essay

Structured Goals

I never failed a goal after breaking it down into small, daily, actionable steps. There is a formula behind reaching goals. They can be structured, planned. And it invariably works, every time the same.


Sandro Maglione

Sandro Maglione

Free thinking

It's day 82, and I am done. Even faster than I planned. Well, of course. It's always like this when the goal is structured. It's always been like this.

I look at the calendar. It's been 8 months already. I didn’t miss a single day in these 8 months. 2 sessions a day, 1 hour each. 500 hours of practice, and the results speak for themselves.

I open the email. The results of the test sit first in my inbox. I am not excited, no anxiety nor tension. As expected, I passed, full grades. Well, of course. I knew that since the day before the test. After all, 3 months of daily preparation are undeniable. I knew it already the moment I stepped into the test room.

The spreadsheet is speaking to me. It doesn’t lie. It's analytical, precise, rational. As expected, I am ahead of my planned schedule. I knew exactly what I needed to do each day, and as always I exceeded even that. The spreadsheet proudly tells me I am 1 week away from the reward. Well, the pride is all mine, not of the spreadsheet. Of course.


What is this all about, you may ask? This is what happens when diligence meets a structured plan and a meaningful goal.

I never failed a goal after breaking it down into small, daily, actionable steps.

Ambitious goals take a long time. But that's not the point. It's actually better, that's what makes them worthwhile. As long as you don’t get blinded by the scale of the pursuit. You cannot see a destination too far on the horizon, you can only envision it.

What can you do instead? Take a step. You can always see a few steps in front of you.

Reaching the destination becomes a natural consequence. Writing each step down changes the nature of the pursuit. From an impossibly far goal, to a simple daily action.

And that really makes all the difference.

It does to me, it always did.

This is my attempt to visualise how structured goals works.

Vision

I wonder how is like to write a novel. I have been writing blog posts for years. Each blog post averages around 1000 words.

I open ChatGPT: "how many words long is an average fantasy novel?" 100'000 words.

That's...a lot. But then, it's only 100 blogs posts, right? Yes, a lot.

Let's try something else: "how long is a short novel?" 30'000 words. Oh, 30 blog posts. I may be able to manage that.

30'000 words, 1000 words, 30 days. I can write the equivalent of 1 blog post a day, for 30 days, a single month, and make it to a full short novel.

It works. Let's start on the first of the month: 1st of October. First thing in the morning. Early, when I have more energies and no one can disturb me. Every day I need to sit down, reach 1000 words, and be done with it for the day.

Suddenly I forget about the 30'000 words and 30 days ahead, and the only focus it's 1000. I don’t even need to think about a time of the day to fit those 1000 words. It's all about execution. It's suddenly easy.

Another morning. I turn on my Mac and look at the date. It's the 27th of October. I am at 29'200 words already. And the story is not even started yet. I am enjoying the process, a lot. I guess I will continue a little longer than 30 days. There is still more to write.

I type the last ".", and it's done. It's the 21st of December. The word count reads 100’048. 82 days later, I finished a full fantasy novel. Just in time for Christmas.

1000 words each day, starting from the 1st October, all the way to 21st of December. 160 hours and 100'000 words.
1000 words each day, starting from the 1st October, all the way to 21st of December. 160 hours and 100'000 words.

Who would have guessed when I started? Somehow the answer of ChatGPT stuck with me, those unreachable 100'000 words. I was probably aiming at them from the start, unconsciously. That was especially apparent in the last few days, as I refused to finish before hitting the 100k mark.

How did I get here? In hindsight, it was easy.

After all, it's only 1000 words each day. I knew exactly where I was headed from the start. I knew exactly how far in the future laid the end. And that really made all the difference.

  1. I want to learn to write novels (Vision)
  2. Write my first full novel (Milestone)
  3. Write it in 30 days (Deadline)
  4. Write 1000 words each day (Practice)
  5. First things in the morning, as much time as it takes to reach 1000 words (Schedule)

Daily practice

I want to learn how to draw. Drawing manga characters. Not with the goal of aiming for a career, but just because it looks cool, and I like it.

The practice is as simple as it gets: pencil and paper. Tutorials are everywhere, plenty of material for free. It's all about getting started.

Let's set a clear goal: one year from now I want to be able to draw a professional-looking action scene, manga style, start to finish, in less than 1 week.

Two times a day, 1 hour each. The first session after breakfast. The second session after lunch.

It's the most frustrating practice ever. I can watch videos and illustrations as much as I want, but commanding my hand to draw like that doesn’t connect.

It looks so simple. But it's not.

It was easier to get a degree in computer science. At least with programming I knew what I was doing wrong and what I needed to fix.

Another session done, as I sit on the kitchen table of another Airbnb. I had to move the practice earlier in the morning. Traveling requires some adjustments, but the practice is mandatory. 2 times a day, 1 hour each.

As I scroll the pages of my notebook I cringe. How could I have been so clueless.

The progress of the last 8 months is staggering as I compare my current drawings with my older ones. It's still frustrating, I am still ages away from my vision, but the notebooks in front of me don’t lie.

8 months, 2 sessions a day, 1 hour each, every day. It's powerful when I have a vision and a schedule. I didn’t miss a single day. Of course.

8 months, 2 sessions a day of 1 hour each. It all compounds over a long period of time: 500+ hours of practice. And you can see the results.
8 months, 2 sessions a day of 1 hour each. It all compounds over a long period of time: 500+ hours of practice. And you can see the results.

The details shifted in those 8 months. I moved from manga ink, to anime. From drawing a full scene, to focusing on character. Female characters. The process made me discover more about my real interest, and my vision followed this flow.

It will take time, but I will get there.

  1. I want to learn to draw manga (Vision)
  2. Learn how to draw a full panel for a fighting scene in 7 days (Milestone)
  3. Being able to draw the panel 1 year from now (Deadline)
  4. Learn to draw characters, panel composition, and visual effects (Practice)
  5. Draw 2 sessions a day, 1 hour each, after breakfast and after lunch (Schedule)

Meaningful goals

There is this thing called Gacha in this game I am playing, Genshin Impact. Apparently this is how you get a new character.

A quick research and I get the gist of it. Play the game, collect these things called "Primogems", use them to buy these things called "Fates", and use Fates to get rewards from the "Gacha" machine.

A rare character is guaranteed after a certain amount of Fates. Oh, it's math. I can plan exactly how many resources to collect before I guarantee a new rare character.

Turns out the next available rare character is exactly what I need!

That's my goal. No uncertainty. I know exactly how much I need to earn. I also have a clear deadline before the character I am aiming for is gone.

Perfectly structured plan.

So much so that I can use a tool to visualise and foresee my progress:

Since the goal is completely predictable and all based on math and numbers, a tool can foresee exactly the day of the final reward.
Since the goal is completely predictable and all based on math and numbers, a tool can foresee exactly the day of the final reward.

Of course, I am not allowed to play all day. A limited playing time with a clear objective.

Diligence, patience, and preparation. Weeks go by until the day I finally get to reach my goal. Weeks of daily effort for the final reward.

And when it comes the sensation is pure bliss.

Weeks of planning and diligence leading to this single moment when the shape of the reward stares back at you.
Weeks of planning and diligence leading to this single moment when the shape of the reward stares back at you.

And now a new chapter starts. A new journey with my new character, ready for the next goal.

  1. I want a powerful team (Vision)
  2. I want to add a new rare character to my team (Milestone)
  3. The character I am aiming for will be gone in 4 weeks from now (Deadline)
  4. Collect enough "Primogems" to guarantee the character (Practice)
  5. Playing time limited to 2 sessions a day, after lunch and after dinner (Schedule)

Goals

There is a structure that made those experiences so successful. Always the same. It worked every time.

Vision

Start from a vision. An ambitious and long-term vision.

The initial spark of interest grows from a vision, something that I see myself doing years from now. Being it drawing or writing novels.

No details attached. No specifics. "Drawing" and "novels" in general. I will fill the blanks later.

Milestone

Define the next big milestone that moves me closer to the vision.

An ambitious milestone. At the limit of what I consider possible. Something that requires diligence and a plan.

Deadline

Define a deadline to achieve the milestone.

I need to know exactly when I will achieve the first destination. More than a deadline, it's a checkpoint. A constraint. It's meant to put pressure and enhance focus.

Practice

Break down the practice in daily steps.

I know the final result, and I know when it will happen. I just need to fill the steps in between to trace the path from here to there.

It comes in the form of a daily practice. Daily.

Define a clear objective for each daily practice session.

There must be no doubt of what I need to do as I start the practice. It helps to define intermediate milestones, and schedule each practice session to advance on that specific objective.

The objective may always remain the same (e.g. write 1000 words) or shift as you progress in different skills (e.g. learn to draw heads, then learn to draw hands).

Schedule

Define exactly for how long and at what time of the day.

It must be concrete and measurable. Every day, at this exact times, for not less than this duration.

Every other activity must fit outside the practice. No matter if I am travelling, working, or whatever. The practice becomes the priority once scheduled.

Stick to it no matter what.

And it's done. Even at day 1, the goal is already achieved. It's all execution.

The vision may change as I learn more. The practice may need some time adjustments some days. But it's always there, every day. And when the final day comes, the reward is there waiting.


Notes

  • I am not talking of grandiose goals. It doesn’t need to be a career change or learning a complex skill. It can be as simple as playing a video game to unlock a certain achievement. It's entirely on you to define a goal as worthy.
  • Structured goals make a teacher unnecessary. All the learning material is available online. A teacher may be helpful mostly for accountability or for skills that require external feedback (for example singing, since tones are hard to listen by yourself).
  • The learning process requires taking care of your health to perform at your best. Specifically, the 4 pillars.
  • Scheduling the practice sessions as early as possible in the day is generally better. You don’t want to risk delays or distractions during the day that force you to skip an evening session. Ideal time is first thing in the morning.

Side effects

Over and over again the process of structuring a goal generates some predictable side effects:

  • I consistently put in more hours than planned. The daily schedule defines the minimum duration of the practice. Most times, as I get into the flow, I end up going for longer. And it compounds over months.
  • I find ways of being more effective. Since I know exactly the expected final result, I inevitably research specific strategies to improve the practice. I always discover them.
  • Ruthless focus. Distractions become inconsequential. I quickly remember what my specific goal is, and I adjust my focus in no time.
  • I make the milestone more ambitious. As I take notice of the improvement and get excited by the progress, the final goal suddenly looks easy. I often make it even more grandiose once I realise I can achieve more.
  • I achieve it sooner than planned. The closer the deadline gets, the more effort I put in. I never want to risk missing it, so I make sure to account for some days or weeks of buffer. I always arrive earlier because of that.
  • Ideas come from nowhere. Something done every day takes up a large portion of mental space. Somehow the mind computes even when I am doing something else, and new ideas strike at unexpected times. New ideas to make the practice easier, to improve on something, or to overcome a challenge.

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