Micro Goals Examples – Why Mini Goals Can Help You To Success
We all have goals in life whether it be to own our own home, write an essay or lose weight but sometimes our hopes and dreams leave us feeling overwhelmed and paralyse us into inaction. This is because our goals seem too difficult, too big and unachievable so it becomes easier to do nothing. Our micro-goals examples are going to show you how to break down your goals into smaller chunks so that it becomes easier to create success.
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Long and Short-Term Goals Vs Micro Goals
So what exactly is the difference between a long-term goal, short-term goal and micro goal?
A long-term goal is something that takes time to achieve, requires a consistent effort and needs you to stay motivated and on track to achieve. Examples of long-term goals could be owning your house outright, becoming the senior manager in a company or being able to retire at 55. None of these can be achieved overnight but with determination and focus all are perfectly possible. Long-term goals tend to usually take at least a year to accomplish.
Shorter-term goals by their very nature will take less than a year and sometimes only a few days or weeks to achieve. These goals could be painting a room in a house, writing a 3000-word essay for college or working out 3 times a week. However just because these goals take less time for your to complete doesn’t mean they are always the easiest to achieve.
Finally, micro-goals are something that can be used with both long and short-term goal setting. A micro goal is simply a smaller step you can take to chunk down tasks so that your short or long-term goal can be achieved. Micro goals are a great tool to help you chip away at a task and help you achieve smaller goals on the way to the bigger one. Each micro goal takes you one step closer to achieving success.
Micro goals examples could include buying some paint to decorate a room, cleaning a kitchen cupboard as part of a reorganization or writing a paragraph of an assignment you need to complete. None are the full task but each takes you a step closer to where you want to be.
The Benefits of Breaking Tasks Into Smaller Steps
Setting micro-goals is an intelligent way of getting things done by breaking a larger goal into smaller simpler steps so psychologically it appears easier. It makes your life so much easier when you start small and just begin doing what you need to do in your life. Anyone would feel overwhelmed looking at some of the bigger goals they have to do but it becomes easier to accomplish when you break it down into parts.
Micro goal benefits also include:
- When you break a task down each mini goal is shorter and is quicker and easier to accomplish.
- Micro goals give you a regular sense of accomplishment as you tick each one off your list and realise you are making progress.
- Mirco goal setting helps you build momentum allowing you to do more.
- Micro goals help you to create an action plan which helps with focusing and moves you forward.
- Finally, mini-goals which by their nature take less time to do mean that you can do a number of them at the same time helping you to achieve more if you want to.
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How to Plan By Working Backwards
Micro goals provide you with a way to progress without the overwhelm but how do you set them and put them into practice? Well, the simplest way is to work backwards as with this micro-goals example.
Imagine a student has a 3,000-word essay to write that needs to be with their tutor in two weeks time. As a short term goal this may seem relatively simple to some but to others the thought of sitting down and researching and writing this topic seems difficult and uninteresting. So procrastinators will put off doing the task until the very last minute leaving them overwhelmed and stressed as they rush to finish it in a day.
Setting micro-goals however makes it easier. We know the deadline for the project and we know the number of words so by working backwards from the end result we can create a plan to finish it. Divide 3000 words into 14 days we know that by writing 215 words a day the project will be finished on time. Clearly writing the smaller amount of words on a daily basis will make the project seem much easier.
You can of course also experiment with the smaller goals you are setting. In this case, you may decide to spend 2 days on research and that would then leave you 12 days to write the essay. Now you would need to write 250 words a day. Or alternatively, you could also say that you would spend 2 days researching, give yourself 1 day a week off leaving you with 10 days to write the essay meaning now you would need to write 300 words over 10 days.
There are of course almost limitless permutations but they will also get you the right result in the end without the essay taking over your life. This approach can be used with just about any long or short term goal.
Micro Goals for Weight Loss
Setting micro-goals works in just about every area of your life including problems such as losing weight. Just about anyone who has been on a diet knows how difficult it can be to think about the ultimate goal of it can seem so far away and too difficult to achieve. Smaller lifestyle changes and movements forward do however make a difference and all chip away at the problem until bit by bit the weight can fall off.
One of the simplest micro-goals examples for weight loss is determining how much weight you have to lose and then dividing that amount into a weekly goal. So if you have 10 pounds to lose then if you lost 2 pounds every week in five weeks time you would have achieved your goal.
As weight is often about lifestyle then another way of doing it might be to set some health goals to achieve each week which would ultimately help you to lose weight. An example of this might be eating five portions of fruit and vegetables each day or walking two miles a day. Whilst they don’t seem to be directly related to your weight if you do these regularly they will have a knock-on impact and help you to achieve large goals relating to weight.
Clever Fox Wellness Planner is a prime example of a tool that could help you on your journey. With sections for everything from daily food logs to activity tracking, it is the perfect goal-setting planner.
Micro Goals for Students
Micro goal setting also works well for students who often find it difficult to complete their assignments on time because the sheer volume of work they are given can seem overwhelming. As multiple assignments often have to be accomplished simultaneously it can be difficult knowing what to finish first but with some simple goal setting, it doesn’t have to be so difficult.
Micro goal setting when it comes to university work tends to be all about managing your time well, creating a to-do list and dividing what you have to do into small daily goals. Your life becomes so much easier when you take the time to create micro-goals as they can help you to prioritize, focus and stay on track.
As before with this micro-goals example work backwards and create a timetable that details your tasks in a logical and priority order. These tasks may include reading, researching, practicals, rehearsals, essays and even studying for exams. When you get into the habit of setting goals to get you where you want to be everything becomes easier.
Just don’t forget that when it comes to university work you have to take into account your everyday life as well and make sure you leave some downtime for yourself in those micro goal plans. This allows you time to do some things you love as well as a reward for your hard work.
Clever Fox’s Goal Setting Planners are great at helping you to become more productive and helping you with time management. Use the planner for micro goal setting and keeping track of what you need to accomplish.
More Ways You Can Achieve Multiple Goals
Micro goals and Smart Goals are great solutions to getting things done but what else can you do to create success and build motivation? Well here are some other tools that you can use to make a difference.
Self-Hypnosis to Motivate You and Stop Procrastination
Self-hypnosis is a simple tool that helps to give suggestions to your subconscious mind to do things differently. Positive suggestions used repeatedly can change your mindset and help you to alter old negative patterns of behaviour. Our self-hypnosis for motivation is the perfect tool to help you on the road to success.
Large Wall White Board Planners
Use a large Wall Whiteboard Planner to write down those big goals and the steps you need to take to reach them. Whiteboards are a simple way of seeing things at a glance so you know exactly where you are and what you have to do each day to reach those larger goals. They are particularly useful for people who are visually orientated.
Time Management Timers
Time management timers are another great visual device for micro goal setting. SMART goals are always time-bound so these are a fantastic tool to keep you on track and help you do short bursts of activity so reach those goals. Simply set the timer to the amount of time you need and start your task. When the timer finishes you can move on to something else.
Fitness Trackers To Monitor Your Progress
If you are concerned with fitness goals then there are a number of amazing trackers that are on the market to help you monitor where you are on your journey and to help you to stay motivated.
The Fitbit Charge 5 is one of the market leaders and can help you with your fitness, calorie counting and even your sleep.
Phone Jail To Stop Procrastination
Finally, if you want to commit to your micro goals you need to find ways to limit procrastination and assist with focus. A phone jail that fits not only your phone but your tablet is a clever solution to try and stop you from becoming distracted by your devices.
The Ksafe Mini Container is a simple tool that allows you to put your devices (or any other distractions) into the box and set a time lock. When the container is closed you have to wait until the timer has finished until you can get into the box.
Micro Goals Template
If you are looking for a micro-goals template there are plenty of pads that you can use that will help you break down your tasks so that you reach your target. We like The Time Box Daily To-Do List which is a simple but effective planner that can be adapted to your needs.
We hope you like our micro-goals examples and that our suggestions help you not only to set and meet your goals but assist you on your way to success and happiness.
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