{"id":7295,"date":"2011-08-29T13:58:40","date_gmt":"2011-08-29T21:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=7295"},"modified":"2013-09-12T10:03:35","modified_gmt":"2013-09-12T18:03:35","slug":"how-to-break-a-big-goal-into-little-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-break-a-big-goal-into-little-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Break a Big Goal into Little Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/08\/Screen-shot-2011-08-29-at-5.15.18-PM.png\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Maybe you\u2019ve got a big goal in your life \u2013 something that excites you but also scares you.<\/p>\n<p>You might have been thinking about this goal for months, years, even decades. And, even if you\u2019ve made a start on it, you might not have got very far.<\/p>\n<p>Your goal might look something like this:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Run a marathon<\/li>\n<li>Write a novel<\/li>\n<li>Pay off the mortgage<\/li>\n<li>Get a PhD<\/li>\n<li>Become self-employed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All of these are big goals \u2013 most of them would take years to achieve. And if you really want to reach them, you need to break them down into manageable chunks.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>#1: Define Your Goal<\/h2>\n<p>First, you\u2019ll want to come up with a <em>clear<\/em> description of your end goal. Too many big goals are so vague that it\u2019s hard to start and impossible to finish.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, if your goal is \u201cwrite a novel\u201d, what would <em>finished<\/em> look like?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A first draft?<\/li>\n<li>A novel that you\u2019re happy with?<\/li>\n<li>A published novel?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you want to run a marathon, what exactly does that mean?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Would <em>walking<\/em> the whole marathon be okay?<\/li>\n<li>Or do you want to finish under a certain time?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Get clear about your goal. Decide what you\u2019re aiming for, and write it down. Once you\u2019ve done that, you can start on the next step.<\/p>\n<h2>#2: Break Your Goal into Major Milestones<\/h2>\n<p>Most goals can be divided into clear milestones. For instance, let\u2019s say you\u2019re planning to become self-employed. Your milestones might be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Get everything ready to start the business (plan, funding, tools)<\/li>\n<li>Make $500\/month from the business<\/li>\n<li>Make $1000\/month from the business<\/li>\n<li>Make enough to quit your day job and go full-time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&#8230;and so on.<\/p>\n<p>These are still quite big steps, but they\u2019re easier to grasp. You can start to imagine what\u2019s necessary in order to achieve each milestone \u2013 and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be covering in the next step.<\/p>\n<h2>#3: Come Up With a Task List<\/h2>\n<p>You don\u2019t need to map out your <em>entire<\/em> goal \u2013 just your first milestone.<\/p>\n<p>Come up with a clear task list: what exactly do you need to do? Try to phrase these as action items like \u201cwrite proposal\u201d or \u201cask John about tools\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Goal:<\/strong> Run a marathon<\/p>\n<p><strong>First milestone: <\/strong> Jog for thirty minutes<\/p>\n<p><strong>Task list: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Buy kit \u2013 trainers and loose-fitting clothes<\/li>\n<li>Get an exercise plan \u2013 ask for Sue\u2019s help putting this together<\/li>\n<li>Jog three times a week and gradually build up to thirty minutes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your task list doesn\u2019t need to be long or complicated, but it should be clear. If any items are vague, then break them down further.<\/p>\n<p>By now, your big goal has been divided into little steps. You know what you need to do during the next week or two \u2013 and you can see the milestones mapped out for the next few months or years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRun a marathon\u201d is daunting. \u201cBuy trainers\u201d isn\u2019t. But all those little steps really do add up \u2013 and in a year\u2019s time, you could have achieved something amazing.<\/p>\n<p><em>How could your big goals break down? If you want to share your thoughts, the comments are open&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Don&#8217;t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/pickthebrain\">Twitter<\/a>!<\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Related Articles:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"..\/time-is-all-we-have-3-ways-to-increase-return-on-investment\/\">Time is All We Have: 3 Ways To Increase The\u00a0 Return On Investment<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"..\/how-to-find-time-for-new-habits\/\">How To Find Time For New Habits<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maybe you\u2019ve got a big goal in your life \u2013 something that excites you but also scares you.<\/p>\n<p>You might have been thinking about this goal for months, years, even decades. And, even if you\u2019ve made a start on it, you might not have got very far.<\/p>\n<p>Your goal might look something like this: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-break-a-big-goal-into-little-steps\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":7299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[17,6],"tags":[63,91,318,66,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Break a Big Goal into Little Steps - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Maybe you\u2019ve got a big goal in your life \u2013 something that excites you but also scares you.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/how-to-break-a-big-goal-into-little-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Break a Big Goal into Little Steps - 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