⏱️Being productive and healthy productivityplanninggoals

Goal setting is necessary, but that specific choice of words is an ill-chosen metaphor (metaphors are not innocent figures of speech. In real life we hardly ever know the exact starting and endpoints of our goals, and the path in-between is never straight. Thinking in goals is setting yourself up to fail (You get used to failing?), because it makes everything a zero-sum game.

Instead of goals, talk about projects. Projects that in turn have smaller steps in between. If we adjust those steps as needed we will have a much better chance of success. Being flexible over both the route and the endpoint will make reaching any goal in a healthy way much more likely. Projects are more positive then goals. Ticking of parts of a projects is energizing.

Difference between a goal and a project: a project is (must be) very specific, a clear starting and end-point. Goals are usually vague “I want to be rich”, “I want to become an early riser”. These both lack specificity.

Literature notes

🥫 The Paradox of Goals - Ness Labs

  • We all need to set goals, it is build into nature, yet both not reaching, reaching and trying to reach a goal gives stress
  • The metaphors used around goals are all problematic
  • To be able to reach a goal two things are needed:
    • the wish to achieve the goal
    • the possibility to reach the goal
  • Goals are often defined as simple A B, but in reality this is seldom the case
  • A possible solution is not one far away goal, but cutting the path in smaller steps, and using trial and error to move forwards towards the goal
  • This turns the process itself in part of the goal

Fleeting notes

We cannot live without goals, they are the purpose of life

The language around goals is not good, it sets us up to fail

  • linear goals are inherently fragile

  • Goals drive us forward, we set out to achieve our goals, we make progress toward a goal. Those are called orientational metaphors.

  • It draws a picture of a straight line between A and B

  • It makes it look a if the point of origin and the end goal are clearly defined

  • We usually lack information about reality

    Also reminds me of GTD, projects need to be cut into small clear steps, otherwise a project will fail

  • This is more a failure of language then of goals in and of itself.

    • It over-simplifies goal setting, it makes it sound that establishing a target, the goal, is enough. Instead the goal should be a soft(er)-target, while the steps in between warrant more careful consideration
    • Being flexible over both the route and the endpoint will reaching any goal in a healthy way much more likely