5 non-standard goal-setting methods to try

1. Set anti-goals

A few years ago, Andrew Wilkinson, co-founder of the Canadian holding company Tiny Capital, was very unhappy: work was interfering with living the way he wanted. He had to constantly communicate with people he didn't like, and the calendar was packed with appointments and routine. To make work less tiring, the businessman decidedThe Power of Anti-Goals. Andrew Wilkinson / Medium set anti-targets.

Andrew painted his worst day: meetings, trips, fatigue. And he asked himself: what should be done to avoid these tiresome events? To prevent a day full of long exhausting meetings, Wilkinson set an anti-goal for himself: “Never schedule a personal meeting if you can replace it with an email, phone call or cancel at all ".

This approach is effective because anti-goals are associated with things that we sincerely want to get rid of. If you think about a life that scares or annoys us, you can create one that we like.

It is quite simple to set the anti-targets themselves. To do this, divide a sheet of paper into two parts with a vertical line. On the left, list a few points that prevent you from enjoying your work or life, and on the right, formulate anti-goals that would help get rid of unpleasant moments.

The list might look like this.

2. Set micro goals

Even perfectly achievable goals often seem completely unattainable at the beginning. For example, a person may have enough time and resources to write a 40,000-word novel. But when looking at a blank page, most authors will experience anxiety or panic - the task will seem overwhelming. What if the goal was to write 50 words every day?

Division into small tasks is the basis of the method. Instead of ambitious goals, it's better to think of minimal action that brings you closer to your main goal every day. Really minimal: micro-goals should take no more than 10 minutes, and preferably no more than five. The main thing is to complete the task on a daily basis.

Here's how to translate ambitious plans into micro goals.

The method is simple and this can be questionable. Shouldn't achieving goals be stressful, tedious, even excruciating? Indeed, micro-goals are achieved too easily. But they are still effective.

• Micro-targets are easier to get started with. Sometimes it is difficult even to imagine how to approach a large-scale task, but with micro-goals there is no such problem.
• Micro-goals help form a habit. The latter quite effectively replaces motivation.
• Micro-goals allow you to focus on the process. Large-scale tasks involve a lot of abstract elements that can be distracting and confusing. Micro-goals, on the other hand, show specific actions that can be taken at any time.
• Micro-goals encourage you to do more. Of course, sometimes even a micro-goal can be challenging. But more often than not, it is so simple that from time to time you will want to overfulfill the “norm”. For example, you can sit down at a book with the goal of reading five pages and get so carried away that you don't have to break away for more than an hour. The main thing is not to force yourself to overfulfill your plans, otherwise effective micro-goals can turn into a tedious routine.
• Micro-goals over time add up to something global. Even small actions, if performed every day, gradually accumulate and bring more and more benefits. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, callsContinuous Improvement: How It Works and How to Master It / James Clear this phenomenon is "the power of tiny change."

3. Come up with a main theme for the year

We usually set many goals for the year. For example, losing weight, making money, getting a promotion, learning something, and so on. And although our intentions are good, such a variety forces us to grab onto everything. As a result, it becomes more difficult to complete all the assigned tasks.

Popular YouTube blogger CGP Gray givesYour Theme / @CGP Gray, YouTube in connection advises the following.

This will help you focus and identify what really matters to you.

The topic itself is not so difficult to choose. It is enough to think about what is lacking in life most of all or what difficulties were in the past year. For example, you could arrange for a "year off" if you have burned out at work in the past 12 months. Topics can range from fun to learning, the most important is to focus on it.

Even if you fix something in a specific area of ​​your life, the changes can be significant. For example, here's what can happen if the theme of the year is fun:

• replace boring reports and business books with fiction, learn about new universes and train your imagination;
• get to know with new people at parties or other events, these connections may well come in handy in the future;
• find interesting tasks at work to get more pleasure from it;
• play more with children and become closer to them.

4. Change your surroundings

The environment affects us more than it seems. If again and again it is not possible to achieve the set goals, it may be precisely in her.

Try changing the conditions in which you live or work and see what happens. For example:

• if there is no motivation at work, change it or talk to your boss about prospects and new tasks;
• if you dream of giving up junk food, do not store it at home;
• if you want to quit drinking, change your social circle.

Of course, this kind of advice is easier said than done. Changing jobs, making new friends - such plans are not easy to implement. And you don't always want to. However, it is worth thinking about a possible change of scenery in order to assess how it would affect your life. Suddenly you will like it.

5. After all, don't set goals.

Literally. This drastic method can work, too.

Leo Babauta, creator of Zen Habits, one of the most widely read habit adoption blogs in the world, suggestsCreate a Place for Everything That Matters. Zen Habitsthat the best goal is no goals.

A goalless life is free of mandatory steps that tire and compel save business for later. Instead, we can fill our days with things and activities that really interest and excite us.

Ask yourself a question: what would I like to do or learn today? The answer will indicate where you should focus your time and energy. The activity that you engage in will most likely be effective, because you will invest yourself in it.

Yes, this approach looks unusual and possibly intimidating. But if you cannot achieve the goal in a standard way, then you do not lose anything. Try something new and see where it gets you.