Goal Setting

May 24th, 2024 (5 months ago) • 2 minutes

Counting down to the last few days of me quitting, I had a lot of coffee chats with various people inside/outside my team. Just to get a sense of feedbacks and also to give some advice to the questions they had.

One of the most common theme we discussed were on goals. So I thought I'd write down some notes from my reading.

There are 5 rules to goal setting:

1. Form a clear mental picture of the outcome. Knowing what you want is the first step to getting it. The more specific you are, the better.

2. Create a little pressure. Human motivation works better with pressure. Tell the world what you are working on or have a friend that hold you accountable. Delay gratification to later and reward yourself when you reach the daily goal. You can also set some small punishment like not watching TV if you don't reach the goal.

3. Set a timeline. Goals cannot be attained if there's no finish line. Give yourself a deadline to work towards.

4. The magic rule of 21. One had to perform the new activity for twenty-one days in a row to make it into a habit. A good way of doing this is to set a ritual to do it at the same time every day and in the same place.

5. Enjoy the process. Have fun which you are advancing towards your goal. Stay focused and enjoy the journey.