Using goal setting and micro habits to stay motivated
Learn how setting goals and adopting microhabits can keep you motivated during extended training programs.
In the previous weeks, we looked into the 'What, How and Why' of goal setting, and we also looked at how to make it a weekly practice. It is clear that setting goals is often a source of motivation.
What if you're enrolled on extended training programs or studying for exams? How can you stick to your goals and sustain motivation for long periods?
In 2002, two professors, Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham, well-known for their research on goal-setting, wrote an article in American Psychologist sharing their findings from 35 years of research. Basically, they found that setting specific and difficult goals with tight deadlines leads to better performance.
Their theory circled around five essential principles: clarity, challenge, commitment, feedback, and task complexity.
So, the argument for a long-term goals framework would seem settled.
But an abundance of advice suggests you should be SMART with your goals and look to the near future.
After several unaccomplished or even accomplished goals that did not bring the expected rewards as initially hoped. Now, I strictly insist on preparing my plans and schedules and setting goals at weekly intervals. After burnout and workload rush-crash, I am after a 'feel good' process rather than accomplishing a tangible goal.
But sometimes, bold goals are necessary.
Sometimes, we have these big, audacious goals that require a lot of effort to achieve and maintain. It can be tough to keep up with them, especially when we're busy with other things in our lives.
It’s great to dream big, but the way to achieve big is to start small — through micro habits.1
According to an author of the HBR article, To Achieve Big Goals, Start with Small Habits by Sabina Nawaz, to achieve big goals, start with micro habits.
Microhabits are like little building blocks that help you construct bigger habits over time. They are small, doable tasks that you can work on consistently to make progress towards your larger goals. Taking on these tiny goals can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and eventually achieve your ambitious objectives.
So, how can you use goal setting and microhabits to stay motivated in extended training programs?
During my last 18 months of training, I combined the Locke and Latham theory and the Microhabits system, which worked.
Let me walk you through it now.
1️⃣ Set clear objectives (clarity): For example, when studying for a certification exam, I aim to study for an hour each day or complete a specific number of chapters each week.
Micro habit: I would block out study time on Sunday evening and plan the rest of my activities and commitments around it. You've got to be a stickler for the priorities; otherwise, you get railroaded by seemingly different priorities.
2️⃣ Set challenging goals (challenge): There are several challenges that long-term training puts you through. First is the prolonged, persistent effort you need to put in; second is the challenge that comes with learning something new and then applying it and being eventually tested on it.
Micro habit: I would apply a small chunk of learning straight into practice the next day to help reinforce learning. The idea of applying your knowledge in practice isn't new; it has been introduced previously. Implementing learning requires deliberate practice. More minor learning makes it easier to apply straight away.
3️⃣ Stay committed (commitment): I needed to dig deep and understand why taking an 18-month program was meaningful to me and why now. What would make it worth spending 18 months on? What was I willing to postpone or give up altogether?
Micro habit: I wrote the answers to these questions on the Post-it notes and stuck them around the apartment. I did not let myself forget!
4️⃣ Seek feedback (feedback): Feedback is necessary with long-term training. It requires you to attend periodic review sessions with your mentor or coach every couple of months.
Micro habit: Proactively schedule feedback session with a mentor before they can even think about it and prepare one question I want to get an answer to during that scheduled session (it has to be something I have not asked yet)
5️⃣ Break down complex tasks (complexity): An extended training program can be demanding on your time and overwhelming in its complexity. You need to break these complex tasks into small actions to avoid getting overwhelmed and swept under the rug of workloads and requirements.
Micro habit: Take action on the micro habit from point one weekly.
💬 And that's your weekly do. Now it's your turn.
Think about your upcoming project; it needs to be something that’s big, demanding and time-consuming.
How can you follow the five elements of Locke and Latham's theory?
Then, I would challenge you to take it further and set micro habits for each stage.
And, of course, you're free to share it with me in the comments below.