What are action goals and how to set them

All or nothing - many follow this principle when they set personal or work goals. But this is not the best approach. It can quickly lead to burnout and reduce productivity to zero.

Instead, try the goal-action approach. Its essence is simple - to break the fulfillment of grandiose desires into several small and easy steps. This approach improves concentration and reduces the level of stress on the way to the goal, because then a clear plan of action appears.

What are the features of action goals

These are not end points, but short stretches that you go through in order to achieve what you want. For example, you want to improve your writing skills. In this case, your action goals might be: write one article every week or parse reader comments for half an hour daily.

At the same time, action goals must comply with the SMART criteria - a popular goal-setting technology:

• S - specific, or specific. The more details the better. Instead of saying "I want to be in shape," formulate your desires more clearly, for example, "I want to lose 5 kg." The goal should be as simple and clear as possible.
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• M - measurable, or measurable. This means that you need to create your own system for tracking progress. If we take the desire to "be in shape", then at this stage it is important to understand what exactly it means for you - to do 15 squats a day or perform cardio workout 30 minutes several times a week.
• A - achievable, or achievable. If the desires are too simple, like 5 squats a day, the motivation will quickly fade away. On the other hand, apparently impossible dreams, say, 100 squats at once, can lead to the same thing. Find the golden mean.
• R - realistic, or realistic. Determine if you have the time, energy and resources, including financial ones, to achieve the goal. For example, if you want to join the gym to keep yourself in good shape, but this will significantly affect your budget, you should consider the option of home workouts.
• T - time-bound, or tied to time. Any goal-action must have a deadline, for example, lose 5 kg by the summer, otherwise it's just a dream. V fantasies there is nothing wrong, but think about what will happen when they run out. If you want your desires to become a reality in the foreseeable future, it's time to start taking action.

How to define action goals

Ask yourself two simple questions:

1. What is my life now?
2. How can I make it better?

The answers will help you first formulate your desires, and then your goals-actions. When the list is ready, go through each goal, answering one more question: will it bring me closer to my dream? If not, feel free to delete it.

You may have to deal with difficult emotions and difficult choices or even make sacrifices while searching for action goals. For example, to refuse to buy a brand new iPhone in order to save money for a project that you have long dreamed of starting.

How to set action goals

Let's imagine that you want to upgrade your culinary skills. You can start with a simple goal-action — cook your own breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home. To do this, every week you will need to do the following steps:

• On Sunday, prepare a menu for the next 7 days.
• Buy products.
• Prepare meals for the whole week, including for work.
• Take food with you to the office in containers.

This approach will not only help improve culinary skills, but also teach competent planning. And the money you save on lunches in a cafe or a work canteen will give you even more motivation.

Remember that action goals should push you to fulfill your most cherished desires. Successfully completing simple tasks will boost your confidence and help you move forward.

What action goals to start with

If you're itching to try the action goals method but still don't know where to start, consider one or more of these options:

• Find a new hobby or enroll in a useful course.
• Start at least walking around your area for 15 minutes a day, if you can’t start running in any way.
• Write down your thoughts, emotions and ideas in a diary for half an hour a day.
• Read one book a week.
• Do 10 push-ups every morning before leaving for work.

At first, the goal-action method may seem complicated. Change is never easy. However, if you continue to act and take small steps towards big goals, you will realize that your dreams are much closer than you think.