The Power of Modern-Day Goal Setting: How Setting Smaller Goals Leads to Success
“What are your dreams for the future?” or any of its variations is a commonly asked question as we grow up from our parents, relatives, teachers, or other people around us.
It’s not a bad question, though. Having future goals instills in the kids’ young minds a sense of ambition and something to look forward to. While these dreams may or may not change over time, they remain a motivating factor for many people.
On the other hand, have you ever been asked about your goals for the day? Have you ever thought about it?
Goals are not just about that one significant dream; they also come in smaller portions.
Consider that key goal to be the “X mark” on an adventure story’s treasure map. On your way to riches, you have to go through many places and face many challenges. You might even pick up a few side tasks along the way that will help you get to the designated point on the map faster.
Goals give us direction. Achieving these smaller goals ensures we won’t get lost on that journey.
So what can you do today that will help you get closer to achieving your major goal? That is what daily goal-setting is for.
What is Daily Goal Setting?
As previously illustrated, daily goals are like landing points on a treasure map. These points allow us to stay on track to accomplish a short or long-term priority. Simply put, goal setting is creating an outline or an action plan of the steps you need to take to achieve something. Daily goals are landmarks that bring us closer to that central goal.
For instance, your long-term goal is to be able to join an orchestra group as a trumpet player. Some daily goal examples to start with would be:
- Play the C major scale in four beats,
- Play the C major scale in two beats,
- Sustain each note of the C major scale for two whole beats,
- Play the C major scale until the second octave,
- Finally, sustain each note of the C major scale first and second octave for two whole beats.
Yes, these may appear to be simple activities. However, these small activities help build a foundation of control that will be useful as you progress further on your chosen path. The more you get used to this habit and the further you advance, you either add tasks to the list or increase their difficulty.
Why is Setting Daily Goals Important?
There is a tendency to look at the future so much that you lose sight of the present. You keep telling yourself, “I’ll be this in the future” or “Soon, I’ll be able to do this.” You repeat it to yourself daily, citing several reasons why it’s not possible. Until time eventually passes and you realize that nothing has changed.
Or you might turn out like one of Aesop’s fables about a fox and a bunch of ripe and juicy grapes. No matter how hard the fox jumped, he could not reach the grapes. So he walked away, deeming the grapes sour and not worth the effort.
All in all, both situations end up with lost opportunities. Either it’s having a goal and telling yourself that you’ll eventually reach it without doing anything or giving up on something because it’s too complicated and not worth the effort.
In fact, not having the right resources and having trouble getting around these problems can be big problems. But you never know the intensity of these hurdles unless you try facing them. You may live your dream, or another path may open up for you, presenting a different opportunity.
The saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You begin that single step by knowing what daily goals to set and how to accomplish them as efficiently as possible. To help convince you more, take a look at some of the benefits of creating daily goals for yourself.
Benefits of Setting Daily Goals
You become more productive
By setting daily goals, you help develop your time management skills and can make the most of your time. There is less need to rush or procrastinate, and you can set aside more free time. Hence, you’ll experience less stress while increasing your productivity.
You feel a sense of accomplishment
We make all kinds of lists throughout our lives. When you finish that list, you usually feel good, like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. It’s the same with daily goal setting.
You can also track your progress through these lists and give yourself a friendly pat on the back when you look back at how much you’ve been able to do and how far you’ve come.
It’s a stepping stone towards bigger goals
Setting daily goals helps you focus. You learn what goals to prioritize and what to keep. Sometimes there are so many dreams running around your head that you’re unsure where to start. After you decide which one to focus on, you can reach that goal and figure out what to do next.
Mapping out your steps and accomplishing these daily goals gets you closer to attaining your short- and long-term priorities.
Better task switching and sequencing
Goal-setting is a great way to practice organization skills, particularly with regard to tasks.
You might have encountered a situation where you have so many things to do on your plate that you become confused and maybe even do nothing. By regularly setting clear goals, you become more adept at sorting through these errands.
Which tasks require the highest priority? Which takes the shortest time to finish? Which has a deadline? You learn to process these questions faster and organize everything more efficiently.
How to Set Daily Goals and Achieve Them
The first challenge in daily goal setting is starting. The next step is maintaining that habit. However, these are your goals, so it needs to start with you. Here are some pointers on how to set small goals and achieve them to give yourself a boost.
Start Small and Simple, but be Specific
One of the benefits of setting daily goals is their ability to motivate you to accomplish them. But starting big and having a long list, especially in the beginning, does the opposite of increasing your motivation. Biting off more than you can chew will only discourage you.
The key to setting daily goals for success is to start small. Begin with simple tasks that you know you can accomplish. Make a short but specific list to avoid intimidating yourself the next day. As you get used to setting daily goals, you can add more to the list or slightly increase the difficulty.
Another way to ease into it is by starting with monthly or weekly goal planning instead. Big and complicated tasks tend to be a major cause for discouragement. Instead of listing the task as is, break it down into steps by setting daily, weekly, and monthly goals.
Break it down if you must until you end up with a group of smaller but more manageable tasks.
Write it down
One way to make the habit stick is to simply jot it down on paper and post it in a visible or accessible place. It’s one of the simplest and best ways to set daily goals.
Another alternative is to create and store your list using Noa Notes. You can also look back on your previous lists or refer to any saved sessions from Insights, Resets, and Goals as a guide for creating your following list.
It’s just like going to buy supplies at the grocery store. It’s better to jot down everything you need beforehand than to avoid forgetting something and going back to get it.
Also, it provides more accountability. Finishing a real list is a better way to get yourself to do something, while a mental list is easier to forget.
Set An Upper Limit
Instead of trying to do as little as possible, knowing your limits and setting an upper limit is much better. It’s a helpful strategy, especially at the beginning of your goal-setting journey.
No matter how low the bare minimum is, it might feel like a chore initially. Sometimes, an attempt is enough. With an upper limit, you motivate yourself to do better and try to accomplish something close to it instead of being disappointed that you could not even get past the smallest requirement. These upper limits can be set for weekly or monthly goals.
Consistency is Key
If you can only do one goal a day, that’s challenging enough, and that’s fine, but maintain that number every day. As you get used to the habit and it becomes less demanding, it’s time to add more.
That one daily goal might seem irrelevant or inconsequential. But don’t underestimate its effect as it accumulates over time. James Clear, the author of the best-selling book “Atomic Habits,” calls this the Power of Tiny Gains. A 1% daily improvement can boost your performance by up to 37%.
Of course, it’s not a concrete rule. Some days might be busier than others, which therefore calls for slight adjustments. Remember, daily goal-setting shouldn’t be a chore.
Set Up A Helpful Environment
How will you get into the habit if your environment hinders you? A goal-oriented way of thinking should come from both you and the people around you.
If you want to drink more water, have a pitcher or a glass of water ready near your bedside so you can drink first thing in the morning. If your goal is to create a short story every day, have a pen and paper ready so you can jot down any plot ideas that come to mind.
Remove or reduce the number of distractions and clutter. Place the things you need for your goals in a visible or easily accessible area.
How to Achieve Daily Goal Setting with the NOA App
Having a big goal is good for you. It provides a sense of purpose and direction for a lot of people. But simply having these goals is the easy part. The hard part is trying to do that and deciding whether or not you are willing to put in the work.
The size of the goal and the obstacles are daunting. People then tend to stop wishing for or scoffing at sour grapes.
However, beginning something is not always easy. Routine and old habits provide so much comfort that it can be challenging to break them. An online coaching app like Noa Coach can help you with that.
At its heart, Noa is an online coaching app that provides high-quality coaching that is easy to get to and doesn’t break the bank. Artificial intelligence was built with all the research and tools needed to do an excellent job of coaching you through these changes in your lifestyle, eye-opening insights, and emotional processing.
It offers the best solution for your daily goal-setting needs in the form of Noa Goals. This solution is effective and interactive, akin to a brainstorming session. It guides you through the C.L.E.A.R. model that follows the mechanics of daily goal setting by breaking down those goals into more manageable chunks to help turn them into achievements.
If you have hitches along the way, press pause and talk to Noa Reset to help you sort out frustration or other uncontrollable feelings. The AI removes the human bias that is unavoidable in human-to-human coaching and will tailor itself into a version that can best help you as Noa learns more about you.
Let Noa guide you to achieve your goals. Let’s chat!
