I donāt set specific goals for myself very often. I have things that I am pursuing, do well in school or get a good job, but rarely do I write down specific, metric based goals. However, whenever I do create a goal it motivates me and pushes my upper bound of what I think I am capable of.
I have officially moved to California and a fresh start is a natural time to think about goals. Going forward I want to be more intentional about setting and achieving goals. Today I would like to share some of the things I find helpful when thinking about goals, and a few goals I have set for myself as I embark on the next chapter of my life.
Urgent and Important
The urgent and important matrix is a way of categorizing activities. An activity is labeled on whether or not it is urgent and whether or not it is important.
Most of our life is consumed with the urgent and important box. This box contains studying for an upcoming exam or finishing a project at work before a deadline. These are the things which are important but imposed by external forces.
The more valuable activities are often in the non-urgent and important box. These activities do not have any external pressure pushing them to get them done. No one is forcing you to start the business you have been meaning to or self-publish the book you have been writing. These are the things that can make huge changes in one’s life, but get pushed to the side in favor of more pressing matters.
Goal setting is a time when we naturally pause and think about where we are and where we want to go. It is a time where we take a break from the day to day and plan for the future. Setting goals is a time to think about the non-urgent and important box. We can identify the things which we want to pursue but are not making time for, and turn them first into a goal and then into a habit.
Input Based
As much as possible I try and set input-based goals. These are goals that are centered on input and not the result of external factors. For example, instead of āI want a newsletter with 1000 subscribersā the goal would be āI want to write the best quality newsletter I can every weekā. This makes the goal completely within my control.
Specific and Time Based
I often find this difficult, but I think a goal should be very specific and have a time deadline. This makes it very easy to determine whether or not the goal was achieved, and hard to back out of the goal. This is why I find it difficult. This also makes progress towards the goal easier to track. This is something that I can get better at.
Achieved and Crushed It
It can be helpful to set two different goal metrics. The first metric is the minimum it would take for the goal to be a success. However, sometimes when working towards a goal you find that it is actually a lot easier than you expected. This is when having a second metric is helpful. This metric is what it would take for you to have absolutely crushed the goal. This gives you something else to work toward, without feeling like you failed to meet the original goal.
Journey vs Destination
Achieving your goal will always feel underwhelming. The effort required to get there is where the fulfillment comes from. Working towards a goal is much more fulfilling than achieving one.
My Goals
Everyone knows that public shame is one of the best motivators, so I am going to force myself to set goals in accordance with the above criteria. I am also more motivated to accomplish these goals because now everyone knows what they areā¦
Personal Goals
Stay Active
When I am active I feel better, and everything else in my life benefits. While I am here, I want to ensure that being active is a key part of my routine. While I plan on continuing to go to the gym and cycling, this is also a great time to try something new. After I am settled, I would like to join a Crossfit gym or a triathlon club. This doubles as a way to meet people.
Input: Exercise!
Achieved: Consistently exercise five days a week. At least try going to a Crossfit gym or triathlon club.
Crushed It: Consistently exercise six plus days a week. Be a regular at Crossfit gym or triathlon club.
Bonus: Sign up for bike/running race or triathlon.
Explore California
California has the reputation it does for a reason. I want to take advantage of being here and explore as much as I can. This includes surfing, skiing and camping a long the coast. In order to really make the most of being down here, I really should buy a car.
Input: Focus on getting out and exploring, especially on weekends.
Achieved: Explore San Francisco, go Surfing, go Skiing and do a weekend camping road trip.
Crushed It: Be a killer surfer!
Meet New People
Being in a new place also means the opportunity to meet new people. While I know I will meet lots of people, I want to make sure I put time and energy into cultivating new relationships. I think this is one of the exciting aspects of being in a new place.
Input: Be the one who takes the social initiative! Be willing to bear the social risk of going first.
Achieved: Be the cause of organizing three events in the next year.
Crushed It: Be the cause of organizing six events in the next year, and be a connector.
Career Goals
Promotion to Software Engineer II
All the big tech companies have similar job levels for Software Engineers. I am starting at level one and will be working to be promoted to level two. This goal will have me focus on developing my software engineering abilities.
Input: Focus on writing high quality code efficiently. Track what I do at work so it is easy for my manager to see the impact I have had.
Achieved: Promoted with 22 months.
Crushed It: Promoted with 16 months.
Learn Managing a Software Team
In addition to developing my software skills, I want to learn as much as I can about managing a software team. The large tech companies have a lot of experience in this area, and I believe being exposed to this is one of the benefits of working there. These skills will be useful as my career progresses.
Input: Focus on observing how my manager operates. Ask lots of questions and keep notes on what I think strong management looks like.
Achieved: Create and update a list of takeaways.
Crushed It: Identify areas for process improvement on my team.
Expand professional network
The bay area brings in a lot of smart people. I want to use the opportunity of being here to meet smart people who are doing interesting things. Beyond meeting people at work, I would like to attend events or join groups to expand my network even further.
Input: Be open to connection and seek out events and groups to join.
Achieved: Gain 30 Linkedin connections and attend two events within 12 months.
Crushed It: Gain 50 Linkedin connections, attend four events and join a club within 12 months.
Side Hustle
One area I have struggled with is entrepreneurship. I love to consume business and startup content and think about these things, but I have never really done any of it. I want to break out of the trap of productive procrastination. Sometime in the next year, I will create a side hustle, not to be a success, but to actually do. This is a goal that is very much in the important and not urgent box.
Input: Dedicate 4 hours a week to creating something. Setup a spreadsheet to track each week.
Achieved: Create something that I can charge money for and have a list of learnings.
Crushed It: Create something that I can charge money for, have a list of learnings and make >$1.
Well, those are my goals aired out for everyone to read.
– Mitch