Every New Year’s, every birthday, after every long vacation where I have a fresh mind, I get excited about the opportunities and start defining some goals for myself. They are positive, promising, and inspiring.

“I want to be healthy” “I want to be an excellent communicator” “I will finally build and deploy that webapp I’ve been thinking of”

But almost always, the enthusiasm fizzles out and when the churn begins, these goals go out the window. Without progress, it starts feeling like I’m stuck. The reason I couldn’t meet my goals was because I didn’t define them well. Without definition, I could only passively align my actions toward a goal. Spending time with intent wouldn’t happen.

I’ve come across a template that will help me achieve my goals better: ACT.

A - Aligned C - Confirmable T - Time bound

My goal needs to be aligned with my values (Health, Career…). For example, healthwise I intend that my body is healthy, flexible, ailment free, and ever ready as I age. My value tells me that I would never want my body to be a reason I start saying no to opportunities. This is one of my mission statements. When I define a goal, it needs to be aligned with at least one such mission statement.

Second, a goal needs to be confirmable. We should be able to tell if it’s achieved or it’s not. “Being healthy” is not confirmable, but “Do 20 consecutive pullups” or “Run 15 mins at 6mph” is. Adding confirmable actions to a goal makes it much better defined, flavorful, and achievable.

Lastly, a goal needs to be time bound. When the daily slog begins, time is limited. Personal goals get sidetracked because we operate under the illusion of infinite time ahead. With a deadline, I’m more likely to carve out time for that activity rather than leave it to whenever motivation strikes.

That’s it. I’ve started defining my goals with ACT and they’ve become much more achievable and motivating.

Before and After:

Before After
• I want to be healthy this year In the next three months, by 30 Sep, I will:
• Run 15 mins straight at 6 mph
• Do 20 consecutive pullups
• Have my weight under 175 lbs
• That’ll keep me agile and strong as time goes.