I’m a goal setting freak. I create grocery lists, to do lists, and short term goal lists. I’m so anal about it that my friends tease me constantly. If I did not handle my life that way, I would never get anything accomplished.

I had a business partner once tell me that he would rather have fifty percent of something rather than one-hundred percent of nothing. That’s the way I feel about goal setting. If I only accomplish fifty percent of my goals, I would have accomplished more than if I had not set any goals at all.

There are tons of how to advise, software programs, and even online training courses on goal setting. Now there’s nothing wrong with these programs, in fact I have purchased a few myself. But, for a short-term goal, a year or less, I would recommend the following.

As a fiction writer I’m always faced with what appears to be an insurmountable task or goal of writing a novel. In order to overcome the fear of writing a fifty to one-hundred thousand word manuscript, I have to break it down into manageable bites. So, if I write five-hundred (500) words per day, I can finish a (100,000 word) first draft manuscript in two-hundred (200) days or in approximately seven months. Now that’s not as scary.

Use my writing task as an example for setting your goals and you can accomplish them the same way.

Let’s say the goal you want to achieve is a yearly goal. You want to purchase a new car, so you have to save for a down payment. The car cost $40,000.00 and you want to pay 10% as the down payment. That would be $4000.00. Break the goal down into manageable daily, weekly, or monthly bites. Using a calculator, you find that you have to save $333.33 per month or $77.00 per week.

Now you might say to yourself, “Where am I going to get $77.00 a week?” That’s when you have to dig a little deeper, looking at areas where you can cut back, but that’s another list. The point is, you have simplified the process of goal setting.

Maybe, after looking for ways to save for that down payment, you discovered you will have to downsize your dream for that luxury car and go for a mid-size auto instead. By setting that goal, at least you discovered some truths.

So, reset your goal and go forward. Goal setting can be fun and rewarding at the same time.