Short Term Goals: Conflicting vs. Reinforcing
More than once when I've hit a brick wall on my goals, I've realized that I'd set myself up for failure. My goals were in complete conflict, and were unrealistic.
When setting short term (priority) goals, you must keep in mind that there is only one of you, and only so many hours in the day. If one goal is to compose a concerto, and the other is to create a christmas album, and they both need to be completed in the same amount of time-- you might run into trouble. Chances are you have only so many hours in the day that allow you to focus on your music - and you're forcing yourself to split that time between two goals! Making progress on your concerto means you've neglected working on your Christmas album.
These are CONFLICTING GOALS - you're setting yourself up for failure, and that is poor mind management. Even though you composed a rocking concerto, you will feel as if you fell short because Christmas will roll around again with no album complete. Watch out for these traps. Be honest with yourself... is accomplishing both these goals in the same timeframe really realistic? If you want to accomplish two goals that occupy the same headspace, make sure they are RANKED. Is the concerto more important to you? Or is it okay to wait a litte longer on the concerto if you have finished a great Christmas Album in time for the Holidays? Which item will take your farther on the path to your ultimate goal?
Another thing that you should look for in your list of goals are reinforcing goals. For example: learning to cook and losing weight are two REINFORCING GOALS. By learning to cook, you will be able to take better control of what you're eating, and will be able to make healthier meals for yourself. "Learning to cook" might be lower on your list of priorities, but recognizing that it fits really well with one of your higher-priority goals (losing weight), you should bring it into the short term. By choosing goals that reinforce each other, you will be able to accomplish more in less time. Making progress on one goal will support the others, instead of detracting from them!
(Another goal that reinforces both learning to cook and losing weight is saving money. If you're trying to save money, you'll think twice about that $6 mocha frap, and start bringing $0.50-a-cup skim-milk coffee from home instead!)
Get creative! Is there a way to make the goals reinforce each other if they naturally don't? For example, if one goal is to become a better writer, and the other is to make new friends - why not join a writing group? Remember to set yourself up for SUCCESS by flagging and ranking conflicting goals, and "teaming up" reinforcing goals.
Now I'd like to ask YOU - what other REINFORCING goals have you found?