I got a question on twitter today about how to set a daily goal. It’s a good question. Some of my short-term growth goals are a month-long. So a daily goal is almost alien to me.
However the question reminded me having a daily goal is important.
I have gotten so accustomed to the way I handle my goals and tasks. I tend to not think of a daily goal but a #1 priority task. So what I am getting at is that whether you call it a daily goal for a top-task isn’t important. But choosing what you want to accomplish each day is critical.
How to Choose Your Daily Goal
I recommend picking your goal based on what you want in the future. If your goal is something big like to save up for a new house… okay. There is a goal you can do today to make that happen. Maybe your goal might be calling a realtor. It might be talking to the bank. Or it might be a half-dozen other things.
Like I said we can split hairs over whether we call it a #1 priority task or a daily goal. Whatever you call it, your daily goal should be the most important thing you can do today to move the ball forward.
There’s an important distinction to be made between a daily goal or priority task and a half. We wouldn’t call working out necessarily a daily goal. Unless it was based on something such as I want to lose 50 pounds instead if you wanted to build your health you might call your daily goal actually a half developing the habit of exercise every day. I know this is confusing to some but I think it’s important to remember that if you’re going to be doing the same thing every day forever and ever amen, then what you’re talking about is developing a habit you’re not talking goals or tasks necessarily.
Tips to get Your Daily Goal Done
- Start Early in the Morning – Early in the morning the emails haven’t started pouring in. The demands on your attention haven’t landed. In the morning you have freedom to pursue what you want. If you don’t get started early, there is a risk you won’t.
- Start the Hardest Part of the Daily Goal First – I hate to say it, but the thing you dread doing, the thing you are putting off is probably the most important thing! A student doesn’t put off launching a web browser to do research – he puts off making flash cards for his study – because that’s harder. Yet, it might be the most important task to do to pass the test.
- Allow yourself flexibility – If you’re like me, you miscalculate how long it is going to take you to do something. Here we have to be patient and carry your daily goal over to the next day. So you accomplish it a day late. So what?When I was building the first Pocket PC version of Achieve-IT! goal software, I set a goal to have it done in a year. It took me 13 months. So what? I was a month late, but it still got done. Had I beat myself up about it on the 12th month, it might have been longer…
Now it’s your turn
I’m sure many of you have comments about successful ways to knock out the daily goal. Why don’t you give your successful strategies in the comments? Beginners might be having a tough time laying out their day in this way. It could be confusing and it can be sort of anxiety building for some of us to narrow down what we should focus on. Your comments will help.
And if you have a goal setting question, feel free to ask me on Twitter or by submitting it here. I really do appreciate questions about goal setting and productivity, so ask away! You aren’t hurting my feelings. 
Image credit: svilen mushkatov
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I have a probelm with reisiting my inner resistence to change , it seems the more I want something the more I resist it , i even tried hypnotherapy with positive affirmations , it didnt work for me , I wish i can concentrate on something and make it like a life habit , consistency is what iam looking for and dont know how to develop?
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Rawan, just some of my thoughts. We all have a resistance to change. But the way you phrased the above, I get the sense you are comfortable right now. Is that accurate? When we (or at least me) are comfortable, change is more difficult.
What might work is to go through a mental exercise where you write a story of the bad stuff that will happen if you don’t start doing. What would life be like in 5, 10, 20 years if you just stay where you are now – never progressing? Would it still be comfortable? Would you still be happy? The more painful our futures look today, the more likely we are to take action immediately.
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“it can be sort of anxiety building for some of us to narrow down what we should focus on.”
How would you mince your long term goals into chunks of achieveable small ones when you know the things you want to do at the back of your palm and it seems to come together as a vision, but in practice, it takes so much longer to complete? Long question but it sort of summarises what I am thinking right now.
Annie Cook´s last blog ..Connection Killed, Now What?
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Very motivational post on how to set up effective goals. It is really important that we know how we set up the right goals so that we ultimately achieve what we want.
Everything Counts´s last blog ..How to Make an Out Going Call
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How do you narrow down the list? Prioritzation.
Make your Master Task List. It will look overwhelming, but you are not doing all that today. Now letter them A, B, C, D for importance, keeping deadlines in mind.
* I need to get to the post office today to mail my dad something, so it gets and A.
* I need to open a change ticket between now and 5:00 Tuesday but it is very important, so it gets a B.
* I’d like to get a pedicure before the concert Sunday, but it only warrants a C.
Now look at all your A’s. Which do you need to get done first? Once you get them prioritized, start at A1 and keep going. Re-evaluate your list each day or so to see if a C has suddenly become an A.
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I would say not to start in the early morning but rather plan your day in the evening before. It saves a lot of time and get you much more organized.
Chin´s last blog ..Who am I?
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