You’ve probably heard the old adage, “What gets scheduled gets done.” I think this is largely true, but have also found a more helpful axiom when it comes to completing my goals – “What gets measured, gets done.“

I’ve done a lot of reading this year on goal setting. I am always interested in improving my ability to be productive but this year I am particularly focused. 2018 is going to set up to be a big year for the Sjobloms. Jennifer and I will both be turning 40 years old. My company, Data Design, will be entering its 5th year, I am running for a seat on the Bartow City Commission and several other milestones.

All of these things are very important to me. So, I have set several goals this year to help me accomplish the things I have identified as being most important.

My Process for Setting Goals

Using a synthesized approach taken from several experts, I created the following four major areas of my life that I wanted to achieve improvements:

    • My Spiritual Life
    • My Family Life
    • My Self
  • My Community

Within each of these categories, I set at least one goal that I hoped to meet. So when you include those it looks like this:

My Spiritual Life

  • Spiritual Disciplines

My Family Life

    • Martial
    • Parental 1
    • Parental 2
    • Financial 1
  • Financial 2

My Self

    • Physical
    • Intellectual
  • Vocational

My Community

    • Social
  • Civil

My goal is to identify a target for each of those subsections, that if I achieve it will result in a substantial improvement. Once those targets are identified, I take a page out of Michael Hyatt’s playbook and connect each goal to a “Why”.

Connecting each goal to a “why” re-enforces the reason why you want to achieve it. One of my goals is to lose 20 lbs by my 40th birthday in July. My “Why” statement for that goal is: “Why: Because I am not getting any younger and I want to be at a healthy weight to avoid preventable health problems so I can enjoy my family as long as I can.“

Measuring Progress

This is where things get really nerdy. Now that I have my goals and I have my “whys”, I slot all the necessary habits and actions into my task management system (OmniFocus). This is the same process I have used to accomplish goals for about three years now.

But, it dawned on me this year. I own a data analytics company. I routinely sell clients on the importance of monitoring and measuring your data to see if you are being effective. I could apply the same process to my goals.

So, I built an online data dashboard to monitor my progress. You can check it out here. Note: I have hidden some of the tabs that contain more personal goals.

Data Design

I have found that keeping a close eye on the progress I am making on my goals helps keep me motivated. I have also learned I need to be more intentional about closing my exercise ring.

We are two months in and so far I am pleased. Using a data dashboard has been a powerful way to visually represent my movement towards several important milestones in my life.