While it's possible to start using the ExcellGrowth app with a set of goals that have your attention right now, it's worth spending some time making sure these goals are taking you where you want to go. But first, you need to know where you want to go. Not always as obvious as it seems.
For this exercise, a digital whiteboard tool like Apple's Freeform or Miro is great, but if you prefer old-school analog then get the sticky notes and a wall ready!
Working "vision back"
Figure out your overall vision for 2-3 years into the future. This is a short statement of how you would like to see yourself then; how you would describe your world. Write this on a sticky note.
If you want more granularity, you can break down the overall vision into 6-8 areas. For example, some areas to think about could include:
Home
Work
Relationships & family
Finance
Health & wellness
Learning & personal development
Travel
Think about how your overall vision translates into each area of importance to you, and write a sticky note for each one.
It's OK to iterate between areas and overall vision, to-ing and fro-ing will help flesh things out.
Defining "stepping stones" to future
For each area vision, work back from the future in a series of steps, taking 3 month blocks as a guide (i.e. each stepping stone would take about 3 months to complete). Write a sticky note for each step.
Don't worry about converting them all into detail yet.
Converting near term stepping stones to "smart" goals
Taking the most near term steps (e.g. for the next 3-6 months), think about how to convert them into goals, with the necessary detail to make them "smart"* e.g.
How can you scope the goal to be achievable and impactful in the time available?
How long do you want to allow for the goal (around 3 months was the starting assumption, but you can fine tune)?
What does 100% complete look like? 75%, 50%, 25%?
How will you know you are making desired progress?
What supporting habits will you need to enable the goal?
What dependencies exist, and what do they mean for when you can start the goal?
Using the ExcellGrowth app to help progress your goals
The goals you have defined can be entered into ExcellGrowth and you can use the app to track progress. As you complete goals, you can move them into Archive, and new goals can be added to Pending; making the high priority ones that can be worked on now Active.
Repeating the vision-back cycle
It's important to be aware of where our goals are taking us, otherwise we can get caught-up in day to day busywork. Repeating the vision-back cycle every 3-6 months helps ensure that our goals are aligned with our future vision, and we are working on them in the right sequence to have the greatest impact.
The whole process can be little daunting at first, and the input of a coach can be helpful. Get in touch if you would like some advice.
*SMART = specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timebound.