I’ve done a lot of work on goal setting lately. And I’ve discovered there are a few different types of goals. And the types of goals can be broken down to make sure your goals are a success.
So, there are a few different ways to classify goals. And I like to break them into two main categories, then break those down further based on a timeframe. The first types of goals are bucket list goals and habit goals. The second type is long term goals and short term goals.
Bucket List vs. Habit Goals
Bucket list goals are the ones that you want to check off to be able to say yep, I’ve done that. Not always travel-related, but things you want to achieve nonetheless.
And habit style goals are the habits that you are trying to develop. But you might be struggling to make any progress with.
Bucket List Goals
Most people associate a bucket list with travel destinations. But that’s not always the case.
Bucket list goals are once-off style goals that vanish from your list once it has been accomplished. Think more along the lines of completing something challenging or improving a skill to a certain point.
Some non-travel bucket list goals you might have are:
- complete your degree
- get a promotion
- pay off your student loans
- perfect a recipe or find a signature recipe
- learn some basic sign language
- run a marathon
- read a classic (Jane Austin, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter)
- take a new class
- pay for the person behind you at the coffee shop or drive-thru
- get a pixie cut
- register to be an organ donor (Australia, USA, UK)
- fly first class
All of the above goals can be broken down further, depending on the duration you set yourself to complete them. But you’ll find out more about that later.
Habit Goals
I think many people start off by calling something a goal when it’s actually a habit they are trying to build. One of my goals for August was to drink 1L of water a day. This isn’t really a goal; its a habit I was trying to build. But I had to write it down as a goal, and track it in the same way as a goal so that I could see my progress. Almost a year later and I don’t have to track it anymore, it’s become a habit.
With habits, we don’t make decisions, we don’t use self-control, we just do the thing we want ourselves to do—or that we don’t want to do.
― Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives
Some habit goals you might have are:
- walk 2km every day
- drink 2L of water every day
- go to the gym three times a week
- quit smoking
- getting out of bed the first time your alarm goes off
- bringing your lunch to work every day
- taking a multi-vitamin
- journalling or mediating
- clearing off the kitchen bench at the end of the night
Long Term vs. Short Term Goals
Long term and short term goals can mean different things to different people. Some may think one year is a long term goal, while others may consider it to be a short term goal. But breaking your goals down even further by a time period can give you some clarity.
Long Term Goals
Long term goals can be challenging for some people. I know I have trouble ‘seeing’ into the future further than one year. So making a five year or even 10-year goal is quite daunting for me. But by the same token, I do think it’s essential to think about where you’d like to be in five or ten years’ time. So you can make decisions today that will help guide you towards a future where you are closer to those goals.
Take flying first class, for example. That is probably not something you aren’t going to be able to achieve in the next 12 months. It will take a lot of saving and some planning. It might even involve the strategic use of a frequent flyer program.
Career goals are also often long term. From climbing the career ladder to becoming the go-to person on a subject, or even switching careers.
Family goals often take a while too. If you’re hoping to have two kids, that’s (almost always) 18 months, minimum. Add at least one more year if you need IVF.
And sometimes, you need to set some smaller short-term goals that serve as a stepping stone towards one of your long term goals.
Short Term Goals
For me, a short term goal is anything that is aimed to be achieved in a year or less. But even then, a year can seem like a long time. So you break those goals down even further, right down to what you can do each day to make progress.
Yearly goals
The best example of a yearly goal is a word of the year or even 19 in 2019.
Other yearly goals could be:
- complete a course
- cleaning out your entire house
Running a marathon normally takes more than 12 months of preparation, but you can train for a marathon in one year.
Quarterly goals
Quarterly goals are a great way to condense a more significant goal into less time. Brian Moran, the author of the 12 Week Year, says we overestimate what we can get done in a year and underestimate what we can get done daily, weekly, monthly and even quarterly. And his book is all about, you guessed it, 12-week goals.
Things you can get done in 12 weeks:
- a fitness challenge
- renovate a bathroom
- set up a blog or complete a blog blitz
- Couch to 5k
Monthly goals
Monthly goals can pack quite a punch when it comes to moving forward or changing your habits. They can provide a quick win in a relatively short period of time. And I know I need a quick win every now and then to keep me motivated.
Some monthly goals you might set for yourself are:
- read one book per month
- complete a 30-day challenge
- give up alcohol, coffee or soft drink
And who knows? One of these monthly goals might form a new habit or change the way you live your life.
Weekly goals
Working on your goals each week is a great way to keep them front and centre of your mind. And breaking down some of those broader goals, like quarterly and monthly, can help you see real progress.
Some weekly goals you might consider:
- exercise a certain number of times a week
- break down a monthly or quarterly goal into smaller actionable steps
Daily goals
Sometimes daily goals can get forgotten, but they are still essential to help move you towards your goals. Daily goals are great for forming new habits, especially things for things you want to do every day.
Some daily goals you might have are:
- walk 2km every day
- drink 2L of water every day
- journalling or mediating
- clearing off the kitchen bench at the end of the night
Whether you’ve got habit-forming goals or bucket list goals, there are plenty of goal-setting tools available to help you achieve them, whether they are long or short-term.
