We all know how important goals are. It seems everyone has ideas on how to set goals, how to achieve goals, and how important goals are to your success. But sometimes setting goals just doesn’t seem to work. I find this happens most often in areas of improvement or optimization and especially when there isn’t a strict deadline. Goal setting can certainly be effective in some situations, but in others focusing on improving processes may be more effective.

I’ll use this blog as an example. I’d like to post more frequently, so I set a goal of publishing two posts a week. I failed to meet this goal for several reasons. First, there were no real consequences for missing the goal. Second, I didn’t create the structures I needed to support this goal and realistically I don’t know if I could have. Third, I didn’t devote the time necessary to work toward the goal. Part of the problem here was I didn’t know how much time I needed, so I often thought I didn’t have enough time. In the end the goals overwhelmed me and I continually procrastinated, resulting in virtually no progress.

I listened to a few podcast interviews with author James Clear a few months ago and decided to read his book Atomic Habits. This combined with some other ideas I’ve heard and my own experience led to a realization that I was focusing on the wrong thing. Why did I want to publish two posts a week? Was this really the goal? No. I thought back to why I started this blog in the first place – I want to work through ideas, share my insights, and develop my communication skills. So rather than focus on the outcome (two posts per week), I should focus on the process (invest time in creating content each day). With this in mind, I started the habit of posting just one sentence every day on a new Daily Sentence page. This is intended to be a first step in establishing a routine where I regularly work on my blog and consistently produce content.

Obviously there is a still a place for goals and there are many times deadlines need to be met. But I think focusing on putting in the time instead of worrying about completing a specific task may prove more effective in the long run. I’m also hoping this approach will reduce procrastination; I find it easier to commit to working on content for a set amount of time than to commit to completing one blog post in an unknown amount of time. As I explore this concept, I’ll look for other opportunities to implement the approach in my work and personal life. Check back to see how it works out and check out Atomic Habits if you’re interested in learning more about the topic.