How to Make Effective Use of Tracking to Achieve Goals

Studies show that those who write their goals down have a much higher chance of achieving them.   However, I’ve found that it has to go beyond just writing them down.   It’s important to take those goals, and break them down further into small steps.  It’s also important to take these steps and schedule them into your calendar specifically.  I will walk you through my method of tracking to see how I make those longer-term goals more manageable to avoid having them on the to-do list forever.  

Break the Year into Quarters

First, I have an overall list of big goals that I want to accomplish that year.  These goals are in many different areas, such as fitness, social, family, hobbies or house. Then, I look at specific steps to take to reach that goal and these go onto a quarterly list. I break the year down – January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. Then I schedule the specific steps I want to take on that quarterly plan.   I update these lists at the end of every month, deleting things that I completed. Sometimes, I will need to continue a goal into the next quarter, or even into the next year. I keep an eye on these ones and decide If I should continue with them, or cross them off. I continue to avoid it, I question how much I really want it.    

Create Your Weekly Plan

The next step is to have a weekly plan.  I list the goals I want to achieve each day in point-form (usually 2-4 per day). I add in the regular daily goals I want to fit in such as read, write, walk, workout, etc. Next, I use my quarterly plan to select the goals that go into my weekly plan. I choose the ones that will work best with what is going on in my life that particular week.   Then, I assess my progress at the end of each day, and move things around as needed, so that I can complete each task by the end of the week.   Any tasks that I don’t get to complete automatically go on the next week’s weekly plan.   

To achieve my daily goals, I break the day down by hours. I begin at 6 am and end at 10 pm.  Looking at my weekly plan, I decide which blocks of the day I will schedule each of the goals.  I take into account other appointments or things going on with my family. Then I pick the time of day that will give me the best possible chance for success. 

The Need for a Visual Reminder

I have used templates that are available from various websites, but I find it easiest to create my own lists. I know how I want it to look, and can customize it to my own needs.  This level of planning gives me a better chance of accomplishing my goals; I’m constantly looking at that visual reminder as I go through my tracking each day.  It’s a subtle reminder of what I need to do, and where I want to be.  If I don’t achieve all of these goals, I will have achieved that much more for having strived for them. If I didn’t make lists, write down my goals, break them down, and schedule them in specific blocks of time, I would be just like the many who dream of doing things but waste their life away not taking action.