🥛Cream & Sugar
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The word “goal” at the beginning of a new year makes some people shudder and some people pull out their bullet journals and doodle away in excitement. It’s pretty controversial for just 4 letters.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” Many people echo this sentiment with goals—not setting them can feel liberating and give you space to explore different interests.
However, many of these people also carry the same rigid definition of what goals are from high school—namely, SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) goals. SMART goals were invented for a reason—they work. However, setting them to span a year makes them feel tedious and draining.
Below, I have outlined two goal frameworks that build off of SMART goals, with steps on how exactly to put them into action.
Big Dreams, Small Goals
This goal-setting framework was inspired by a conversation I had with Daniel Gross. He told me how ridiculous it is that people expect to know exactly where they’ll be in five years and how they’re going to get there. At the same time, if he didn’t have weekly plans, he would lose all sense of structure in his life. This framework is designed to balance the two out.
How it Works: Write out any dreams you have for the future. They can be as impossible-seeming as you want—the bigger the better. Have them at the top of your page. Add pictures, quotes, and anything else that can make the vision come to life. Now, live life week-to-week. Plan out SMART goals for each week on the same page as your dream map, so you always have that crazy vision at the back of your mind.
Pros: This framework keeps the SMART goals for a week-to-week basis, giving you a balance between chaos and utter rigidity.
Cons: This week-to-week way of living can make it hard to track progress on longer-term projects if you don’t complement it with something else.
How to Get the Most Out of It:
Embrace fluidity. Weekly goals can be postponed when life gets in the way. Similarly, your vision for the future should also be constantly changing and evolving as you experience more.
Reflect before adding a weekly goal. Could it help you take a step closer towards one of your dreams? Does it excite you? If the answer to both of these questions is no, consider aiming for a different goal.
