I don’t know about you but I am horrible at making plans and following them. I love writing lists but if I made ten cents for every list I didn’t follow, I’d be laughing all the way to the bank right now. If it’s a long-term goal I’m even worse at following it. I think a lot of people are the same way.
Jonathan Mead recently wrote a post that instead of focusing on long-term goals, focus on long-term visions and making movements towards it. As long as you keep moving in that direction, regardless of the actual steps you take and goals you accomplish, you’re in good shape. This is actually a great way of looking at it. And it’s perfect for someone like me who is always changing the game plan on a whim anyway.
But what about short-term goals? I mean, life happens right? Stuff needs to get done. And some of that stuff needs a definite action plan. The trash isn’t going to get thrown out if you keep visualizing that it’s in the garbage can. Sometimes you need to say “Right after dinner, at 7:30 pm, I am going to take the garbage out. I’m going to walk outside the front door and throw that crap out.” Period.
Okay, so that was my horrible attempt at being silly, but as long as you get me, we’re good.
I realized that it’s hard to make plans by starting where you are now. If you can’t see yourself at the endpoint, all the plans that you make today aren’t going to make sense. And you’ll have zero motivation to do them.
On the other hand making visions for short-term goals work as well as it does for long-term stuff, if not better. It’s far easier to visualize yourself in the near future. It’s also easier to set a time frame and work backwards from a short-time vision.
For example, I finished undergraduate in three years. When I started college in August 2005, I told myself I am going to make this as short as I can make it. Granted I was a little lost during the first semester, but after that I decided that on May 2008 I am going to be walking across the stage to get my degree. I could see it happening. That was step 1.
I went on the university website, wrote down all the required courses and the electives I was interested in taking as well as all the prerequisites. I could visualize all the classes I would have to finish by May 2008. Then I whipped open my trusty partner-in-crime, Excel, and mapped out the entire three years. I placed the classes in a way that I didn’t have to worry about prerequisite holds. I did 17-18 credits every fall and spring and 12 credits every summer.
And it worked. I did what I had to do. Every semester during registration, I visualized the graduation ceremony and worked backwards from there in my mind.
You can even try it with money. Suppose you are $20,000 in debt and you want to pay it off it 2 years. This means you would have to pay back $10,000 per year, $834 per month, or $417 biweekly. This doesn’t take interest into account, but $20,000 in two years is better than nothing. It’s better than paying the minimum. When you know that number you can channel Ramit Sethi, be Indian for 30 minutes (because that’s how long it takes to set up), and automate that amount right out of your paycheck. Or you can brainstorm ways to make an extra $834 for a month by working backwards with that as well.
After you set a definite plan and work backwards from it, the only thing left is to just do it. There’s no sailing into the horizon aimlessly like Christopher Columbus with distorted visions of gold and adventure. There’s no adjusting the sails every time the wind changes direction. The path is set up clearly for you to see and the endpoint is visible in the horizon. It’s the perfect solution for short-term goals.
What are you waiting for? Put your sneakers on and get to stepping.
**If you’re new here and enjoyed this post, be sure to subscribe for future posts and updates. And feel free to share this post … I’d really appreciate it! Don’t forget to introduce yourself in the comments. Don’t be shy … I don’t bite. 
You can also add me on Twitter (@valeriemondesir).**
Related posts:
- How to use expectation to your advantage
- Get rid of dead weight: Channel frustration into creative ideas into action
- How to move to a new place with no job (and proving silly naysayers wrong)
- Hiking for the soul: A walk with nature is all the cure you need
- Building up the people you care about – and making it a lifestyle
