Latest / DevQuestions with Tim Corey / 238. Creating Clear Goals That Get Accomplished

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238. Creating Clear Goals That Get Accomplished · DevQuestions with Tim Corey

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: The New Year is a great time to reevaluate your life and identify things you want to improve upon in the coming year.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: However, each year most people fail at their New Year's resolutions before they even get out of January.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, how do you set up your goals in a way where you're more likely to succeed?
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: In this episode of Dev Questions, we're going to lay out the framework for succeeding at your goals.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_01: You can't move forward in life without change.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_01: But just wishing things were different isn't enough.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about how to turn these goals into reality.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Dev Questions podcast with Tim Corey.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Software development is more than just writing code.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about the rest of it.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_01: Specifically, let's talk about how to turn your goals into reality.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people wish for things and they wish they were software developers.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: They wish they had a better job.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: They wish they had gotten that raise or that promotion.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: Wishing just makes you miserable.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm all about helping people accomplish those things.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: But to accomplish these tasks, you need to have a goal and you need to take specific steps to achieve that goal.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: So let's talk about how to make sure you accomplish the goals that you set out to achieve.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_01: As I see it, there are seven things you can do to make sure you achieve your goals.
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  SPEAKER_01: Number one is to be realistic.
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  SPEAKER_01: Set clear, measurable goals that are honest and achievable.
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  SPEAKER_01: Not I'm going to learn C sharp in four weeks.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's not honest, that's not achievable, probably, and it's not clear and measurable.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Instead, I'm going to study C sharp for three hours per week for a month.
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  SPEAKER_01: That's clear.
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  SPEAKER_01: That has a specific time bracket around it.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's something you can measure.
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  SPEAKER_01: And even if you struggle learning C sharp, even if you hit a rough patch, it's not about did I learn C sharp or not?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's about did I work on that for four weeks for three hours per week?
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  SPEAKER_01: That's the difference.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure you set clear goals.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure those goals are realistic.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure they're measurable.
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  SPEAKER_01: All right, number two is to use a calendar.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: So tie your goals to calendar events.
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  SPEAKER_01: Sit down and schedule what you're going to accomplish.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: You don't want to just say, I'm going to study for three hours a week.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's great, but when?
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because what's going to happen is if you don't put that on the calendar, you're going to start off by maybe your first day of the week is Monday.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: So you're going to do three hours the first Monday and go, yeah, I got it all done.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then you're going to wait for a week or maybe even do extra.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: We'll talk about that in a minute.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: But you're going to get those three, those three hours done the first day.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: And the next week, it's like, oh, you know, it's a Monday.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know Mondays.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'll just do it Tuesday.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then Tuesday, it's like, well, I'm so tired.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And Wednesday is like, oh, it's, you know, it's halfway through the week and I'm, you know, just kind of worn down.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm busy.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, Thursday comes and the kids have a soccer game, and Friday comes and it's Friday.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Who wants to do studying on Friday night?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: And Saturday comes and it's like, oh, I'm so tired.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: And Sunday comes, you know, I'm just kind of relaxed and chill.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to think about work.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And then Monday comes and you've missed a whole week.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: And you didn't get anything done.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Now, that can be okay, but not if you just do it accidentally.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: If it's just the, hey, we kind of let that thing slip, that's a problem.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: So if you use your calendar and say, I'm going to study on Monday nights at 8 p.m.
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  SPEAKER_01: for an hour, and on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: for half an hour, and then on Saturdays for an hour and a half starting at 10 a.m.
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  SPEAKER_01: Like that's clear and on your calendar.
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  SPEAKER_01: Put it on your calendar as recurring events.
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  SPEAKER_01: Make sure it pops up.
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  SPEAKER_01: Make sure you have reminders.
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  SPEAKER_01: Make sure that when it comes time for you to schedule things, that this takes priority.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so use a calendar.
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  SPEAKER_01: Number three is plan for disruptions.
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  SPEAKER_01: What are you gonna do when the calendar event gets bumped?
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  SPEAKER_01: Maybe your kids have a, again, a soccer game Saturday morning and that's when you're gonna study normally.
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  SPEAKER_01: So what are you gonna do?
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Have a plan for it ahead of time.
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  SPEAKER_01: Don't just say, oh, well, I'll just not do that this time, or I'll try and get to it later.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: No, have a plan.
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  SPEAKER_01: Have a plan for a backup time.
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  SPEAKER_01: Say, okay, if it gets bumped on Saturday morning, then I take some time on a Saturday night.
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  SPEAKER_01: This is what I have to do.
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  SPEAKER_01: If I get bumped on a Monday night, I'm gonna do it Tuesday night.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: Have a plan for disruptions.
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  SPEAKER_01: It makes it much easier and it makes it more likely that you will still accomplish your goal, even with the disruptions of life.
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  SPEAKER_01: Number four is pace yourself.
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  SPEAKER_01: Don't get so enthusiastic up front that you burn out.
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  SPEAKER_01: Stick to the schedule.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see this a lot in gyms.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when January 1st rolls around, a lot of people buy gym memberships and they show up January 1st, January 2nd, and they work out super hard, they're exhausted, they they do every machine and they go home and they never come back.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: Or maybe they come back a couple times and then they just get so tired and burned out and you know sore that they just don't come back.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, don't do that.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: Slow and steady wins the race.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Don't study for 20 straight hours or 20 hours in a week when you're gonna, your target is five.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay?
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  SPEAKER_01: So don't do too much.
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  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, what happens is you first of all get exhausted and you just don't want to see it again.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: And it drags you down, it makes you feel miserable to come do it instead of having any kind of enthusiasm around it.
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  SPEAKER_01: But also, it it's not really effective in most cases.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: So instead, take the time off from the goal, whatever it is, like maybe training in C sharp.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, take the time off, refresh your brain, and then come back to it in the next session.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: That way you're eager to keep going forward.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: You have a little bit of like, ooh, it's time rather than oh, it's time.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, you want the former, not the latter.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: So stick to the schedule.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Number five, track your successes.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I would encourage you here, keep a physical reminder of your progress.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: One option here is put a put a jar on your desk and put a you know, a jelly bean or a pinto bean or something in every time you do your act, an act towards your goal.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_01: So every time you actually follow a schedule and do the studying during that study session, put a B in the jar.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: And the purpose of this is that you want to look back and say, I have made progress.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: You'd want to look and say, I am moving forward.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: Because what can happen often is when you don't track those successes, when you only track your failures, then you feel like a failure.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: When you miss a session and don't make it up, you're like, oh, I'm just a failure.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: I, you know, that's a problem because what's going to do is it's going to discourage you from doing it again.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: When you miss that first time at the gym, you're like, I'm just not, I'm not cut out for this.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: And the next time it's a little easier not to go because you feel like a failure already.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're already a failure, what's the harm in failing again?
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_01: So instead of doing that, start filling up that jar and look back at that jar and say, hey, I am making progress.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now you can do it digitally, and sometimes that's fine, but really the physical act and the physical thing you can see rather than just a digital tally tracker is a little bit more effective.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so being able to see something and touch something and realize that I am making progress is a big deal.
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  SPEAKER_01: And that leads us into number six, which is to focus on the progress.
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  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so results are gonna vary.
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  SPEAKER_01: If you decide I want to go on a diet, and the first week you lose two pounds, and you're like, sweet, I'm gonna lose two pounds every week for a year, I only lose 100 pounds.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: That's not what's gonna happen.
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  SPEAKER_01: Um, in fact, some weeks you may go back up.
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  SPEAKER_01: And if you're focusing in on the results, then you get discouraged because you're doing the work, you're spending the time, you're putting the effort in, and you're not seeing the results.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: But that consistency is important.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: Results are gonna vary.
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  SPEAKER_01: So you're studying C sharp, at first it's gonna go quick.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if statements, variables, gotta, I can do these things all day long.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then you hit object-oriented programming, or you hit events, or you hit a sync, or you know, you hit something where it's like, I'm gonna slow way down because I don't understand.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Take the time to understand.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: Focus on the progress.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: You're spending the time necessary to work through it.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Push through the hard thing, which means you're going to bog down.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's okay because you're not tracking the results, you're tracking the progress.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: If you get 10 things done, you learn 10 things in C sharp the first week, and you learn one thing over the next four weeks, but you spend the same amount of time, that's okay.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're pushing through, you're plotting along, it may be slow at time, that's okay.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: You are making progress.
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  SPEAKER_01: So focus on keeping your pace.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Just take the next step.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Don't remember the finish line.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: The finish line will come eventually.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: But if you focus always on the finish line, how far away it seems, then it's going to be discouraging.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Focus instead on take the next step and then watch all the steps behind you you've already taken.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Number seven, request accountability.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: Work with somebody else.
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  SPEAKER_01: Encourage each other, celebrate each other's wins.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_01: And again, this doesn't have to be another software developer.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because what you're doing is you're focusing on the progress.
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  SPEAKER_01: You're focusing on, I've got a plan and I'm working the plan.
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so someone else can have a totally different plan, but they're also working the plan.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you are if you're saying, hey, let's keep each other accountable, then you can make sure encourage each other to work the plan.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Make sure each other is paying attention to the schedule times and actually getting things done and readjusting the schedule if the schedule no longer works, and making sure that you get consistent progress going.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: Now, I would love to see you utilize this framework to achieve your goals.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so let me know if you're on YouTube, there's comments down below.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Let me know what you're working on and how you're doing in your progress over time.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for the question, and as always, I am Tim Corey.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us for this episode of Dev Questions.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: When you're ready to learn to think and code like a professional developer, head over to IamtimCorey.com and enroll in a course.