Tip # 6 – If you can’t reach a goal, look for an intermediate goal
This tip actually got me through a lot. I have always loved to commit to doing a bunch of stuff. Conference papers, journal articles, books, reading students’ papers, etc. Whenever I felt that I couldn’t finish a full paper in a weekend, I always felt frustrated. But I found a way to feel as though I had reached a milestone: I broke the task in smaller pieces.
Many self-help books and websites recommend this, but what they don’t often recognize is that each task that you engage in should be seen as an intermediate goal (and it should be rewarded as such). So, for example – if I know I can’t finish a journal article, I always make sure that at least I have the bibliography prepared. Each day I do something that puts me forward in each task. That way, if I can’t reach my ultimate goal, at least I am reaching intermediate goals on a daily basis.
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That’s a good tip. I am a total planner and always adjusting and modifying the end goal by having little “steps” along the way. Nothing boggles me more than someone who says they have no goals and are winging it. Winging what? You don’t “wing it” through life.
I’ve found that I have TOO many goals and end up not accomplishing anything.
Recently, I’ve streamlined and prioritzed all my goals – I now have one or two urgent goals that have priority over everything.