Goal setting

I used to get very upset when people talked to me about the important - some would say paramount - task of setting goals. You have to set goals, they said. It's vital. The most important thing you can do, or else how do you know where you're headed?

Okay, I'd reply in my head, I have a goal to own and run a software company. Now what? There was no guidance on that. That's what frustrated me. I could have goals, but no idea how to get there, even in very tiny steps. What is the task I should have done, that day, as a high school student, to progress towards my goal? The only thing anyone seemed able to offer me was "set goals". It seemed as if their entire strategy was to impress upon me the importance of goal setting, and then let the rest sort itself out in my undeveloped teenage brain somehow.

My point is that goals are only half the story. You need a plan to get there and, in that sense, the plan is even more important. Yes, you need to start by figuring out where you want to be, what you want to do, but how you're going to get there is essential.

Mokalus of Borg

PS - These days, my life goals are only reviewed once or twice a year.
PPS - According to GTD, they're supposed to help filter my day-to-day actions for relevance.