I used to set goals on an arbitrary basis. Halfway through a university semester, a month after starting a new commitment. New Year’s, or halfway through a tough month, or the start of December.
Basically, whenever a reality check comes along, I’d sit on it for a few days, then, boldened by a renewed sense of purpose, write a goal down and promise to myself I would take action on it.
But for various reasons, it never seems to work.
Arbitrary goals are vague (what does “exercise more” mean, anyway?). They can be overwhelming if you’ve set your expectations too high or don’t know how to overcome the barrier of just getting started, and often, they are unactionable and easily forgotten.
So you need a goalsetting system that keeps you focused. One that treats the journey with the same respect as it does the end destination. That’s where tiered goals might be able to help you. Combined with good everyday habits and a willingness to begin, a tiered goal infrastructure just might help you take that first step–or do that first pushup.
What are Tiered Goals?
Tiered goals is the concept of breaking down a larger goal into smaller goals, then breaking those smaller goals into even smaller goals, getting more specific as the tiers get lower and goals get smaller. It’s similar to breaking a task into subtasks. An example of using tiered goals would be to set a yearly theme, then quarterly themes or goals based on the yearly theme, then monthly goals, weekly goals, and finally, daily habits or tasks.
Tiered goals have helped me personally, by giving me a better way to plan my side projects and goals related to self-growth so I worked on only 1-2 projects per week. Not only does it provide me with direction each week, it allows me to focus and prioritize on what I think is most important for me to accomplish in a year.
You can also combine the concept of tiered goals to other systems such as SMART goals and the 12-Week Year. Remember, tiered goals are just a framework—you still need to set good goals on top of it, as well as a plan for how to accomplish each goal, such as recurring habits, workflows, or a project/task management system.
Is This for Me?
If you’re someone like me who gets easily overwhelmed when looking at a large task or project, the benefits of tiered goals are:
- It helps you get started on large, ambitious goals.
- It breaks down a large goal into manageable milestones.
- It provides general direction on top-level goals (i.e. yearly goals), but more specific direction on lower-level goals (e.g. monthly, weekly goals).
- You’ll be making progress towards your goals often, which means it will always be on the back of your mind, not forgotten.
- You can see the progress you’re making, which can be a source of motivation.
Some considerations with the standalone concept of tiered goals before you start, however, may include the following:
- It’s hard to set realistic goals since you can’t predict what you actually accomplish in numbers.
- Setting goals ahead of time, especially large goals, are subject to changes—what if this goal is no longer a priority, or stops being realistic?
- It may demotivate you if you can’t hit a target.
- Just setting a goal won’t be enough—you have to take consistent action too.
Apart from this, there is also the issue of where this desire to change comes from that is worth examining. Is it due to a sense of incompetence, or dissatisfaction with certain elements of life, of yourself? Is it so you can impress someone or justify yourself, your place in the world?
While these can all be valid reasons of wanting to change, they can also be dangerous if you hinge yourself to these negative feelings and perceptions of yourself in order to grow. Start from a place of self-compassion before you set a goal–recognize that where you are, who you are at this present moment of time, has inherent value–and that anything you do beyond that is an indication of your willingness to better yourself, and that is enough on its own.
Setting Up Tiered Goals
- Start with setting yearly goals or themes, and keep these broad. I recommend a maximum of three overarching goals since the more you try to take on, the less of a chance you’ll follow through. Also, it doesn’t have to be yearly, or even run from Jan-Dec! It just has to be a goal with a large timeframe. Example: “I want to learn how to code in HTML.”
- Next, break down each yearly goal into monthly goals or themes. This will help you with direction each month, but still be flexible enough so you aren’t setting your expectations too high. You may also decide to set quarterly goals or themes above monthly goals (either to have more variety, or to emulate the 12 Week Year experience). Example: “Work through the beginner HTML Codecademy course.” for the month of January.
- Finally, break those monthly goals into weekly goals or themes. This is optional, but can be useful if you run your life on a weekly basis like me. Here’s where you can adopt SMART goals if you’re a fan and get real specific. Example: “Each day, for 25 minutes, go through the HTML Codecademy course.” for the month of January.
Choosing between setting a goal or a theme depends on how flexible you want your goal to be. The great thing about the tiered goals framework is that you get many chances to experiment and see what works for you.
How to Get Started
The exciting thing about tiered goals is its compatibility with other goalsetting systems! If you’re looking forward to start implementing tiered goals into your personal system, you might want to start with these:
- Find a place to write down your top-level tiers and lower-level tier breakdowns. A notebook with headings can work. So can a Trello board with monthly cards and weekly checklists, or Notion toggle blocks, for some ideas.
- Brainstorm your top three priorities this year. If you’re having trouble narrowing down, you might want to brainstorm an overarching theme first, and align your yearly goals to that. For example, my overarching theme this year is intention: to be more intentional with how I use my time. Below that theme, I have set my yearly goals, one of them which is to create more content for this blog.
- Set a reminder to review your chart. I have a spreadsheet detailing the goal for each week and the entire goal hierarchy, and I always review this spreadsheet each Sunday as I do my weekly review.
If you’re a fan of spreadsheets like I am (yes, I’m a spreadsheet fan, no I didn’t choose accounting because I love spreadsheets), you might want to also grab a copy of my personal tiered goal template (also available as a Notion template)! This template runs by week number and sorted into months. Months, and quarters, can be rearranged if you don’t agree with where they’re placed. I’ve also included a full example of what a tiered goal might look like for you. Just go to File > Make a copy and start adding them in!
Have you tried breaking down your goals this way? Let me know in the comments below or on Worth the Wake socials.
References & Further Readings
- The Most Effective Goal-Setting Plan You’ll Ever Find. (Plus Template Worksheet) by Melissa Joy Kong on Technori
- Goal Setting: How to Achieve Your Goals Using This Easy Framework by Austin Belcak on Cultivated Culture
- 7 Key Takeaways from the 12 Week Year by Moran and Lennington by Mike Fishbein
Media Used: Brown Spiral Stairs by Tobias Van Schneider on Unsplash
