Stop Dreaming, Start Doing: The Plan to Achieve Any Goal

Now that I have determined my SMART goal, how the heck do I achieve it? I’ve written down plenty of goals before, but rarely do I stick with them. It’s going to take more than one action or even a simple to do list to achieve my goal. It’s going to take a solid plan that lays out a clear path to success and holds me accountable. Creating this plan has three parts: break it down, time it, and track it.

1. Break Down the Goal

The first part of creating this plan is focused on breaking the main goal into the key tasks. What are the tasks or actions that I need to focus on to progress towards my goal? Looking at my goal of selling $1000 worth of woodworking products by September 1st, there are some obvious actions that need to happen. I need to make stuff and sell stuff. So this plan will have two major trunks – the making and the selling – but there will definitely be some overlap. Let’s work backwards on each trunk to see all of the little actions that I need to keep in mind and track.

This is a pretty good framework, but I will need to add more to it for progress tracking and accountability. That is added in step 2.

2. Time the Goal

For each step and action, I need to assign a task time and a deadline. This will be an estimate for how long it will take and then the deadline to complete it. This is where it gets easy to derail everything I’ve set in place so far. Parkinson’s Law can hinder or help us here. If I really think I task will take me 2 days to complete, then that needs to be my deadline. If I give myself 2 weeks to complete it, then guess what…it will take me 2 weeks to complete it. The deadline should be meaningful but achievable. If it’s arbitrary, it will no create a health urgency. So let’s add some timelines to our tasks. (I am painting in broad strokes here, a more granular plan is coming soon).

• Determine what products I should prototype by March 8
• Determine audience and how to market and sell to them by March 15
• Create prototypes by March 22
• Determine COGS, margins, and sell price by March 29
• Purchase materials by April 5
• Build at least 3 of a product by April 12
• Sell 1 product by May 1
• Build at least 10 of a product by May 15
• Build $1000 worth of products by June 1
• Sell 10 products by June 1
• Sell at least $250 by June 15
• Sell at least $500 by July 1
• Sell at least $750 by August 1
• Sell at least $1000 by September 1

The timeline is an easy way to mark progress and stay accountable. While I don’t want the plan to be so malleable that it lacks urgency, it can change a little within reason. Maybe there is a flaw in the product design that needs time to get resolved. Or maybe there is a key selling opportunity that is scheduled for August that will get me to my final goal, but I might miss some of the sales markers along the way. This is a living document, but it should still have consequences that will force me towards success.

3. Track the Goal

But none of the steps will matter if I’m not tracking the progress. Progress monitoring is an active, dynamic process that shows both wins and areas for improvement. By consistently documenting my journey, I gain invaluable insights into what’s working and what’s not. Ideally, this is a data-driven approach to foster a healthy sense of urgency, compelling me to either double down on effective strategies or pivot towards a better path. To truly leverage tracking, I will implement these actions:

• Maintain a detailed log
  • Recording daily, weekly, or monthly progress in a spreadsheet
  • Note specific metrics, such as completed tasks, time spent, and quantifiable results.
  • Measure progress against the task times and deadlines established in the plan
• Visualize the data
  • Create charts and graphs to visually represent progress over time.
  • Identify trends and patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed.
  • This is where I may get hung up, mostly because I really enjoy this part of data. I need to make sure this doesn’t become a speed bump to progress.
• Establish regular review points
  • Schedule dedicated cadence to analyze the data.
  • Reflect on your performance, identify any roadblocks, and celebrate successes.
• Use key milestones as checkpoints
  • This provides a sense of accomplishment and supports motivation.
• Seek feedback
  • Share progress with a person or a group. Use the objective perspective as a way to improve
• Adapt based on data
  • Determine if new methods, new steps, new tracking points, or new goals need to be used

Tracking is the compass that will guide me towards my goal, ensuring I stay on course and make informed decisions along the way.

Prepare for Success

This goal will require a number of resources to accomplish including: tools, materials, skill building, networking, and time. This preparation stage is focused on setting me up for success. If I’ve done all of the research, purchased everything required, and reserved the appropriate amount of time to focus, I can only successfully complete my goal.

Actions Starters

• How do you break your goals into a plan with actions and steps?
• Do you have method for creating meaningful, but achievable deadlines?
• What system do you use for tracking?

Go start something!