There are different types of goals for different circumstances. Broadly speaking, when we think of goals, we think big picture, of an ideal that we want to achieve or a desired result we want to attain. Tightening our focus more, we come to weekly, daily, or even hourly goals. These help to limit resistance and give us structure to go about our tasks.
One of the biggest benefits of these hourly goals is that it makes us more efficient with our time. As Parkinson’s Law states, “work expands to fill the time allotted”. By narrowing our time constraints, we force ourselves to complete something by a measurable deadline. Once in the practice of shipping Minimum Viable Products (or whatever language fits what you’re doing) on time, our schedule becomes the driver of our productivity. It is a given that we must give ourselves realistic goals, but, with proper energy management, we can push ourselves to do much more than we would regularly think possible.
Another benefit of scheduling goals is help with managing our stress. Rather than setting an ambitious goal and pushing ourselves as hard as we can, we can manage our stress much better by setting incremental goals and checking in in-between them. There’s no shame in changing a schedule if it’s too overloaded, but the consequences of burnout can not be understated.
Given this, what are the actionable goals that you can set tomorrow? I’ll give you an example of what’s on my list right now.
Before work and before going online
- Read 10 pages
- Write 300 words
- Stretch/exercise
After work and before 6pm
- Write 200 words
On paper, that’s a pathetically simple list. In practice, however, without structure and routine, these simple deliverables could become much harder. Instead, it’s simple: wake up and do your job.
Start small and go from there. With practice, it only gets easier.