From goal to reality: with these 13 tips you will succeed

Let me start with the bad news: only 8 percent of people achieve their goals. And it's almost March by now, so there's a good chance some of your New Year's goals have fallen through.

Fortunately, there is also good news. I decided at the beginning of the year to watch all the YouTube productivity gurus' videos and I collected and tested their advice. Here are the most important lessons about turning goals into actions you will actually take.

Tip 1: Write down your goals

This simple act increases your chances of success by a whopping 42 percent (wow). Writing down your goals creates consistency. I have found - and in this I am not alone - that putting goals on paper works better than digital formats. By putting your goals somewhere you see them every day, you increase your chances of actually achieving them.

Tip 2: Dream realistically big, execute in small steps

It's important to dream big. But keep it realistic. Think “wow, it would be great if this succeeds” rather than “that's impossible.” Then write the dream down as specifically as possible. Why? If you know where you want to go and what you want to achieve, all you have to do is plan the route to it.

“If a man does not know what port he is sailing to, no wind is favorable.”

Once you know your destination, chop up the dream into pieces. Quarterly goals work best for this. This is a manageable period of time that you can further break down into months or even what you want to focus on next week.

Tip 3: Limit your goals

Keep it to three to four goals per quarter. Limiting your goals to a few per quarter is important because your brain has a limited capacity for keeping track of several goals at once. Thereby, with too many goals, you divide your time, energy and mental focus. As a result, you make little progress on many fronts instead of substantial progress in the most important areas.

Research shows that the more goals someone pursues at the same time, the lower the success rate for each individual goal becomes. It's ultimately about quality over quantity: rather achieve three goals that are really important to you than 10 goals that barely move you forward.

Tip 4: Categorize your goals

Categorize your goals in a way that makes sense to you. Think about things like health, career & work, finances, relationships, personal development, and leisure & fun.

Categorizing your goals not only gives structure and overview to your ambitions. Above all, it makes it easy to maintain balance between different areas of life. By dividing your goals into categories such as health, career, relationships or personal development, you avoid focusing too resolutely on one aspect of your life. It also helps you recognize patterns in where your energy goes and where there may be blind spots, so you can more consciously choose which areas deserve extra attention and priority.

Tip 5: Make SMART goals

I know, I know. You don't really want to hear that “SMART” - Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic and Time-bound - anymore. Because you've known it all along. But use the method above all else. After all, without these criteria, you have desires, not goals.

Tip 6: Minimize the number of simultaneous projects

Ideally, focus on one goal at a time, preferably your most important one. Every project involves overhead, mainly in the form of communication. Think emails, meetings, phone calls, messages. More goals not only means more overhead, but also more interruptions when trying to focus on one goal.

A question that can help: if I could only work on my goals two, four or eight hours a week, what would I do? Limiting your time mentally forces you to focus on the most important things.

Tip 7: Schedule focus time

Block out specific time slots in your calendar to work on your goals. For example, if you want to write a book, choose Mondays as writing days and protect that time from distractions.

Planning focus time is essential because it bridges the gap between intentions and actual results. By setting aside time blocks in your calendar for your goals, you make them concrete and protect them from the constant stream of daily distractions and urgent but less important tasks. Research shows that these planned in-depth work sessions are up to five times more productive than scattered efforts between other tasks because your brain needs time to get into an optimal state of concentration - flow. Without this intentional time reservation, your most important goals often remain stuck in the “someday” category and are crowded out by what is loudly demanding attention rather than what is truly valuable.

Tip 8: Make your goals visible

Your brain focuses on what it thinks is relevant. If you are considering buying a Fiat 500, you see Fiat 500s driving everywhere. You can use the fact that your brain does this to focus on your goals.

For example, implement daily check-ins: what am I going to do today for my goals? And start weekly reflections: what progress have I made, what is the next thing I am going to focus on? Ideally, do a check-in in the morning to be more in control of your day and a check-out at the end of the day to clear your head and relax before sleeping.

Tip 9: Make actions measurable

Translate goals into concrete daily actions that you can check off. Want to live healthier? Ask simple yes/no questions, such as “Did I exercise for 30 minutes today? Formulate your check-ins positively and in the completed tense: “I ate healthy today” works better than “Did I eat healthy?”. These little language tweaks program your brain to see the action as normal, not an optional choice.

Tip 10: Make agreements with yourself

Simple ground rules help build habits. So set clear ground rules for your new habits. An example of such a powerful rule: never miss two days in a row. This “two-day rule” gives you flexibility for that one busy day, but keeps you from falling out of a rhythm.

Think of it as a friendly contract with your future self - not as strict discipline, but as support to keep yourself on track. And also be realistic. This doesn't always work out. I have had a severe throat infection and exercise just wasn't in the cards for a while. The main thing is to start again as soon as the throat infection is over and then get back into the rhythm.

Tip 11: Monitor progress

Regular reflection helps you track progress and maintain motivation. We often forget what we've already accomplished or learned, which can make it feel like we're not making progress. Keep detailed records of your accomplishments. If your goal is to read more, keep track of how much you read and which books you've finished this year.

You can also add a simple status tracking system with emojis for different projects:

🟩 On track

🟧 Not on track, but with recovery plan

🟥 Not on track, no plan

The key is to find a tracking method that works well for you. During weekly reflections, you can review specific accomplishments such as “I ate healthy for at least four days this week” or “I completed my targeted reading hours. This systematic tracking not only shows your progress, but also helps identify patterns and areas for improvement.

Tip 12: Use the WOOP formula to identify obstacles

When trying to achieve goals you often run into obstacles. This can be incredibly demotivating even though we know they are often unavoidable. It helps tremendously if obstacles are not a surprise and this is where the WOOP-method can help you:

Wish: What exactly do you want to achieve?

Outcome: What does success look like? Feel it.

Obstacle: What obstacles are sure to come your way?

Plan: What specifically will you do when those obstacles arise?

Here's a practical example:

Wish: Building healthy eating habits.

Outcome: Have more energy, feel better physically and mentally, and experience greater overall satisfaction.

Obstacles: 

• Limited time for daily healthy cooking. 
• Strong cravings for sugary drinks. 

Plan:

• Sunday meal prep for four days, always cooking extra portions to freeze for busy days. 
• Replace sugary drinks with a collection of favorite teas, invest in a nice teapot and stock up on different tea flavors.

Tip 13: Link your goals to your identity

I found this last tip to be the most insightful and it may be the most powerful strategy: connect your goals to who you want to be. Link them to your identity. For example, “I am an entrepreneurial, loving father who values health and deep connections through shared experiences. This identity naturally supports goals such as healthy eating and regular exercise, making them feel more authentic and attainable.

To conclude

In essence, a goal becomes realistic when you create sustainable systems that link your actions to your desired identity. That will help you be among the 8 percent of people who actually achieve their goals.

“Do I belong to that 8 percent?” is an honest question you should answer. 'Healthy and fit father and partner' is part of my identity. Therefore, I want to exercise every other day which amounts to 183 times a year. I have exercised more than 35 times in the past 70 days despite illness - identified obstacle (check tip 12).

However, there are also goals I am not accomplishing. Meditating twice a week is not on the cards yet. And that hereby becomes a great one for next quarter 😉