The One Question You Should Ask Yourself When Setting Goals

Ev Chapman
November 6, 2022
•
2 min read

I'm not usually a goal setter, but yesterday I found myself jotting down some goals on my daily walk.

Goals are a weird thing. Some are big, some are small. Some are intentional others are off-handed. But every goal has focus, energy, time & attention attached to it. So if you're going to set a goal, you need to make sure it's worthy of those things.

This is why when I do set goals, I ask myself ONE question.... WHY?

Why uncovers my intentions quick smart. For instance, yesterday when I was setting some goals for November I thought... I should put get to 20k Twitter Followers on the list. But then I asked myself WHY?

And I couldn't think of one good reason.

I could think of lots of ego reasons. I should be at 20k by now, other people are at 20k, everyone else is growing faster, and all the other BS comparison reasons.

But not a good reason to pour time, energy, focus & attention into Twitter (more than I am currently - which is a heck of a lot anyway).

None of us has unlimited time, energy, focus & attention. And if you're anything like me you tend to underestimate how much of it will be taken up by things that are not worthy of it.

So the WHY question has been invaluable for me as a filter to make sure I'm working on the right things that are leading to the outcomes I'm seeking - not ego-based outcomes that mean nothing.

So next time you're setting goals for yourself using WHY? as a way to filter out things that don't actually matter and spend your time, energy, focus & attention on only things that do.

Liked thIS? Then You Might Like My SPARK Newsletter...

The ✨ Spark Newsletter:
‍Join 1,500+ knowledge workers building smarter personal knowledge systems.

Every Sunday I drop into your inbox with a simple creative workflow to help you think clearer & create smarter.

Or Keep Browsing More Posts Like This...

The 'First Moves' Framework That Will Kill Your Procrastination Forever

The science-backed method that helps solopreneurs start (and finish) their hardest tasks
Read post

The Simple Task Method I Used To Eliminate Procrastination For Good.

They say it takes about 20 minutes to refocus every time you switch tasks.I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 20 minutes to waste every time I switch between the tasks on my list. My time is limited. So I created a way to skip that 20 minute hazy moment where you’re faffing around…
Read post

How to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Team’s Progress

The life-changing method I created to manage work that was waiting on me, get back to people faster, and create more space to do my best work.
Read post

Master Your Schedule with My 10-Minute Weekly Planning Process (using Tana)

My foolproof weekly planning routine that takes me about 10 minutes every week and keeps me organised across my work, my creator business & my whole life.
Read post

How To Make Steady Progress On Your Big Creative Projects

Lately I’ve been struggling with my process for getting big creative projects done. They feel like they are taking forever to finish. Each step feels big so I put it off thinking I need a bigger chunk of time to deal with it.
Read post

An Essay About Boring SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

I am a master procrastinator. Not because I don't know what I should do or because I'm not motivated - but because most of the time I just don't have the headspace to get stuff done.
Read post