Garrey asked a great question about goals in this post. I thought it was important enough that I created a separate post rather than just putting all of this in the reply. 😀
Garrey asked "I have heard it said that a goal without a date is just a dream. I noticed in your examples (near the bottom of your post) that you included a time frame, but in your initial goals, they are more milestones to work toward reaching at some arbitrary point in the future (next week, next month, next year, next decade, etc.). "
Great question. I don't think Goals need a date and here's why.
Recently @LisaMGentile1961 recommended a book to me called "Consistency is the New Currency".
It's a great book, and it addresses the 80% of people who just can't seem to accomplish what the 20% can. (IE: Pareto's principle is that 80% of your results come from 20% of your people. This is applied in many diffent areas and in different ways and is often called the 80/20 rule).
I was really impressed by this book. In a nutshell, they recommend that the 80%-ers (IE: normal people) set goals that they call "ER" goals: Use words in your goals that end in ER. For example:
I want to be fitter, wealthier, healther, etc. Notice each word ends in the letters E.R.
Also, instead of using something like S.M.A.R.T. goals, set DIRECTIONS:
I want to be better (there's my ER word) at writing autoresponder emails.
Couple the E.R. goal\direction with a calendar and #DoNotBreakTheChain!
This part is simple....
Instead of a goal, you now have a direction.
In my example, I want to be better at writing autoresponder emails. So I now use a calendar, and EACH DAY, EVERY DAY that I work on my autoresponder email writing skills, I put an X on the calendar for that day.
Don't focus on an end date. Just DO YOUR TASK every single day, and #DoNotBreakTheChain.
This is how Jerry Seinfeld became a great comedian.... He wrote jokes every day, and put an X on his calendar every day and tried not to break the chain.
The book Lisa recommends goes through this, and says not to set end dates on the goals.
Actually, they even recommend not putting metrics in the goals like I do and instead just focus on working toward the DIRECTION of the E.R. statement daily, and do NOT break the chain.
This book made a big impact on me. I actually had already written my #myHiveGoals before the book came in the mail, and I read the entire book in one day. It was that good. Thanks Lisa!
Anyway, I did leave off end dates for #MyHiveGoals because I just want to work in a positive direction on those every day, and so far I do.
This system really works, because daily forward direction in a positive way works. It builds momentum. (There's even an entire section of the book devoted to momentum vs. motivation.)
Working toward a goal that doesn't end daily builds momentum, and doesn't require motivation. It just requires daily effort.
This is devastatingly effective. I use this technique and so should you.
I would really encourage you to leave the end dates off your goals. Matter of fact, even better than what I did would be to NOT use specific numeric goals, but instead make an E.R. statement like:
"I want to be a bettER writer on CTPTalk and earn Hive and CTP daily with my writings."
That's a direction that you can walk in, and each day work on it. Then just do it every day and #DoNotBreakTheChain
I hope this answers the question about why I didn't use dates, Garrey. 🙂
Peace and Love,
-Rob