How to Set Goals

Last week, we dug deep into goal setting, defined our WHY, and looked at choosing our word for the year. Whew! It’s a lot, I know. Now for more fun! This next step is to set our goals. It seems simple enough, but experience tells me nah, it’s not. A quick Google search comes up with lots of advice and various methods, too. In this post, I’m sharing only two ways. I hope this helps you figure out how to set your goals this year.

When you think of all the different kinds of goals you could set, you start to see they fit in one of three goal categories: object-oriented goals, progress goals, and system goals. Breaking them down in this way really helps me. Here’s a quick overview:

Object-oriented Goals are what we usually think of when we think of goals. For example, I want to lose 10 pounds or I want to grow my email list to 5,000 subscribers. There’s an object in the future, and I want to get there.

Progress Goals simply measure whether or not progress is happening. Are the numbers moving in the direction you want?

System Goals could also be called habits. Go to the gym three times per week. Write 1,000 words every day. Go on a date with my husband once a week.

All three of them can be effective in the right places. This year, I plan to lean more on the progress and system goals. The downside of Object-oriented Goals is that they focus on the destination instead of the journey. I like the journey because that keeps my eyes on today, the present.

Object-oriented Goals also focus on the gap between where you are and where you want to be, instead of the progress that’s happening already. Football coach Bill Walsh (I’m not sure who that is, but he must know something about goals!) said, “The score takes care of itself.” When you practice the right things and set up the right systems, the end result will take care of itself. That makes so much sense. You will make progress.

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Two Ways to Approach Goal Setting

I realize that there are countless ways to approach goal setting, but from my decades of experience and some poking around the internet, I’ve landed on these two for me this year.

#1. Set SMART or SMARTer Goals.

This is the traditional model of goal setting. SMART goals are Object-oriented and System Goals. There are so many variations in how these acronyms are broken down, but I’ll do my best to cover the basics and give you the general idea.

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

Others take it a couple of steps further and encourage setting SMARTer goals. These goals are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Risky, Time Bound, Exciting, and Relevant. (The Risky one makes me a little nervous!)

However you break the acronym down, the result is the same: specific numbers to achieve by a specific due date. These goals follow a formula that looks something like this:

I will bake 10,000 cupcakes by January 31. Yum.
I will sell 25 hand-knit hats in Quarter 1 of 2024.
I will complete the 80,000 word first draft of my second novel by March 31.
I will practice piano for 30 minutes Monday through Friday.
I will read 50 books this year.

There’s a time and a place for these goals, but sometimes, they can feel a little discouraging and restraining (especially the cupcake one). The other option is to set loose goals.

#2. Think of a goal as the compass.

Author of Atomic Habits James Clear writes, “If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.” (Great book if you want to deep dive into habits.)

While I don’t think we should get rid of goals completely, he’s got a point. You can set all the goals you want, but if you don’t have a plan to achieve them, you’ll never get anywhere.

Instead of setting rigid SMART goals, you could define a goal as the compass. Then set up systems and habits that will carry you in that direction. This gets me really excited!

Thinking of a goal as the compass helps you focus on the journey over the destination. It also helps you measure yourself against where you were, not against where you want to be–measure the gain, not the gap (The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy).

These goals are likely Progress or System goals. For example:

I want to grow my email following. Whether it’s one per month or 1,000 per month, as long as it’s growing, I’m succeeding.
I want to grow my blog, so I will post 1x/week. It doesn’t matter how many people read it. (I hope a lot will read it, but you get the point.)

Or they might be even more broad and general. Despite the traditional wisdom, this is okay as long as your goal is supported by specific and detailed habits and action steps:

Lead a more peaceful life.
Trust God and His promises.
Create a safe and cozy home where I can welcome friends and family.

I found this goal setting system from the Youtuber Ali Abdaal helpful. You might want to journal your answers:

Define the goal. In this case, it doesn’t have to be SMART or SMARTER. It can be as simple as I want to do my visual faith practices more often. Or I want to read more often.
Define your why for this specific goal. (Because it’s one of the ways I can lean on the Lord and not on me. Because I have so many books on my to-be-read list.)
Set a SMART goal to live under this goal. Maybe it’s “Scripture scribe for 10 minutes three times a week.” By not making my SMART goal my main goal, I can see any progress as a win! If I do this even once a week, that’s better than not at all.
Decide on a habit or a system that will help you achieve this goal. For example, in my Scripture Scribing goal, I will write the days/times in my planner so I won’t forget.
Ask myself how surprised would I be if I failed on a scale of 1-10? With 1 being not surprised at all, and 10 being very surprised, give yourself a rating. This can help you identify how risky yet achievable your goal is.
List the top 3 reasons I might fail. 1. I’m watching too many period dramas on Masterpiece Theater. 2. I’m too busy. 3. My hand hurts too much.
Who can help me meet this goal? Do I need an accountability buddy? Is there a friend who knows a lot about doing this? (Yes, I can participate in the Visual Faith Facebook group and ask questions. I can participate in a book club. Or do my own book club! Details to come.)
What’s the first action step I could take? (Get a notebook. Make a list of the books. Buy the first couple, pick them up from the library, or download them to Kindle.)

How to Set Goals: Some Tips

Pick your approach: SMART Goals or Compass Goals or some combination of the two. Whatever you choose, here are some additional tips to keep in mind before you start setting them:

Set fewer goals.

In a dream world, we’d have endless time to finish our to-do lists, keep a perfectly tidy home, entertain friends and family, and have wildly successful careers–with no help from anyone. But in the real world, we have a limited amount of time on this earth, and we have to carefully choose what we want to prioritize and what we want to let go. I’ve heard it called strategic failure.

I’m not crazy about failing, but in my more than six decades in God’s beautiful creation, I know that, as my parents used to tell me, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. (That’s actually a funny expression for why I didn’t finish the food on my plate, but that’s another story.) But yes, my plans are often way bigger than my 24 hours and 365 days a year. I want to do it all. But I’ve learned that saying no is often the best way for me to say yes. Because when I say no to something, that’s saying yes to something else.

Today, for example, I brainstormed all the wonderful things I’d like to do next year. All of them. I filled two pages with my ideas! So now, I need to be realistic and see what makes sense with the time I have.

Let your goals change.

It’s okay to change your mind mid year. Well, of course, you say. That’s obvious. But I used to feel like once I committed to a specific goal, I couldn’t quit. My goal was like a promise to myself. So what happened? If I quit, then I felt guilty. The next time I thought about that goal (health, fitness, Bible-reading, whatever), I had flashbacks to quitting and thought, “Why even start again?” So facing this simple point was a game-changer for me.

Former President Dwight Eisenhower said “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” So don’t get too attached to your goals or your goal plans. Recognize that the value is in setting the goals and creating the plans.

You can set goals for a few months or for a full year. To keep things flexible, I like just setting goals for a quarter or a season. Grasping what I can accomplish in an entire year is tough, but 12 weeks? We can do that!

Even so, be ready to let a goal go or set a new one mid-season. Life changes quickly and unexpectedly, and your goals might have to too.

Don’t set a goal for the sake of itself.

We will all be more likely to achieve a goal if we have a project in mind. For example, “Learn to play the piano” might not happen, but “learn to play contemporary Christian songs by ear” might. Instead of “learn to cook,” how about “host a monthly dinner party” or “learn to bake sourdough bread with my husband.” (I don’t have that as a goal because my husband happens to bake delicious sourdough bread.)

Set goals that are within your control.

As a writer, I cannot control what agent or editor might be interested in my book. So saying, “Get a contract with XYZ Publisher this year” is pointless. Instead, I’ll set the goal to finish the novel that shares God’s grace.

If you do set a goal that is not within your control, make sure you break it down into objectives that are. More on objectives next week!

Action Step: Set your goals.

After last week, you should have your areas of focus from last week and your word of the year to act as your theme. Now, you have an understanding of the different kinds of goals you can set.

Here’s your challenge! This week, set 1 to 5 goals for the coming quarter or season. (Seriously, one goal is absolutely okay, many even say it’s the best way to go.)

Start by brain dumping every idea that you have that falls under your areas of focus. Then, through prayer and consideration, narrow that list down to the most important, achievable 1 to 5 goals.

In case you’ve missed a set, here are the other posts from this Goal Setting Series:

Part 1: Why Set Goals? (Plus, Pick Your Word of the Year)

Part 2: How to Set Goals

Part 3: How to Create an Action Plan for Your Goals