concrete tasks you can actually accomplish.

4️⃣ Create a Long List of All the Tasks You Need to Do

Once you have an idea of all the tasks you’ll need to do, write them all down in one place. Then, add everything else you need to do in your life - work, commute, friends, family time, university, commitments, hobbies, etc.

This will give you a better understanding of how much time you can actually spend to complete the tasks that move you closer to your goals on a daily basis. This will help you with scheduling tremendously and you’ll understand why working on your personal goals is sometimes better than just aimlessly chilling at home.😅 Tasks won't get done themselves and if you only have around 10 hours left per week to work on your personal goals, you'll soon find yourself automatically saying no to things that matter to you less.

It’s all about self-respect and self-discipline. I’m not saying you should stop chilling at home or doing things that relax you, I’m just saying that it helps if it's a conscious choice you're be making. If you ignore your to-do list and spend the rest of the day chilling, then remember that it probably conflicts with what you say you actually want. Know the difference between intentional rest and mindless procrastination.

And by all means, make sure to schedule chill and relaxation time too. Overworking has never been good for anybody, even if it's for your personal goals.

5️⃣ Prioritise Using the Covey Matrix

Those who are good at procrastination are probably pretty bad at prioritisation. But there is a way out. You can use the well-known Stephen Covey’s time-management matrix and categorise each task to one of four quadrants:

Quadrant 1 — Urgent & important: Tasks that require immediate attention. They might be very pressing and right in front of you and can be anything from preparing an important presentation at short notice to going to a doctor's appointment. Such tasks might not be of your own making but they’ll need to be prioritised and dealt with immediately.

Quadrant 2 — Not urgent, but important: Tasks that are important but don’t require your immediate attention. These tasks are usually somehow connected to your short or long-term goals and require your initiative and proactivity to be done. These are the tasks that, if done diligently on a regular basis, will improve your life and make you more successful. You’ll need to plan, schedule them, and commit to them. This is the quadrant you should spend most of your time in and prioritise as often as possible. Make sure that this quadrant is filled with tasks that align with your personal mission and goals.

Quadrant 3 — Urgent, but not important: Tasks that are urgent but not important to you. These include various interruptions, meetings, incoming calls or emails, etc. They never add up any benefits in the long run and thus should be eliminated or delegated where possible.

Quadrant 4 — Not urgent & not important: Tasks that are neither urgent nor important. These usually are the activities that lead you to procrastination and time wasting, and include such activities as checking your social media or watching Youtube videos, etc. Do your best to avoid them wherever possible or leave them until you have completed everything else.

I'd guess that most people "live" in Quadrants 3 and 4, constantly reacting to interruptions and distractions. Successful and effective people live in Quadrant 2, proactively building the future they want.

6️⃣ Schedule It or It Won't Happen

Ok, so let's say you have thought about your goals and made the plans to achieve them. Now it's time to actually do the work. The best way to schedule is to account for all the hours you'll spend on all other responsibilities (work, university, travelling, sleep, etc.) and work with the hours you have left. Prioritise tasks that fall into urgent and important and not urgent, but important quadrants. You’ll soon see that there is little time left for all other things…:)

You can use Excel sheets, notebooks, digital calendars, or project management apps to schedule your tasks for the day. Some people advocate preparing your next day’s to-do list in the evening, while others prefer getting up early in the morning and preparing their to-do list then. Find what works best for you!

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Living like this isn't for everyone as it requires sacrifice. You'll (probably) miss spontaneous hangouts with friends and you'll have to say no to things you'd enjoy sometimes. But your goals are worth the sacrifice and your future self will thank you for it.

But don't forget to live. Don't forget to schedule some time daily for rest and hobbies. Gift yourself a weekend here and there free of any responsibilities so you can do whatever it is you want then. This is not laziness, this is balance.

And you don't have to live in your calendar the way I do. But if you're tired of setting goals and never achieving them or if you know you're capable of more but can't figure out how to get there. then this system can help.

So, in short:
Define what you want ->
Build a strategy ->
Plan your time ->
Prioritise ->
Schedule everything ->
Do the work.

That's it. That's the system. It's not sexy, but it works.