Goal-Setting Process for Writing & More – Step 4: Scheduling

Bet you never thought we’d get here, did you? I can understand why you might have had doubts. After all, it’s almost been 4 months ago since I posted step 1 of the Goal-Setting Process. And now, we’re finally here at the remaining step, or what I’ll refer to as “Step 4: Scheduling”. Well, I can’t possibly go straight into this last step of the Goal-Setting Process without reviewing steps 1 through 3 first. So, here we go.

Step 1: Brainstorming

In step 1, the objective was to make a comprehensive list of goals that you would like to accomplish. The list should be compiled without filtering out any ideas. Then, you were to take that list and break it down into the following categories:

• goals you’d like to start on immediately,
• goals you’d like to start and complete in the next 3 months,
• goals you’d like to start and complete within 3 – 6 months, and
• goals that are 6 months or more away from probable implementation.

For the goals that would appear in the “6 months or more away” category, I suggested that you go ahead and keep them somewhere accessible, where you could refer to them at a later date. But, first things first. The more pressing goals should be dealt with initially; and then as those goals are completed, it would be possible to move on to others in the more distant timeline.

Step 2: List-making

In step 2, the idea was to get to the goals that need to be your focus at the onset of the Goal-Setting Process. In order to get to those particular goals, it would be necessary for you to whittle down the comprehensive list (that was split into the 4 categories) and rank each individual goal (by level of importance) within each of their respective categories. “1” will identify the most important goal in the category and all remaining goals will be sequentially numbered according to their decreasing level of importance. Then, the top 3 goals (numbers 1, 2, and 3) will be noted as focal points for the next 6 months.

NOTE: For goals ranked #4 and on, they will move up to replace the higher ranked goals as they’re completed. If these higher ranked goals don’t get completed in their time frames (immediately, in the next 3 months, and within 3 – 6 months), then they can be moved over to the next category in line or be used to create a new “next 6 months” goal-setting plan.

Furthermore, as a real-life example of the goal-setting activity above, I broke down my personal comprehensive list of goals into my top 3 goals in the following categories (goals I’d like to start on immediately, goals I’d like to start and complete in the next 3 months, and goals I’d like to start and complete within 3 – 6 months). And, here’s what I determined.

• Immediate goals: drink enough water, get enough sleep, and exercise regularly.
• Next 3 months goals: write and self-publish book #2 with accompanying workbook, create and self-publish an audio book for Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult, and start volunteering in my community.
• Next 3 – 6 months goals: conduct public speaking engagements, create audio book for second book, and learn to format e-book and paperback versions.

Step 3: SMART Goals

In step 3, I took the opportunity to explain that basic goals, such as the ones that I listed for myself in step 2 (above) should be given a little more depth by enhancing them a bit. Later on, you’ll see how creating each goal to be a SMART goal actually assists you in completing step 4 of the process, which has everything to do with scheduling your goals.

Each goal should have a SMART component that requires the goal to be:

1. S (Specific) – the goal has a clearly defined expectation that is communicated.
2. M (Measurable) – the goal can be observed or compared and therefore assigned a number, value, amount, or estimation.
3. A (Achievable) – the goal is challenging yet attainable, where the necessary resources are accessible.
4. R (Realistic) – the goal has a relatable purpose and meaning to the desired outcome.
5. T (Timely) – the goal has a certain timeframe for completion or a deadline attached to it.

At the time of the original two posts for step 3, I decided to give you more examples of how I would continue to work through the Goal-Setting Process. So, I took my “immediate” goals and made them SMART. Here’s what the transformation resulted in:

1. Basic goal – drink enough water
2. Basic goal – get enough sleep
3. Basic goal – exercise regularly

1. SMART goal – I will drink more water for healthy body maintenance by increasing my intake to at least 32 ounces (4 cups) daily.
2. SMART goal – I will increase the amount of sleep I’m getting each night for optimal mental and bodily functioning by adhering to an 11:30p bedtime schedule during the weekdays (Monday thru Friday). I will wake up around 4:15a in the mornings to see my husband off to work and then lay back down for another 2 hours to get in a total of approximately 7 hours of sleep before having to get my son up and ready for school. (I previously scheduled my book writing time between 5 – 7a but have recently moved book writing to between 9 – 11a to get enough sleep in my day.) I’ve recently changed the bedtime to 10:30p with no morning back-to-sleep time.
3. SMART goal – I will exercise to strengthen my heart by walking in the mornings (around my neighborhood when the weather allows or at the mall when the weather is uncooperative) for 3 – 5 days out of the week (Monday thru Friday) for 45 minutes to 1 hour a day. During the Fall/Winter seasons, I’ll resume the “Fitness Blender” home workout routines in place of the walking.

Step 4: Scheduling (new)

And, here’s how we’re going to close out the Goal-Setting Process. We’re going to take one of the “Keys to Productivity” (Key#4) that I mention in my book, Playground Instruction for the Growing Adult and we’re going to tweak it somewhat and then apply it to the scheduling of our goals.

It’s one thing to identify your goals, another thing to figure out the order in which you’ll pursue them, and then a whole other thing to schedule them out so that you can actually move on to the road leading to their achievement.

Goal-setting is a completely lopsided process if you have no intention of accomplishing those goals that you’ve set. And if you’re anything like me, it’s quite necessary to form some plan of attack (need I say — structured framework) in order to get these goals to be more than just imagined. We need to aim for goal actualization here.

So, for all you folks that mean business about GETTING THINGS DONE, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to implement Key #4’s call to action, which states that we break down our goals into smaller tasks to complete. NOTE: I’m using “goals” and “tasks” interchangeably here. And then, were going to address the part that Key #4 doesn’t: the scheduling of those goals.

1. Identify the goals you’re attempting to accomplish. (We completed this assignment in steps 1 and 2 of the process.)
2. Break down more complex goals into smaller, more manageable tasks (if needed). All of the individual tasks (that make up the overall goal) will become a part of your task lists.
3. If your goal is not as complex and doesn’t require you to break it down into multi-step tasks, then you can bypass item #2 above.
4. Create a realistic deadline (priority-based) for the completion of each small task as well as the overall task. (We completed this assignment in steps 1 and 2 of the process, where we categorized the goals and then ranked them.)
5. Create a custom-made scheduling system or utilize a ready-made one that will assist you in scheduling out all your goals and any associated task lists that come with them. (Consider all of the tips that I lay out for you in Hourly & Block Scheduling Tips for a Productive Day.) I suggest creating daily schedules that will ultimately lead up to a fairly routine weekly schedule that you can tweak as your goals/tasks require updating. Believe it or not, setting SMART goals assists you in determining what day, time frame, and frequency each goal/task should be assigned in the schedule.
6. Actually implement your scheduling system in your life. It won’t do any good for you to have it and then not use it. The implementation phase is where The 3 C’s of the Goal-Setting Process (Commitment, Consistency, and Confidence) become increasingly important.

I’ll end step 4’s discussion by stating that there’s a whole separate Goal-Achievement Process. And while I would love to devote a blog post toward addressing it in the very near future, I think I’ll wait until I’ve become proficient with the Goal-Setting Process first. Rest assured that I’ll be updating you on whether or not I’ve managed to follow my own process and be successful at it. Honestly, I have a feeling that 2020 will bring out some results that indicate whether the process is working for Degrees of Maternity or not. The proof is in the pudding.

Replay Posts

For those of you who’d like to go through all of the previous posts, regarding the Goal-Setting Process, I’m happy to provide them (below) for your goal-setting pleasure.

Goal-Setting Process for Writing & More – Step 1: Brainstorming

Goal-Setting Process – The 3 C’s

Goal-Setting Process for Writing & More – Step 2: List-making

Goal-Setting Process for Writing & More – Step 3: SMART Goals

Goal-Setting Process for Writing & More – Step 3: SMART Goals (Cont.)