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I have found that nine out of ten times, when I don’t reach a goal I have set myself, it is entirely due to my own tendency to set the bar too high. If something is supposed to take 6 hours to complete, I tell myself I’ll be able to do it in 3. This is a mistake. At the end of the 3 hours when I haven’t completed the task, I invariably will feel (either sub-consciously or consciously) as though I’ve failed.

A few tips I have found helpful for setting reasonable goals:

1. Set the first bar low: Setting your first mini-goal within your overall goal low helps you to realize that the overall goal is attainable. That first success gives you a self esteem boost. If my overall goal is something that can be broken down in to portions, I like to set my initial bar at 1/10th of my overall goal. In other words, if I am attempting to make $5000 per month with venture X, I set my initial goal as $500 per month.

Once attained, I realize that my overall goal is not out-of-this-world, and is in fact quite reachable. How hard can it be, I’m 1/10th of the way there already!

Translating this for non-monetary goals can be tricky. Try to just chop the task up in to 10 seperate blocks. If its a room that needs cleaning, divide the room in to 5 blocks by its length and get to work on one. If its a 5 page report that needs writing, write it 1/2 of a page at a time, etc.

2. Keep track: Keeping track of your progress is the best way to spur yourself on. Step back and take a look at how much you’ve completed from time to time. There is no faster way to get discouraged than to feel as though you’re shoveling shit against the tide, to put it bluntly. Don’t waste too much time checking on your progress, though, or you won’t get any work done. Once or twice a day/work-day should be sufficient.

3. Give yourself a break: Take a brief break between each incremental goal. Not a lot of time, no more than 15-20 minutes. The benefits of this are two-fold; you get a breather, and you will return to your project with a fresh eye.

This is the first of a series of entries on attaining goals. Check back for Part 2.