Breaking down your goals into smaller, more manageable pieces is one of the most effective ways to accomplish anything. Goals are important, but intentions without actions don't turn into achievements.
Knowing what you want out of life and then breaking down those big dreams into actionable steps can be a really powerful process that can help you get closer to accomplishing your ultimate goal.
In this post we'll break down how to break down your goals!
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Hello! It’s me, your friendly neighborhood writer with some advice on how not to get discouraged when it comes to finishing projects: specifically writing projects.
A bit of backstory: after two graduate degrees, a full-time job and two kids, I finally decided to pursue a lifelong dream and make my first novel, The Girl Who Could See Demons , available on Amazon.
I’m not going to lie. I was scared out of my mind. And the only thing that really stopped me from giving up before I even started was the support I got from you guys. The encouragement helped me build the nerve to take a big risk and put myself out there for public criticism (or praise—eh, probably mostly criticism).
So, I hope you’ll get a kick out of this . . .
For those of you who’ve bought my book (I sincerely hope so) and also for anyone who is simply interested in learning about the process of writing, I wanted to share one thing with you. I have found that breaking down a goal into smaller goals helps me keep on track and stay relentless when it comes to getting the work done.
Now, breaking down a goal into smaller goals can be applied to anything from designing the ultimate ice cream sundae to writing a novel.
In my professional life, for instance, I have developed multiple pieces of software (several web based and one app) and also built a house. Both of these endeavors were very complex projects, but they both required breaking down the larger projects into smaller steps that were manageable and concrete enough so that I could actually get them completed.
When it comes to writing—the completion of your manuscript—the same exact process applies. You need to break it down into small steps so you can get it done.
For example, here is a list of things that I have done to achieve my goal of finishing my manuscript:
1) The first big step was to decide exactly what I wanted to write about. Basically, work out your basic story and then break it down into smaller (and more manageable) pieces.
2) Next, I created a rough outline for the whole thing . . . which served as both a map and an internal structure.
3) From there, I started writing scene by scene, month by month . . . even randomly at times just to see what came out of that process.
4) Finally, I was able to write the complete manuscript in one sitting.
In each of these steps, you can see how I broke down my big goal into smaller goals. But before we get into the specifics of each step, let’s talk a little more about what exactly a goal is and why it’s important to break it down.
What is a Goal?
A goal is something that you want—something that you want to achieve. It’s also something that, once accomplished, will give you something in return. For example: “I want to get a job that pays well and have time off from work.