Realigned Living

Goal setting and project planning are two of those things that the personal development literature likes to talk about until it’s blue in the face. There’s a good reason for that - planning out your goals is essential to getting them accomplished. Even having a vaguely defined path towards your goal is better than having no way to get there. Once you start walking down a certain path, the next steps you need to take will almost automatically appear in front of you.

But most of the self-improvement literature doesn’t give some sort of system for setting up short term projects and goals. An effective system for setting up short term projects - complete with the steps needed to take to get the end results - is something that differs from person to person. I used to be totally lost on this subject, because I could never find a system that works for me. Through a lot of trial and error, I modified existing systems out there and created one that seems to work incredibly well for me. I thought I’d share it with you!

My steps for setting up a short term project are as follows:

1. Decide exactly what I want to do and accomplish;
2. Sketch out a plan for accomplishment;
3. Implement that plan ASAP;
4. Make amends to that plan as I see fit.

Decide exactly what you want to do and accomplish

The first step in undertaking any short term project is deciding exactly what you want to do. Yes, the topic has been talked about in personal development more than anything under the sun (purpose is everything, you know!), but it’s so vital to any undertaking. Once you know exactly what you want to do, you automatically become more motivated to work towards that. Resources that have the potential to help you out are easier to locate, and when the going gets rough, you stay in the game.

For an example throughout this post, we’re going to pretend that I want to learn how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” on the piano, starting from scratch. So, our goal is: to be able to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” perfectly on the piano, with no errors.

Sketch out a plan for accomplishment

The next step in planning out and pursuing a short term project is sketching out a rough draft to make your small goal happen. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate - it just has to be able to be (partially) workable. (It’s okay if you’re not sure how or when every single step is going to be completed. The goal is to get a rough idea of steps, actions, and resources you’ll need. You can always make as many changes as you need to later.) Your plan should include every action step you’ll need to achieve your goal, but not to the point of overkill. Just a broad overview with the specific steps is sufficient.

For my musical goal, my sketched out plan looks something like this:

1. Buy the sheet music for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in beginner form.
2. Buy a beginning piano book.
3. Set up a piano practice schedule that’s at least 15 minutes long, every day.
4. Apply that practice schedule ASAP.
5. Practice every day until the song is learned.
6. Perform the song for friends.

We have every step needed to complete the goal - from purchasing the music, to practicing the piano, to performing the song!

Implement that plan ASAP

Now comes the hard part - actually working the plan you created. What you did previously will probably help you overcome the problem most people face: when given a clear goal and no real plan to follow, most people have 0 motivation to move forward, as they don’t know exactly where they’re headed. With a plan, you can schedule your steps on certain days, and blaze forward with at least some certainty of where you’re going. While your sketched out plan might not hold all of the answers and might be missing some crucial parts, you can always work on solutions for those problems when they arise.

Notice how I said impliment the plan ASAP - I didn’t say tomorrow, or when you feel like it, I said As Soon As Possible. Most people get in a habit of procrastinating when it comes to working at their goals: “I’ll start an exercise program tomorrow” or “I’ll quit eating all of this junk food after Christmas.” You would think if it was truly important, they would have started immediately on their exercise program or have thrown away their junk food already! Don’t treat your goals like this! Implement your plan immediately - don’t wait until tomorrow for what you could accomplish today. Make today count so tomorrow is even better!

For this step of the piano goal, my to-do list for today would include: buying both the sheet music and beginning piano book at Barnes and Noble, sketching out a piano practice schedule so I practice for 15 minutes at 4pm every single day, and I starting practice today. Whew, that’s a lot to do!

Make amends to the plan as you see fit

Sometimes, the plans you create work wonders the first time around, and they’re already in pristine condition with no room for improvement. Most of the time, though, when you run through your plan the first time around, you’ll encounter hang ups, goofs, and unforeseen challenges. Change up your plans as needed, but always stay true to your original intent - your short term project.

For my piano goal, I found out the books were too hard to figure out on our own, so I had to hire a piano teacher to help me out once a week. My modified plan ended looking like this, which worked!

1. Buy the sheet music for “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” in beginner form.
2. Buy a beginning piano book.
3. Set up a piano practice schedule that’s at least 15 minutes long, every day.
4. Apply that practice schedule ASAP.
5. Find a piano teacher and schedule weekly 1/2 hour lessons to learn the song.
6. Practice every day until the song is learned, and keep going to piano lessons as needed.
7. Perform the song at the annual Spring piano recital in front of 20 other piano students.

It’s only slightly different, and I achieved my goal!

How can you apply this method?

Take a moment to look at one of your short term goals to see if you can briefly plan it out. Would a plan help you stay on track? How quickly could you achieve that goal if you sketched out a plan and worked at it daily?

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