How To Actually Achieve Your Goals
The exact 2 systems that I use everyday
How many times did you end up quitting or forgetting about your goals and leading the life you have always lived?
If you’re anything like me, hundreds of times.
I’ve set myself some wild goals in the past, almost all of which I didn’t achieve, didn’t attempt to achieve or quit trying to achieve.
I thought that everybody else around me was able to work on their goals, achieve them easily and live the life they’ve always wanted.
Turns out, most people never achieve their goals. Why?
If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you're waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it's a goal. - Scott Adams
I realise that I have never had a system, only goals. I was sitting around waiting for inspiration or motivation, or even hoping I would achieve those goals naturally with time.
Now I know how stupid that was.
Two Systems I Now Use to Achieve my Goals
Simplify then Systemise then Track
Start at the big goal, break it down into its smallest form and systemise it.
Say you have a goal to lose 12 pounds in 6 months. Perhaps you need to fit into some snug suit trousers for a wedding (asking for a friend…).
Well, that’s 1 pound every 2 weeks.
That’s a much simpler goal to focus on. Now you just need a system to lose 1 pound every fortnight.
According to research, 1 pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.
So every 2 weeks you need to burn an extra 3500 calories. Or cut 3500 calories from your diet. Or a combination of the two.
Well, that’s 250 calories per day.
Goal: Lose 12 pounds in 6 months
Simplify: Lose 1 pound every 2 weeks
System: Eat 250 fewer calories per day
Track: Use a daily calorie counter app
OR
Goal: Lose 12 pounds in 6 months
Simplify: Lose 1 pound every 2 weeks
System: Walk for 1 hour per day (burn 250 calories per day)
Track: Mark an X in your calendar after your walk
You can pretty much forget about the goal as long as you focus on the system.
The Wall Calendar
Most people never achieve their goals because of a lack of consistency.
Popularised by Jerry Seinfeld, pin a giant 2023 wall calendar and mark an ‘X’ when you have done what you said you would do.
Seinfeld marked an X when he sat down and wrote jokes.
“Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.” - Seinfeld
I mark an X in my calendar after I complete my morning routine. You can use my habit tracker for free if you like.
I wrote a more in-depth post about this system here.
If you want to achieve your goals, you need a system. Leave the ‘hopes and dreams’ for the next person. Maybe the two I use won’t work for you, so get searching for your system. Experiment and adapt others to make it work for you. But realise that every person out there that achieved some wild, far-reaching goal had a system in place.
Did you enjoy this edition of No More Snooze?
It was good but not the best 🙂
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See you next Sunday.