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I'm trying to figure out how a better way to stay on track with my long term (1 year) goals.
Currently I have a list of measurable 1 year goals (eg: Explore and work out of at least 3 cities this year)
I also write daily work/life todo lists in a moleskine notebook to keep myself on track during the day.
Does anyone have any recommendations/tools for keeping these daily goals todo list goals in alignment with the big picture?
Stop focusing on long-term goals (outcomes) and focus on daily habits (process). For example, rather than focusing on learning French, do 15 minutes of Duolingo every day.
Relevant: http://blog.dilbert.com/post/102964992706/goals-vs-systems
I think aligning daily habits with long term goals could be beneficial
it doesn't work very well for goals that are hard to measure but it can be applied in a lot of situations. Good luck tackling all your goals :)
However, bear in mind that plans are rarely followed to execution perfectly. You may meet someone who wants you to stay, or you may get a really good offer. You might experience financial hardship and need to settle down for a while.
When I go on a hike, I spend a good hour or two studying maps (topographical, orthophoto, etc) before picking a trail. It means that I can decide on a whim to follow another trail halfway through if conditions call for it (mud, rain, wild animals, etc). Planning is about mapping out all possible outcomes, and not so much about following one plan to the letter.
Google calendar and an hour each morning to move actions related to long-term goals into your short term todo list (notebook in your case). However, bear in mind that plans are rarely followed to execution perfectly. You may meet someone who wants you to stay, or you may get a really good offer. You might experience financial hardship and need to settle down for a while. When I go on a hike, I spend a good hour or tw…
Google calendar and an hour each morning to move actions related to long-term goals into your short term todo list (notebook in your case). However, bear in mind that plans are rarely followed to execution perfectly. You may meet someone who wants you to stay, or you may get a really good offer. You might experience financial hardship and need to settle down for a while. When I go on a hike, I spend a good hour or tw…
If you, like me, are vaguely afraid of facing the future, it's enormously helpful to have a todo list, and to set aside a small part of every day for tending the todo list.
It's hugely helpful to have a moment in the day when you tell yourself you're not actually going to do any work (you are off the hook), but you're going to look at your list and poke and prod it in advance of such time as you're ready to work again.
Simply forgiving yourself the need to actually take action on any given item, and focusing on organizing what you've got, is immensely freeing, and sets you up pretty nicely for the next morning.
Ok. That's a weird detail to bother hipsterbragging about.
Anyway, I have a post it on my monitor that says. "Just do the fucking thing and stop doing busywork". I have a second one that says "Successful people have better things to do than arguing on reddit/hn"
Tldr; constant visible progress, cut distractions
Professionally, I use outlook's todos with three priority classes: some time (low, where long term goals go), soon (normal), and today (high). Each list is organized like a backlog with most important first. I also color-code them by type (coding, process improvement, personal, and delegated). I scan the list regularly, and promote, split, join, add, remove or move down items as needed.