Guest Post: How to Pursue All Your Goals

This is a guest post by Alan Baljeu long-term contributer to the Comments and Forum sections of this blog:

I will describe my process below, but after two months experience working and adjusting, I am convinced that what matters is not the precise process, but the mindset the system supports: Think regularly about your goals, why you want them, and how you will get there. By doing this, you increase the motivation to work on things you care about, and clarity so that your work is more effective.

This idea came to me about two months ago and has proven to be a gift to me from God. I say this because it came to me suddenly in a moment of despair. Prior to this, I had been somewhat successful in sticking to a process of writing tasks and doing tasks, I did not feel I was really making progress on things that mattered. And when I tried to push myself harder to really work on those things, I became overwhelmed and ended up doing less.

At the beginning, I recorded some of my thoughts. (Jordan Peterson’s Self Authoring program surely inspired me here.)

• Overweight, low energy, persistent inflammation issues. I hope to resolve this by eating better.
• Finances are a mess. Get these in order and improve my outlook.
• Software development for business prospects is advancing too slowly. Get back on track and make concrete advancements.
• Social engagement since COVID has been awful. Expand and improve how well and how much I engage with others.
• I had been growing in my faith, but I want to put that into action.
• My general mood has been low, and so I engaged in lots of trivial entertainment but felt things weren’t going forward. On Mark’s “How good do you feel?” question score would vary between 2 and 6.

Each of these statements describes a situation in an area of my life (a Life Area) I wanted to address.  So I developed and followed the system to address all of them at once.  Following the system has been an unqualified success. While life still has ups and downs, days when I execute poorly, I find overall I am more motivated, work harder, I am making progress on all the above, and as a metric my “How good do I feel?” score now averages about 8.

Tracking a Life Area

I tried writing instructions for this process, but every time I did, it got complicated, when it is really simple, as I illustrate here. Basically, it is freeform, whatever I find helpful. I write goals and notes and organize and highlight as will help motivate me to achieving the work.

(the line numbers are merely for discussion)

1 Lose weight and increase health via #food
2 + !(2021-02-25) Overweight, low energy, persistent inflammation issues. Not eating that well, though I have cut some foods. Now setting on a course to become healthy again, like when I was younger.
3 + !(2021-03-01) `goal` lost weight - 1 pant size
4 + `food log`
5 + !(2021-03-30) - !(2021-04-12) Committed to rule: ~~Has wheat? Can’t eat~~.
6 + !(2021-04-13) - !(2021-04-20) Continue healthier diet. Think what else might improve it.
7 * !(2021-04-19) Prepared salad, sandwiches, ribs
(aside: the sandwiches are made without wheat)
8 * !(2021-04-20) Buy fresh vegetables.

Explanation

This is an outline, with a header and the second level items shown.  A leading + indicates there’s more detail hidden at deeper levels.  A * indicates nothing else is below.  Dates are when I started [ or plan to start ] working towards an objective.  A second date is when I accomplished [ or hope to achieve ] the stated outcome.

Line 1, the header, shows an aspect of life I want to improve, with an evocative title.
Line 2, records how things were at the outset, and what I wanted to change.
Line 3 is a goal, with no end date because it’s still being worked on and I haven’t set a target.
The food log is just that; it contains a record of what I ate each day
5 and 6 are a couple subgoals which I tried and completed, as indicated by the start and end dates.
7 and 8 are what I plan to do [eat] today and tomorrow.  When these are done, I will file them away under line 6.

I try to write these goals as outcome based usually (but not always). When I achieve it I will write the end date. Because it was written as an outcome, what I wrote initially stands sensible without having to rewrite. Under this I have archived what I worked on towards achieving it, details I don’t need to see now.

Everything you see here functions as a dashboard to remind me of what I’m trying to achieve.  Everything not presently useful for that is filed away.

Processing a Life Area

Processing the outline is very simple. I simply look at it, remind myself what I want to achieve and what I need to do next. If now is a good time I do that next step. After, I plan a subsequent step. I may choose to plan ahead. I may think about the bigger picture and note those things.

If a goal is achieved, I note the success. If a goal changes, I note the new goal, but also for the record I will note how it changed and when. If a date slipped, I must record it as a way of keeping myself honest and not committing without taking the commitment seriously.

For another kind of goal I might have more hierachy and planning to the subgoals.  In that case, I will show the first step (or two) at each level of the plan, but the format is the same.  When something is complete that I don’t need to see any more, I archive it under the higher goal it belongs to.

There is no rewriting in this process.  Every entry is specific for the detail you worked on each day.  When you are ready to plan the next step, write what you want to accomplish next.

And that’s all!  Processing all of this (not counting actual work such as food preparation) amounts to no more than 5 minutes per day.  The actions described above can be done at any time; you don’t have to do all at once. This is because merely looking at the document makes it obvious what you need to do.

The benefit is, whenever I look at my “Lose Weight and Increase Health via #food” goal, I see why I want to do this, what steps I am taking, and what I am to do next. Because I look at this every day, I remember my purpose, my plan, and the next step. I always know what to do and why.  The tangible effect of this is I keep motivated to move things forward. I also have a total record, so it functions as an ongoing journal of my life by subject which I can review and see what went well.

Building up to a Complete System

The above is a goal achievement process for one area of my life (#food). To make a complete system, I simply replicated this for a dozen separate life areas, covering my whole life. The first week of executing this process was a resounding success. HOWEVER: It was overwhelming in the second week, and I needed to back off a bit. Therefore, I suggest anyone else trying this to start with about three or four goals and build from there after you get those under control.

Start by thinking about basic life areas, such as Food, Fitness, Family, Work, Business, Learning, God, Finance, House Maintenance. Start particularly with what you most want to change.  Currently I have 13 items. I don’t think anyone would have as many as 20, and more than 10 takes effort to manage. I don’t get to all of them every day, but I do get to all of them at least every three days.

To implement this physically, I use an outliner which I find ideal. My outline is simply what I showed above, with one branch for each life area.  If you use any non-outlining note taker, I suggest keeping a document for each life area. At the top of each document, I would keep the dashboard information of what matters now [ e.g., the content you see in my #food example], and then below this keep and organize any the detailed notes.

For paper, I haven’t tried this, but I propose writing in a notebook, not too small. Put each life area on a separate page. Write your evocative title at the top, then the information below. Because you can’t edit your notes, just keep everything as a journal/diary in chronological order within the page.  Use your favorite highlighting techniques to have the important information stand out. Mark off when things are complete.  When the page is full, start a new page and carry forward just the title and the larger active goals - stuff you want to see regularly to that new page - and mark off the old page as complete.

Particular Life Areas of Note:

• Miscellaneous – a place to throw all those tasks that don’t have a defined goal.  At the outset, this will BE your previous task list. For myself, this list has shrunk to almost zero. Everything else has been subsumed by my life area goals.
• Chores - things that need to be maintained regularly. Dishes. Email.
• Process – where I review how well the system is functioning and to adjust; not only the system above, but all systems in my life, rules, and how I apply them.
• Better Life – where I review the balance of all my Life Areas, and how I feel about it all. Make sure there’s enough fun and meaning in life, and that my goals are serving me. If something feels off, I plan how I might improve it.
• Calendar - exclusively for appointments. It’s in here to be reviewed regularly, as I review all areas regularly.  There are no goals.  My goals have dates but aren’t operated by the calendar.

Processing the Complete System

If you are using a notebook, just flip through the pages until you hit on a life area you want to address - and address it.  Then flip some more.  What could be simpler?

But with a digital approach, I prefer to treat it like one of Mark Forster’s systems with a constantly reorganizing list.  In my case, simply collapse the complete outline and treat my 13 life areas as a short list of 13 “tasks”.  In that context, I found the following algorithm works beautifully:

• Simply scan the list of life areas for one that stands out
• Work on that life area as described in Processing        
• When you set a life area aside (it’s never finished, of course), move it to the end of the list      
• Resume scanning from where you were, upwards or downwards at your whim.
  • Down tends to revisit things you’ve been working on.
  • Up tends to survey things you haven’t been working on.

You don’t need to act on all life areas in a single day, but it is likely you will cover all of them over the course of a few days.

Comments

[Margaret1]

That's a very interesting system Alan, and it's very impressive that you've found it so helpful. It reminds me in some ways of Mark's "Dreams" method, in that you're working towards your goals, imagining how you want things to be. I imagine it would take quite a lot of self-discipline to work the system, but the motivation would be strong, because you're focusing on continual improvement on desired goals. I've never used electronic lists, so thanks for outlining how your system could be adapted to pen and paper. I'll be interested to hear further progress reports.

[Don R]

What outlining software do you specifically use?

I have made big outlines before, and didn't use them, but like you said, the key difference is in the thinking that goes into it: Think regularly about your goals, why you want them, and how you will get there.

To be brief, I found one of my old outlines and it was dated exactly 5 years ago to the day, on a dusty, tiny (4GB), SD Card in the bottom of a drawer, which is a boot drive for a Raspberry Pi (tiny $20 linux system). It uses org-mode (for an unfriendly editor called emacs).

Clearly that one didn't stick, but it didn't have the same thought process behind it. I think I'll try it out.

[michael]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing. I like the simplicity and linking of "goal" (aspiration, hope, wish, want) with actionable next step. A nice ping-pong movement that connects "mind in the future somewhere" with "feet on the ground" today.

[Alan Baljeu]

Thanks for the comments! Margaret: yes it does have that pull aspect like Dreams, but it doesn’t use inner dialogue; and I feel the structure helps.

Don: I use DynaList. You are right that outlines can grow out of control, but I think the regular restructuring here of the main outline keeps things tame.

Michael: exactly so.

[Don R]

I figured I was missing a few details, so I re-read this carefully while taking notes and realized I was doing it all wrong. Going to try again doing it the right way.

[Voluntas]

@Don R:
org-mode makes Emacs totally worth it, though!
org-mooooooode!

[Margaret1]

I've been using a paper-based list, loosely based on Alan's system, and it's very much a work in progress. I've got 7 Life Areas, and as tasks/ideas arise I add them to the appropriate section.

Just before I started I read a few Peter Hollins books, which focus on how the brain works against us and how to overcome this. I'm not sure if his books have been mentioned before on the forum. I know Mark has also written extensively about how to trick the brain into doing what we need to do.

The combination of using Alan's new system to keep my goals for each Life Area fresh in my mind, and using techniques from Mark and Peter Hollins to boost my willpower, seems to be working quite well for me, and I've procrastinated much less than usual.

For the next 6-8 weeks I'll only have sporadic internet access, so I won't be able to post very often, if at all. I'll use the system during that time - it'll be like a non-Lenten Challenge for me.

Cheers to everyone.

[Blake]

I love this - the simplicity and accountability it instills - but how does it handle say immediate tasks/projects say work tasks or projects that don’t tie to a “goal”? Does it go into a “life area” by itself?

[Alan Baljeu]

Blake,

Like with any MF type list system, just add it to the end. I don't do this much, but because almost everything ties to a specific area of my life that I track, but if it's something that just needs doing and afterwards is inconsequential, then just adding it lose works well enough.

[Blake]

Alan:

Tried this in earnest for a few weeks. Got very good results making movement on some parts of my life/work that had been lagging. Being reminded of the goal and the fact that I am/am not making progress on it is very powerful.

Couple of questions:
1/ Turns out that in placing tasks for specific life areas under each life area, critical tasks get forgotten especially if I don't naturally process that life area or I overlook the task vs other tasks in a life area.

2/ Has anyone tried having multiple sub-goals for one life area? How did that work out?

3/ I manage say 2 major projects and 5 smaller projects at work. How would one organise that? I now set each major project as one life area and grouped the 5 smaller projects in one life area but run into problem 1 above.

[Alan Baljeu]

I'm glad to hear it's working for you! My ongoing experience has convinced me that "Being reminded of the goal and the fact that I am/am not making progress on it is very powerful". In fact I find it vital now, though before this year I hadn't focused at all on this. The other aspect that seems essential to consistency is not to neglect anything, except if you decide it doesn't need attention.

1/ how to not forget things. I don't have an ultimate answer here. It may be that critical tasks are best pulled out into a short list that you won't miss.

2/ i find you can occasionally have more than one separate goals in a single area, but only rarely. You may write more down, but those generally must wait until the first is done because there’s only so much you can handle at a time.

3/ i have no experience, but I would think just having 7 separate work projects, that you don’t work all at once is better than having a bunch you don’t see enough.

[Alan Baljeu]

Currently I am experimenting with Time Boxing. By scheduling many of the things I’m working on, there are fewer loose ends I have to extemporaneously keep on top of. This doesn’t change the structure of the notes but does change when I work on things.

[michael]

I'm wondering if it would also help to specify what sacrifices one needs to make in order to achieve the goal and how one justifies the sacrifice

[Alan Baljeu]

Late response to michael: In this framework, since you are regularly thinking about ALL the things important to you, the question of sacrifice is kind of implied. You will be aware of your current commitments, and where you want to take things, and if you decide you want to move faster on a big goal, your options are in front of you: which of your other goals will adjust to make room.

[Mrs Move Forward]

Hi Margaret
What are your 7 Life Areas ? Sorry if I missed that bit if you did note it somewhere.

Mrs M

[Alan Baljeu]

Seeing how my post remains on top of the site list of most popular posts, I suspect people are very interested in the topic: Pursuing all your goals. I’d be interested to hear what other people think about this topic.

My practice has evolved since I wrote the article, to be very much easier than above. I can explore if there’s interest, but to reiterate the opening paragraph:

You need a process, but what matters is not the precise process, but the mindset that it supports. Think regularly about each area of your life, what you want in them, and how you will get there. By doing this, you increase your motivation to work, on things you care about; and increase clarity so that your work is more effective.

I latched onto this idea 16 months ago, and in my mind, this is the key difference maker.

[Mark Forster]

Alan Baljeu:

<< Seeing how my post remains on top of the site list of most popular posts, I suspect people are very interested in the topic >>

Or alternatively it could just mean that the blog owner hasn't updated the list recently (it has to be done by hand, unlike the Latest Comments list). Which of course doesn't mean that people are not very interested in the topic.

[Ramona]

Workflowy is a great simple list / outline / etc. app and website that may be useful for many task list systems.

[Margaret1]

Mrs Move Forward:
I've just realised I didn't reply to your query on May 18th. My 7 life areas at that time were:

Family and friends
Health, fitness and appearance
Mental wellbeing/reflection/problem-solving
Housework and home improvements
Administration
Leisure
Current time management system

Unfortunately I didn't persevere with the system, although I feel it's well worth revisiting. I've been using various versions of Mark's no-list systems.

When life is hectic, as it is for me at the moment, I'm drawn to Serial No List (the system developed by Seraphim), which feels very responsive to circumstances that are changing quickly.

[Mike Brown]

Margaret1:

I recently returned from a 2-week vacation where I also took time away from keeping my inbox to zero, so there were a lot of undone commitments clamoring for my attention.

I too find that Serial No-list is a great way for me to get back on my feet in such a situation, take care of the hot spots at work and at home, and give myself breathing room.

It's kind of uncanny how things will pop up in my head when I'm making out the list and add to it throughout the day. Using Zero Resistance along with it is also helpful.