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I have been thinking about why January goals often go unrealized and how we can increase the success rate.
As we start a new year, we naturally gravitate toward what we want to do, experience, and achieve in the upcoming months. We set professional and personal goals, and that simple declarative act brings a lot of satisfaction. In January, everything seems doable and achievable. By the middle of August, we’re often underwhelmed by our progress.
This happens partly because, although we understand that goals take time to accomplish, we rarely consider time a determinant when setting them. To avoid the August blahs, let’s explore time as a guide for goal setting.
Using time as a determinant
Prioritize your goals from the most realistic to the least realistic.
Use the filters below to determine the time needed to achieve each goal. Then, map each goal against a 12-month timeline to see when you’ll need to begin focusing on it and where it overlaps with other goals. A timeline is a good visual tool for gauging how realistic you are being with your goals.
Declare an end date: When do I realistically want to achieve this?
Be specific: How much time should I allocate each day/week/month?
Stagger your goals: When must I begin to be successful?
Be realistic: Is accomplishing this goal doable with the other demands on my time?
Using time as a motivator
Time can be an equally motivating and demotivating force.
Deadlines motivate us as often as they overwhelm us. To stay motivated, set a few short-term goals that are easy to accomplish. Giving yourself a win builds confidence and reinforces your commitment to longer-term goals.
To accomplish longer-term goals, we need to address procrastination. Humans are fundamentally reward-based, so when deadlines are far away, we are often less motivated to work toward them. To create long-term success and keep procrastination at bay, define the reward that achieving the goal will bring and determine if that reward is enough of a motivator to keep going.
With prompts created based on the four elements of Piers Steel and Cornelius J. König’s Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT)*, which defines motivation as the relationship between the expectation of success and reward against impulsiveness and delay, we can determine if our goal is worth the effort.
Expectations: What is the likelihood that I can achieve this goal?
Value: If I achieve my goal, what is the reward? Is it enough for me to keep going? How will I feel when I’ve accomplished it?
Impulsiveness: What is likely to draw my attention away from my goal? What potential distractors do I need to be aware of?
Delay: How much time have I given myself to achieve my goal? With everything else I have to do, is this realistic?
My final thought on time as a determinant is setting aside time to dream. The best ideas, connections, and insights come from staring into space and allowing your marvelous brain to do what it loves most—connect its analytical and creative sides and hatch new ideas and even more inspiring goals.
Wishing you success and happiness in the year ahead.
Links to past posts on goal setting
Managing Yourself: Personal OKR’s
End note:
*Example of Temporal Motivation Theory: A typical example of TMT is a student with a month to study for an exam. When the exam is far away, there is less incentive to study and more reward from socializing. As the exam gets closer, the desire for a good grade increases the likelihood of studying and lessens the probability of socializing
See you in February.
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