How to Break Long-Term Goals into Daily Tasks

2024 is officially upon us! Here's how I'm planning to have my best year yet: 1. Goal Setting Framework I use a simple framework for goal-setting for the new year: Big Goals: These are your big, year-long, audacious goals. Select 1-3 specific, measurable Big Goals within each primary category (Professional and Personal). Checkpoint Goals: You work backwards from your Big Goals to formulate a set of Checkpoint Goals (the mid-climb campsites along the way). Select 1 specific, measurable Checkpoint Goal for each Big Goal. Daily Systems: These are the daily actions that you need to take to create tangible, compounding forward progress. Select 1-3 specific Daily Systems for each Checkpoint Goal. Anti-Goals: Anti-Goals are the things we DON'T want to happen on our journey to achieve our Big Goals. To define your Anti-Goals, invert the problem: What are the worst outcomes that could occur from your pursuit of these Big Goals? What could lead to that worst outcome? Using your answers, select 1-3 Anti-Goals for each Big Goal. 2. System Building Mental Models Here are four simple models to 10x your execution: My 30-for-30 Approach: Do the thing you're trying to improve at for 30 minutes per day for 30 straight days. 900 total minutes of accumulated effort. This will yield surprisingly significant results. The Two-Day Rule: With whatever habit you're trying to build, never allow yourself to skip more than one day in a row. Skipping one day won't hurt your habit building, as long as you don't skip the next one. Habit Stacking: James Clear argued that we execute most effectively when systems are fixed to a time or action that makes them easy. I'll journal 30 minutes before bed or I’ll do 25 pushups when I get out of bed. Minimum Viable Progress: Never skip a day, but anything above zero counts. Have a goal in mind to do 30 minutes of the action every single day—but if you can’t hit that, just do any tiny amount above zero. Remember: Anything above zero compounds! 3. Strategy for Tracking & Adjusting To stay on course, conduct a three question monthly check-in on the last Friday of each month: What really matters right now in my life and are my Big Goals still aligned with this? This is a simple way to pressure test your Big Goals and ensure they are still the right ones. Are my current Daily Systems aligned with my Big Goals? Assess the quality of your Daily Systems and whether they are creating the appropriate momentum. If not, adjust accordingly. What do I need to cut from my life to progress more efficiently? Assess the quality of your environment and evaluate whether there are any toxic habits or relationships that are a drag on your growth. Make necessary changes. *** Download my free Annual Planning Guide to walk through this process today and prepare for 2024 to be the best year of your life: https://lnkd.in/eMKTiVVf Enjoy this? Share the post with your network and follow me Sahil Bloom for more in future.

If you win enough hours, you win the day. If you win enough days, you win the week. If you win enough weeks, you win the month. If you win enough months, you win the year. If you win enough years, you win the life you’ve always dreamed of. But how do you start winning those hours, days, and weeks, especially when it comes to your data job search? Here’s a simple, actionable plan to help you get there: 1) Start with Winning the Hour: - Set a 1-hour task: Dedicate the first hour of your day to something that moves the needle—like applying for jobs, practicing coding on LeetCode, or working on a portfolio project. - Micro-goals: Break down your goals into micro-goals that you can complete in an hour. For example, gathering a list of people to research and network with. 2) Win the Day: - Daily Priorities: Identify the 3 most important tasks for your job search. For example: Apply to 3-5 jobs. Send 10 networking messages. Add X feature into personal project. - Reflect and Adjust: Spend 5 minutes at the end of the day reflecting on what worked and what didn’t. Adjust your strategy for tomorrow. 3)Win the Week: - Weekly Goals: Set weekly goals that align with your job search strategy. For example: Secure 1 informational interview. Complete 1 portfolio project milestone. Engage in 3 LinkedIn discussions to build your network. - Track Progress: Use a simple spreadsheet or app to track your progress on these weekly goals. 4) Win the Month: -Monthly Review: At the end of the month, review your progress. Did you meet your goals? What challenges did you face? Use this time to tweak your approach for the next month. -Celebrate Wins: Acknowledge even the small wins, like a positive response from a networking message or completing a tough coding challenge. 5) Win the Year: -Set Annual Goals: What do you want to achieve by the end of the year? Is it landing a specific role, mastering a new tool, or building a personal brand on LinkedIn? - Break these down into quarterly and monthly goals. Consistency is Key: Remember, consistency in your efforts will compound over time, leading to greater success. As soon as I learned this lesson about winning the hour, I started hitting more of my long-term goals faster. Whether it was breaking into data, becoming a digital nomad, or replacing my data science income, it all started with making the most of the next hour. The Takeaway: Winning your dream life starts with winning the next hour. Consistently putting in the effort—whether it’s applying for jobs, networking, or learning new skills—will add up to big results over time. What’s your top tip for hitting your goals faster? Share it in the comments so we can all learn and grow together! ---------- ➕ Follow Jaret André for more actionable data job search tips. 🔔 Hit the bell icon to be notified of new strategies to land your next role.

I'm changing my mind on New Year's Resolutions and Goals! I'm following this process instead: Step 1 - Choose 1 Priority Goal! Write down the huge list of things you want to achieve, but review and cut, and review and cut. Step 2 - Pursue a 12-week Lofty Goal! A goal that is probably bigger than you think you can achieve right now, given the time frame of the goal, and is probably overarching so that it affects multiple areas of your life. The goal is to make a structure, a process, and new habits, that will stretch me, and require me to change and grow. Step 3 - Define the Verbs and Actions required, with High-level Measurability and Specificity What high-level ACTIONS and VERBS that I need to do? This is not the "completed steps"! That's why this is different! It's the "what do I need to be doing"? And they have to be measurable and specific. Step 4 - Put the Daily, Weekly, and Quarterly Actions and Verbs into your Calendar. What are you going to do in the 12 weeks? Break those down into verbs and actions that will be specific and measurable, every week. On what days, will you take these actions? For instance, a running goal for speed - How many hours per week will I run and on what days? What will those running activities be doing? Are they speed workouts? Will you do resistance training? Will you do long runs? How long? and on what days? Take out a calendar, break down the weeks, Then, break down each day to achieve the weekly goal. What about you? Are you setting up new goals for the Year and Quarter?