Making Goals Efficient

I have goals.

I have a lot of goals (20 to be exact).

With only 259 days left until I turn 20, I need to accomplish one goal every 13 days if I want to successfully accomplish everything on my list. 

What exactly is the best way to do this? By

lining them up and knocking them out one by one. By focusing on 1 goal at a time.

But how will I know once I've accomplished a goal? Each goal needs to have a very defined end-point, so I will know exactly what successfully accomplishing a goal looks like. 

Good goals are also measurable and actionable every day.

For Example

Goals like "Get Big" have no definite endpoint. Even if I added just 2 pounds of muscle, I would technically have gotten bigger. How big do I really want to get? And what actions can I take every day that will get me closer to this goal?

For one, the body is actually very measurable. Muscle size can be measured with a tape measure, muscle mass is measured by simply standing on a scale, and even body fat can be measured (somewhat accurately) with body calipers.

I have decided that gaining 20 (see what I did there?) pounds of muscle is my endgoal.

What daily actions, what habits will get me closer to gaining 20 pounds? Getting to the gym and eating like horse. 

Every day, for five consecutive days per week, I will get myself into the gym to throw some iron around. I will not worry about breaking personal records or keeping track of 1 rep maxes. I need simply to focus on getting in the gym and exerting effort. The goal here is a solid month of 5 days per week in the gym.

Every meal I eat, I will eat until I am full, and then eat some more. I will drink only milk at meal time. I will eat at least 3 solid meals a day, take 10 1000mg fish-oil pills, and drink 1 pre- or post-workout protein shake every day. 

Every Sunday I will measure my bodyweight, muscle size, and (eventually) bodyfat, and I will take a picture of myself to put into my workout log.

I am currrently going through this process with each of my goals, and determining the best course of action to take. Expect changes in the progress page.

What about 1 goal at a time?

While I am focusing on 1 (maybe 2) goal(s) at a time, there are many habits that I could still be nurturing that will help me reach a goal. 

For example, I love eggs. I eat 4 everyday with my breakfast, as well as usually putting one or two in my protein shakes. Every time I crack an egg, I use only one hand, as one of my goals is to learn to crack eggs one-handed. 

Is 1 goal every 13 days feasible?

No.

Even on steroids, I don't think anyone could gain 20 pounds in 13 days.

Trying to accomplish this seems like a quick way to burn yourself out.

However, some goals are much easier to acheive than others. Again, with the one-handed egg cracking goal, I could likey knock this out in a day if I watched some youtube videos with a carton of eggs to practice with.

Simalarly, the ideas I want to add to my commonplace are finite. I could likely knock out this goal by focusing on it during a weekend. 

Other goals can blend into eachother with regard to their daily habits. 

Once I update my commonplace, I will make a habit of spending 15-30 minutes on it, addding the day's thoughts/ideas and pruning/reorganizing as I see fit. The habit of writing daily (for my "getting paid to write" goal) gets fed directly for every minute I spend writing in my commonplace.

Many of my goals are also money-centric. This means I can focus on generating income from my job/businesses, and once I have income, I can pay off/purchase whatever to accomplish said goals.

As long as goals are being accomplished at a steady pace, there is no need to fret about accomplishing X goals every Y days. That's a good way to stress yourself and burnout. 

That being said, 20 goals in 9 months is quite ambitious for me... I am more than slightly intimidated.

But I know the key lies in focus, determination, and above all, consistency in action. Doing a little everyday is what causes change and builds momentum.