Don't be shy! blog@sufficientthrust.com - @MarinaMartin - 206.801.1556
“I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine.”
–John Galt (from “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand)
You’ve got a new goal. (Or maybe 101 new goals!) This time, you’re really going to do it, too … only you’re going to start tomorrow.
Or the next day.
Or the day after that.
The simple answer to this dilemma is to simply start now, as in right this minute.
However, I strongly believe in getting off on the right foot, and sometimes starting on a “special” day can be the difference between actually getting going and waiting for yet another tomorrow that never comes.
To help, I’m going to keep track of “The Next Great Start Date” right here on Sufficient Thrust. If you need to pick a date to get going on a goal, stop by and see when the Next Great Date is!
Great Dates for change include:
Of course, personal milestones – birthdays, anniversaries, marriages, deaths, births, moves – are also excellent times for positive personal change. (I just can’t track all of your birthdays for you!)
If you put the same amount of the same ingredients in a pan and cook them for the same length of time at the same temperature each and every time, you will end up with the same cake, each and every time.
After eating it day in and day out, even the most moist and delicious of cakes will rapidly lose its flavor. If the outcome of your recipe isn’t a moist and delicious cake, but rather broiled brussels sprouts, life will start to get pretty bleak, pretty quickly.
What’s a person to do?
Buy new ingredients.
Your life is, after all, a compilation of what you put into it, and if you’re running on auto-pilot, you may as well be eating those brussels sprouts.
Today, I encourage you to change up your ingredients.
Start small:
The next time you want coffee, ask the barista to surprise you with her favorite drink.
Stop by the bookstore and pick up a book you’ve never heard of from a section you rarely frequent.
Drive home without taking the highway, and listen to a radio station you’ve never played before.
Eat cereal out of a coffee mug. With chopsticks.
Or, if that stuff sounds old hat, be more adventurous:
Call in sick — right now — and drive until your fuel light comes on. Stop and photograph five things that start with the letter H.
Open the dictionary to a random word. Determine which numbers on a telephone keypad correspond to the first five letters. Make plans to visit that zip code.
Drive until you get tired. Move there. (This is actually how I first found myself in Portland.)
The point is, change something. Change your hair, change the layout of your living room, change the order you go down the aisles at the grocery store. You never know what a little change might turn into.
When you print a document, do you normally change one or more options on a regular basis?
Cut it out! Next time, save your default preferences as a new print setting, and make it your default.
Save ink by setting your default print quality to “fast draft” (or your printer’s equivalent). You’ll almost never notice the difference, and your ink will stretch a few reams further.
In keeping with the 101 Goals in 1001 Days series, if you have any goals that involve keeping (or avoiding) a habit for a set number of days in a row, you may want to make Don’t Break the Chain your homepage.
(Don’t worry, you can change it back to sites that help you learn something new everyday when you’ve completed the goal!)
A spin-off of the new chain feature at Joe’s Goals (which was in turn inspired by Seinfeld’s productivity secret), Don’t Break the Chain is an extremely simple-to-use calendar for tracking the number of days in a row you did (or didn’t do) something. You can keep multiple calendars for tracking multiple goals, and the service is completely free.
I personally prefer to mark a real calendar, ala Benjamin Franklin and his spots, but am keeping this site bookmarked as part of my goal to completely digitize my life (which means no print calendars!).
This is the final post in the 101 Goals in 1,001 Days series.
Now that your 101 goals are brainstormed, refined, and organized, it’s time to execute!
To continue building on Getting Things Done, we’re going to keep your 101 project action lists in a binder, with your master 101 goal list serving as your master project list.
Printable versions of all the worksheets mentioned below are available FREE at 101goalsin1001days.com.
Now we’re going to create a Next Action list. Initially, this list should be populated with at least 101 “To Do” items that you can do right now–one for each goal.
Review this list constantly. Read it over a few times a day. Since it only has tasks that can be done right now, you can exercise the freedom to choose which one(s) you are in the mood for, and which ones you aren’t. This is the beauty of organizational freedom.
You should also keep a “Waiting On” list. As you move through your goals, you will find many of your projects will be on hold for various lengths of time because you are waiting on something out of your control, such as your passport back from the government or a response back from someone. Every goal should have at least one task on either the “Next Action” list or the “Waiting On” list.
Want someone to personally check in on your progress each week?
Check out the Rocket Power support program at 101goalsin1001days.com.
The weekly review is key. By checking in on your progress each week, you ensure that none of your goals fall by the wayside, and that — even if you’re waiting on more time or money to complete a particular goal — you’re working toward completion.
This is the fourth post in the 101 Goals in 1,001 Days series.
Once you’ve refined your list of 101 goals, it’s time to organize your goals in preparation for your upcoming 1,001 days of flawless execution!
This organizational scheme uses principles of David Allen’s Getting Things Done. While familiarity with GTD is not required to follow this 101 Goals in 1,001 Days series, learning more about GTD can only help!
Step 1 - Make a master checklist of your 101 goals to keep track of your general progress. You might want to leave room to enter a completion date for each goal.
Step 2 - Set a start date. Today works best, but giving yourself a few days to prepare is okay as long as you pick a date now and commit to it. No excuses allowed!
Step 3 - Make a master project list for each goal, listing the action steps necessary to get from where you are today to where you want to be at the end of the goal.
Yes, this is a lot of paper. Are you really going to let 101 measly pieces of paper stand between you and your dreams?
I didn’t think so.
As I was saying…
Here’s where GTD comes in. Each project needs to be broken down into multiple, sequential actions. Each action should be small enough that you can check off progress regularly, without being so minute that it takes you longer to plan for the goal than it does to execute it.
For example, if your goal is to complete a specific calculus textbook, you would not list “finish calculus book” as an action. Instead, you would list each chapter as a single action step. Depending on the book, you may want to list “read chapter X” and “complete problem set for chapter X” as separate items.
Think of each project list as a moving walkway. As soon as you finish one task, you want to be able to flow right into the next one without having to stop and think about it. This builds momentum and prevents procrastination.
Wish you could find someone else to write your 101 lists?
Check out the Rocket Power support program at 101goalsin1001days.com.
It’s okay if you don’t know every step from A-Z for all 101 goals right at the start. Just make sure you have at least one action step for each goal, even if your sole action for a goal is to research what it will actually take to achieve it.
Don’t leave any goals without an action plan. If you have a goal like “visit Italy” and you don’t think you have the funds and/or time available right now, make your first step compiling a list of must-see attractions and must-do activities for your trip. Then, you’ll want to determine the least amount of time and/or money you could spend while incorporating those priorities. As another step, you’ll want to determine what preparations you can handle beforehand, like getting a passport — and then researching passport requirements, compiling the paperwork and photo, sending it in, and checking on your application’s progress.
Planning for 101 goals can seem overwhelming at first, but without the right scaffolding beneath you, you won’t go anywhere near as far as you would if you had to stop after every single step and reevaluate your path. Not having a clear plan is why you haven’t achieved these 101 goals already!
You can read some sample action plans that correspond to my personal 101 Goals list on Day Six.
Next, we’ll cover how to execute your goals once you’ve taken care of the initial planning.
This is the third post in the 101 Goals in 1,001 days series. (Click here to return to the last post.)
Now it’s time to whittle your brainstorming list down to the chosen 101, and make sure you define each of your goals in a way that will propel your progress.
When you’re setting your goals, keep these points in mind:
Challenge Yourself - Sure, copying all of Wikipedia by hand would be hard (if not impossible), but that’s because it would require an incredible amount of time, not because it’s mentally or physically stimulating. Jump out of your comfort zone. Push your boundaries. Make it your goal to have those student loans paid off in full or that novel in an agent’s hands 1,001 days from now.
Be Specific - You could technically check off a goal like “put money in savings” by depositing a penny you found on the sidewalk. How much money do you want in savings? Commit to a figure. “Learn to drive stick-shift” is a good goal; “parallel park a manual car in Manhattan” is even better.
Make It Measurable - You need an objective way to determine if a goal is completed or not. Don’t make it your goal to “wake up early,” make it your goal to “wake up at 6am for 30 days in a row.”
Break Big Goals Into Smaller Ones - Ideally, you want to be able to check off different goals as you go along in order to constantly stay inspired and motivated. Having 101 goals that won’t or can’t be completed in less than 1,001 days can make for a discouraging few years. For example, if you are $50,000 in debt, instead of listing one goal of “be debt-free,” break it down into a few smaller goals, like “pay off student loan” and “pay off Sears Card,” or “put $10,000 toward debt.”
Want unlimited feedback on refining your goals?
Check out the Rocket Power support program at 101goalsin1001days.com.
Vary It Up - The Goal Generator Worksheet can be a great help in making sure your 101 goals are spread across a number of areas. A list of mostly financial goals is probably overlooking a number of cultural, physical, or educational goals that are just as important to you in the long run.
Most importantly, when you review your 101 goals, ask yourself:
Too often, we choose goals for the wrong reasons: to impres someone else, for example, or because we “think we should.”
As Tim Ferriss puts forth in his book, The Four Hour Work Week, many people decide they want to be millionaires when really they want they experiences that being a millionaire affords, which more often than not doesn’t require anywhere near a million dollars at all.
Next, we’ll organize your final 101 goals so you’ll sail through the next 1,001 days with ease.
As part of the 101 Goals in 1001 Days series, below is my list of 101 goals (slightly modified for public viewing) for more ideas for your own list!
As the series progresses, many of these goals will become links to my personal execution plans for you to adopt and adapt for yourself!
BLOGGING
CREATIONS
EXPERIENCE
FINANCE
GIVE BACK
HOME
KNOWLEDGE
PHYSICAL
PIECES OF PAPER
PROPERTY
READING
ROUTINES
TASTES
TRAVEL
VENTURES
WATCHING
This is the second post in the 101 Goals in 1,001 days series. (Click here to return to the first post on brainstorming your goals.)
Now that you have a healthy list of goals, I encourage you to read other people’s goal lists for even more ideas.
Even better: talk to people in the your life about your goals, and ask them to brainstorm with you!
Here’s a list of links to explore:
When you’re ready, click here to learn how to refine your goals so you have 101 specific, executable, rewarding things to work toward.