How to set yearly goals to find out what you actually want out of life
Start with dreams, not goals. Write down what the best possible year would look like, without judging it. Then pick the few lines that excite you most, and make those your goals.
Most people get stuck because they try to choose before they know their options. A dream list gives you the options. Choosing from it shows you what you actually want.
Step by step
On iPhone, Android or the web
- Open Your Year in Daily Captain. You can start it on any day of the year.
- Under Dream Year, write the best possible year, one line at a time. Stuck? Take the prompts: ten questions, like what an ordinary Tuesday looks like, or what you stop doing.
- Read the list back and highlight the lines that excite you most. A highlighted line becomes a yearly goal.
- Sort your goals into four areas: Work, Health, Personal and Travel. Rename an area if yours is different.
- Keep it to about three per area. If you hesitate, it goes back on the dream list.
- Link your day goals to your yearly goals, and look at the year again every few months. Dreams are allowed to change.
Why it works
A goal is a choice, and you cannot choose well from an empty page. The dream list fills the page first.
About three per area keeps it honest. Twenty goals is a wish list. Three is something you can carry through a year.
A year only works if the days point at it. In Daily Captain a day goal can be part of a yearly goal, and now and then your day sheet shows one line from your dream year instead of a quote.
Questions
How many yearly goals should I set?
About three per area of life. Daily Captain counts them per area and nudges you when you go over, but it does not stop you.
What if I do not know what I want?
Answer the ten prompts and write fast, without judging. You find out what you want by seeing it written down and then choosing.
Do I have to start in January?
No. Start on any day, and come back to it every few months.
What happens when a dream comes true?
Mark it as happened on your dream list.
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