Goal Setting: Importance of Breaking Goals into Tasks

Goals themselves cannot be completed. There are smaller steps that must be done for us to achieve our goal. For instance, take the goal statement "Buy a 2006 H2 Hummer by January 1st". Unless you have the money in the bank already you cannot complete this goal. We have to break it into smaller pieces or tasks.

There is an easy way to know the difference. A goal is something you want to achieve, buy, obtain, etc. But, you cannot do a goal. A task is something you can do right now. For example, unless you are standing in a Hummer dealership and have the money needed in the bank. You cannot buy an H2 right now.

Figuring out the tasks for a goal is not hard. Write the goal at the top of a sheet of paper. Then answer this question "What do I have to do to achieve this goal?" Don't censor yourself. Do this as a brainstorming session. Brainstorming for our purchase of the Hummer H2 might look something like this.

(Talking to yourself)

"What do I have to do to achieve this goal?"

"Save the money to buy the car"

"What do I have to do to achieve this?"

"Know how much one costs"

"What do I have to do to achieve this?"

"Contact a dealership or look on the internet"

"What do I have to do to achieve this?"

"Look up the number or website to a dealership"

Ok, so know you know what one costs. What else do we have to do before we can save the money?

"Know how much money needs to be saved per month"

"What do you have to know to figure the monthly savings amount?"

"How many months are left before the purchase date."

Ok, now that we know cost and number of months before deadline we can figure out our monthly savings amount.

"What do you have to look at next?"

"Can you afford to save this amount of money per month?"

If the answer is no, then you have a new goal. Raise your income by the needed amount of money each month. If the answer is yes, then we can continue.

You now know you can afford the amount needed per month. What do you have to do next?

"Save the amount needed each month"

You now have saved the amount each month. You have enough to purchase the vehicle. What do you need to do next?

"Go to the dealership"

Your at the dealership. What do you have to do now?

"Purchase the vehicle"

Congratulations, you have now bought the vehicle and achieved your goal. Each step that you have identified in this brainstorming session is a task. Each of these tasks must be completed before you can achieve your goal.

Let us see what this goal would look like broken down into tasks.

Goal: "Buy a 2006 H2 Hummer by January 1, 2007"

Tasks:
Look up Hummer dealership in phone book or internet.
Look up cost of H2 Hummer or call car dealership to get price.
Post a picture of H2 in a prominent place
Figure out how many months left until purchase date
Figure out how much money needs to be saved per month
Can I save that much money per month? If not, how can I raise my income by that amount.
Save the money each month
Once all money has been saved. Go to dealership.
Purchase H2

Goals are important to making your dreams a reality. Often, people who make goals lose steam because you cannot perform a goal. Breaking a goal down into action tasks allows you to actually begin moving towards your goal. As you complete each task, you will feel excited. This excitement creates momentum to complete the next task. Before long, you have completed all the tasks and achieved your goal.