Concrete goal-setting has become more and more popular over the past couple of years. Companies like Passion Planner have created tools to help us identify and achieve our goals. I’ve had friends and teachers alike ask what my goals were. Goals can be long term or short term and in all honesty, they’ve never been a great motivator for me. I get stressed out by them and never seem to be able to accomplish what I want. I used to hate goal-setting until I realized what made it so difficult for me. In order to effectively goal-set, you need to be completely honest with yourself.
Goal-setting can’t be a wishlist of things you hope to get done today; it has to be a doable list and you need to know the concrete steps you will take to make the list achievable. Don’t put more in your goals than you know you can get done today. Be honest about where you’re at and how much you can reasonably get done today.
Another good tip to remember is that just because you can get something done today does not mean that you have to get it done or even that you should. It’s okay to do less than the absolute maximum because we all need rest. We’re not robots. It’s okay to take a break and remind yourself of that when you’re setting your goals for the day or week. I find that taking a break actually makes me more productive later. Take a couple of hours or a couple of days off and come back to your work and projects restored. Your work quality and your productivity levels will be better than if you had tried to power through and work through your exhaustion. In the words of research professor Brene Brown, “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.”
Rest can and should be part of your goals. I will often put very small things on my to-do list or my goals list like “get dressed” or “watch a movie” to make sure that I incorporate rest when I need it.
