May 24, 2022.

Have you ever heard someone saying that you should write down your goals? What experience have you had with writing down your goals? When you think back to the goals you wrote down and the ones you didn’t, which ones did you achieve? A study conducted by Harvard found that people who wrote down their goals were three times more successful at achieving them than those that did not.

Benefits of writing goals

When we write down our goals, we increase our chance of remembering them. We also tell our brain that this is something to focus on closely. Our brains work to create ways to actualize the goals whether we are conscious of it or not. Another benefit of writing down goals is that we get clear on what we really want. Seeing it on paper allows us to see if there is need for adjustments.

Writing down goals effectively

Look at the big picture of what you want. Write down what you would achieve in the time frame you’ve chosen. Now write down what action steps you would need to do to achieve those goals in intervals of that timeframe. For example:

  • Goal: I want to travel to 12 countries in one year
  • Breakdown the goal: Travel to at least 1 country every month
  • Action Steps: Plan quarterly which countries I will travel to for the next quarter, and book travel plans (flights, accommodation), assess budget

Question of the day:

  • Are there any goals that are important to me that I haven’t written down?

Comment your thoughts and share with a friend who might benefit from reading this!