Latest / Women Who Ship / 2. Run the Plan, Not the Fantasy: Making Ambitious Goals Stick
Transcript
- Sarah Williams: Hey friends, today I want to talk about goal setting. There is always a ton of pressure around setting big goals in January, but honestly, this is something we have to navigate all year long. Specifically, we want to look at why so many of our ambitious goals quietly fizzle out a few months after we set them, and what we can do differently as high-achieving women in tech who actually want to follow through without burning out. To talk through this, I'm going to use my own recent running goal as a case study, but these same concepts and tools will help you develop sustainable goals for yourself and for your team at work. Let's get into it. So at the beginning of the year, there's always that new year, new me energy. You purchase some beautiful new notebooks, you're all excited with your plans for the new year, perhaps you're setting goals at work to align with OKRs, but then that energy starts to fizzle out. And a few months in, you find yourself not really working towards those big goals that you set for yourself. For example, I set myself before the beginning of this year, and we're now about halfway through the year, I set a running goal to run a 5K race by May at an eight-minute per mile pace. This goal made sense for me because I have always consistently had a regular gym habit, but it did feel a bit ambitious in that even when I was running regularly, I had never achieved an eight-minute per mile pace. And also I had been doing workouts that were quite different. They weren't I wasn't running anymore. I was doing more weightlifting and and weight training workouts. And you may be able to relate to setting a big ambitious goal. And as a high achieving woman in tech, you may be able to relate to this. You're probably really great at execution, and you're motivated by big, audacious goals. But sometimes execution But sometimes execution doesn't automatically translate into setting goals that are sustainable. For example, I thought that I already had great execution skills. ⁓ I set this goal as a way to get out of a rut at the gym. Remember this because this was my why. But my body wasn't really conditioned for running anymore. I'm not in my 20s. And I hadn't run for a long time consistently. I'd been doing a different style of workout. So it was a bit of a of a shocker, I'd say, to my body. And there are a couple of ways that goals can go awry. So the first way is setting vague and ill-formed goals like I want to run more or at work, I want to network more. Then the other way that a goal can go awry is if you set a big goal and then you pursue it with so much intensity that you end up burning out. And I'm definitely guilty on that second one. I set a very aggressive goal for myself and ended up pushing myself to injury. And what can happen when we set ourselves goals that we don't achieve for any of these reasons is that it can damage our self-trust. We tend to then think of ourselves as the type of person who sets a goal but then doesn't follow through. My dick big So my big idea for you today is that SMART goals, and that's an acronym we'll talk about, paired with small, consistent actions and the willingness to adjust as you learn, give you the best shot at actually achieving what you set out to do without burning out or breaking yourself in the process. In other words, clarity plus tiny, boring steps. Plus flexibility will beat that new year new me intensity every time. So the first tip is to set SMART goals. And this may be an acronym that you've heard of at work. It's SMART, and it stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time based. So I tend to think of specific and measurable going together. So instead of creating a goal like I just want to run more, you set That goal, you make that goal more specific by applying some type of measurability to it. So for example, I didn't say I just wanted to run more, I said I wanted to run a 5K and I wanted to run it at that eight minute per mile pace. So thinking about our work example as well, instead of just saying I want to network more, I would set a really specific goal like I want to improve my networking skills by having one networking conversation a week. For the next 12 weeks. Then you also need to, so the next acronym is attainable or the next So the next thing you want to think about is whether this goal is actually attainable. For my running goal, I felt like it had it was because I have definitely run a 5K before, and I also had been pretty consistent in the gym. So I didn't think it would be any problem for me to achieve this. ⁓ same thing with networking conversations. Absolutely attainable to have one networking conversation over a week for the next three months. Now here's one that's very important, and that is making sure that your goal is relevant. This is your why. So there's definitely going to be times when you're setting ambitious goals that it's going to be difficult to keep pushing towards what you want to achieve. And when you make that goal relevant for yourself, then that increases your motivation to keep up with it when the going gets tough. So there's going to be times like if you're running, that it's raining outside, or that you're tired, and it'd be kind of easy to just give up and stay inside. But when you really anchor that goal to your why and you think about your why, that can help you stay consistent when the going gets tough. So for these goals that I've been thinking about, we already talked about that the why for my running goal was to increase my motivation at the gym. And for my networking goal, that would be to make connections with other women in tech. Then the last thing is to make your goal time-based. So you'll set yourself a deadline, like I set myself for the running goal, a deadline of May for the networking goal. We set ourselves a goal of within the next 12 weeks. So when we bring those all together, the specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based goal is I want to run a 5K at an eight minute per mile pace by May. to increase my motivation to work out. Or I want to have one networking conversation a week for the next 12 weeks in order to make more connections with women in tech. And those are your smart goals. The next tip I have is to make small, sustainable changes to help you move towards your goal at a consistent pace. So I recently read The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson. The next tip is to make small, sustainable changes so that you can keep progressing towards your goals at a consistent pace. So I recently read The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, and my biggest takeaway from the book was that very small changes over time can compound into big results. So, for example, the first time that I ever Learned to run that I ever made it a part of my exercise routine. I did the couch to 5K program. And this program is a great example of the slide edge. So you'll set for yourself a goal of running maybe three times a week. And your first workouts with that program are really building you up to achieving the 5K. So the first time you go out. Maybe you're gonna walk for a minute and then run for 30 seconds. But then the next week when you go out, you'll end up walking for a minute and running for 45 seconds. And you keep building and adding on small changes and small increases in the amount of time that you're running until you build up to you're running fully a 5k and you can go run to run your race. So, this could also apply to your work goals. You want to think about something that you can do today that's small enough that progresses you towards your goal and then is transformational over a year. So if I had set myself a goal to the first time I attend a networking event with women in tech, I meet 12 people, that would be quite overwhelming. But it doesn't seem that overwhelming to initiate one networking conversation a week or to attend. one event over the next three months where I have a chance to meet several women in tech. It's that same idea of incrementally shipping imperfect software or weekly spending time to learn new skills. So the last tip is to be sure to stay flexible and adjust. So we'll have to talk about exactly how my running goal went awry. So my first goal, as we talked about, was actually to achieve an eight-pinute. So my first goal was actually to achieve an eight-minute per mile pace. So my first goal was actually to see if I could achieve an eight-minute per mile pace. I found it really exciting to actually see if I could do it. As I mentioned, when I was running before, probably the best pace I had ever gotten. I'm a very slow runner, was like an 11-minute per mile pace. And I had heard about, you know, there's these stories in the news about people thinking that it's impossible to run, you know, a four-minute mile and then someone does it. And so I was thinking. ⁓ well, let's see what I could do for myself. But I definitely overestimated my fitness level. I am not in my 20s anymore. And so I followed a plan for a few weeks, but then I ended up with really swollen knees and a calf injury. So that pretty much brought my running to a screeching halt. So once I had that injury, I decided to adjust my plan that first I was just going to get my body used to running, get out there more consistently three times a week, you know, kind of go back to that, to the basics of doing a couch to 5K or doing something that would just get me used to spending that time and working out in that way. And I adjusted my So my plan was to just get out on the pavement and get used to running again. I also adjusted my plan to increase my target pace to a 10 minute mile because that would still be an improvement and not as much of not as intense of an improvement as an eight minute per mile. Now I did want to tie this in a bow for you all and say, ⁓ yes, those adjustments worked great. And I ended up, you know, I'm signed up for a race in May to, and I should hit my 10-minute mile. But this is real life. And that's not what happened at all. My goal actually fully changed a few weeks into the new year because of that relevant piece of the smart. Goals and because of my why. So the reason that I even wanted to go after this goal was because in the past I had set a running goal for myself and found it super motivating. And it was exciting to set a goal towards a race and to work towards it. But the real thing that I love about going to the gym is when my friends are there and we're all, you know, having a good time working out together. I have it to them to look, I have it ugh. We're all having a good time working out together, and I can look forward to seeing them when I go there. And so at the beginning of the year, my friends actually suggested that we all join a new gym that has a really great atmosphere. It's very encouraging. I'm constantly pushing myself to do better just because of the way that the coaches are and the formatting of the ⁓ you know classes there. And so I found and something. That connected to my why that was completely different from the original goal. So just know that it's really important to make sure that you're not just getting tunnel vision on one aspect of your goal. I didn't just give up on a goal. I gave up on running, but my whole goal was to be motivated to go to the gym, right? And I achieved that through this completely different way. So I'm not saying to like anytime it gets hard, you stop and you do something different. What I'm saying is really think about what's gonna connect with your why and what's gonna get you there and be flexible to adjust in that way. And I I've just as a cautionary tale, I'd like to tell you a bit about this book Into Thin Air by John Krakauer. And this is about the 1996 Everest disaster. And what had happened was there were a ton of climbers during this time that went to Everest and they became so fixated on their goal of summiting the peak that they ignored. All kinds of ⁓ advice about turnaround times, you know, when you're gonna go summit Everest by a certain time of day, if you haven't achieved ⁓ a certain level, you really need for your own safety to turn around so that you have plenty of time to get back to camp. There were weather incidents, there were also all kinds of warning signs that made this time on Ever to Everest one of the most deadly. So the goal of getting to the top. became more important for those people than the reality of the situation around them. So this is just a very extreme example of where getting tunnel vision can really cost you is you're working towards your goals. So for everyone listening this week, here's your experiment. Take one goal that you already have. Maybe it's running, maybe it's a promotion or a project, and run it through that SMART filter. This is actually a great use for one of your AI tools. It's very simple just to say, hey, I have this goal. Can you help me make it fall into the SMART framework? Then think to yourself, what is the smallest repeatable action that I can take towards this goal this week and then think through what signals will tell you that you need to adjust the goal or the plan. Write those answers down. If you're feeling brave, share them with a friend or a mentor or your manager, or you can share them with me. ⁓ be sure it's someone who can help you stay honest and flexible instead of all or nothing. That's it for today's episode of Women Who Ship. I'll link the slight edge and into thin air in the show notes if you want to go deeper on those ideas. That's it for today's episode of Women Who Ship. I'll link the slight edge and into thin air in the show notes if you want to go deeper on those ideas. Thanks for listening. Go set one clear, kind goal for yourself this week and give yourself permission to adjust as you go. I'm glad you're here. Let's go ship some good stuff together.