As 2023 came to a close and I looked back on my yearly goals…

There were a lot more goals not ticked off than I’d care to admit.

Some of the goals didn’t feel aligned anymore so I dropped them.

No biggie.

But what about the goals that still meant something to me?

Some of these were “small” goals that felt like they should’ve taken a few months at most to complete.

What was going on?

I have a default phrase I go to every time I’m looking for answers and trying to shake things up:

“If you want different results, you have to do something different.”

There’s something in the simplicity of that idea that works for me every time.

If I’m not happy with the current results I’m getting, I literally just go out of my way to try different ways of achieving it, learning about it, etc.

Keep in mind that different doesn’t always lead to better…

It just leads to different.

And honestly, different is frequently uncomfortable.

We get used to doing things a certain way.

But growth and progress are found in discomfort so I’ve found that it’s a great place to start when looking to level up.

So what changes did I make in 2024 to better achieve my goals compared to 2023?

I started thinking of the year in quarters.

I read The 12-Week Year, which told you to forget about annual goals.

Instead, divide your year into 12-week chunks.

In other words, divide the year into quarters .

This isn’t a new idea, I know.

But since I’ve been self-employed for the majority of my adult life, I never encountered it in the more corporate business settings it’s more commonly found in.

I was used to setting goals for the year, which was better than not setting goals at all…

But then I just gave myself all year to accomplish them (or not).

This is classic Parkinson's Law.

It's the idea that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Basically, if you give yourself a week to do a two-hour task, somehow that task will seem to take the whole week.

When we give ourselves too much time to finish something, we tend to overthink, overcomplicate, and procrastinate a lot more.

We are also likely more prone to perfectionism, a sneaky and very dangerous enemy of productivity.

Essentially, there is nothing like a deadline to get you motivated.

It’s not usually a lack of knowledge for most of us but a lack of consistent action that keeps us from achieving our goals.

I've made great headway with my goals for the year so far, and dividing them into smaller parts has been a key factor.

They are less intimidating and it’s motivating to see the progress.

Here’s the general big picture idea so you can try this for yourself:

Step 1: Have a clear picture of the goal you want to accomplish. Goals could be self-contained and take less than 3 months or if it’s a BIG goal that could take awhile, break it down into smaller pieces.

Step 2: Pick between 1 to 3 top priorities for that goal. Things that are absolutely crucial for you to achieve in order to accomplish your goal. This is important because if you have too many priorities, nothing is a priority, right?

Step 3: Process control and accountability. Having a friend or loved one you can check in with regularly (ideally weekly) goes a LONG way towards helping you stay on track. What doesn’t get tracked doesn’t get improved so you want to find ways to keep your-self accountable. I personally use a mix of digital task lists in Notion and meetings with my wife.

That's the condensed version, but it pretty much covers the basics.

For me, three months hits the sweet spot: it's enough time to get things done without dragging on, but it's short enough to light a fire under me to actually make moves.

I hope you give this a try if you find yearly goals to be a bit daunting. It’s really helping me a lot!

Ok, we got a lot of goodies below, including my Gunna - Fukumean edit in case you didn’t grab it last week.

Thanks!

Brenmar

Sound Bites 🔉 

• This is the best software I’ve encountered for making stems for remixes. It’s much better than Serato.

• This plug-in company is going out of business and giving away their plug-ins for free. Check them out HERE

• Maybe I’m weird but this Fairlight CMI keyboard video was very satisfying for me to watch.

Tools & Resources ⚒️ 

• Book I’m currently reading: Make Your Own Rules by Andrew Huang

• This software is great for organizing all your visual images. It’s super affordable and easy to use.

• I’ve been reading this essay at least once a year for 4 years now. Make some tea and set aside 20-30 minutes, trust me. How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham

Brenmar - Fukumean edit