Setting Up Goal Systems

Why goal setting alone doesn’t work, and the goal systems you can set up instead. 

There is something special about the significance of a New Year, and the chance to have a fresh start. However, when it comes to goal setting, we often we fall into one of two traps:

Trap number 1: Skipping goal setting all together. Without a clear direction, we can end up feeling stagnant and unsure of our next steps. Or trap number 2: Setting overly ambitious goals in January, that fizzle out before February is even over. This can leave us feeling deflated and doubting our ability to follow through.

The question is, how can we turn our new year's motivation into consistent action and make meaningful progress towards what matters the most to us? The answer lies in shifting our focus from setting and forgetting goals, to building better systems to achieve them. 

This year, let’s turn your goals into actionable steps and get you a little closer to the life you envision for yourself. 

The 4 steps to effective System Setting. 

Hey, it’s Christina here from the Burnt Fit team! I’ve created a free worksheet to help you plan your goals systems step by step as you follow along with the blog post below.

Inside, I’ve included all the questions you need to build your own system as well as an example goal I’ve set for myself this quarter and how I have created a system to implement it. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PDF TEMPLATE

Now, let’s get into the 4 steps and start building momentum toward your goals.

Step 1: Reflect

The first place I start is understanding, “Where am I currently?”. It is important to celebrate the progress you’ve made, have gratitude for the things that went well and learn from the challenges you’ve faced. The awareness that comes from reflecting on your year can give you clarity on your priorities going forward. 

Step 2: Choose your 12 week challenge

While it’s tempting to head into the new year with a long list of goals, picking too many new habits or too many goals at once is a fast track to letting yourself down. 

I have shifted my approach, from a long list of unattainable goals to a couple of high impact goals I want to achieve over the next quarter. The idea is to then repeat the process every 12 weeks with a new set of goals.

By narrowing your focus to just 1-3 goals to work on over the next 12 weeks you give yourself the clarity you need to make meaningful progress towards them. 

When you set your goal for the quarter instead of the year, there is also the built-in urgency of a deadline near in the future, which makes you feel like every week counts. 

Step 3: Design your system 

Once you’ve chosen a goal, the next step is to design the system that will hold you accountable. 

Your system needs to: 

1. Identify the key actions each week

2. Schedule the time to complete them 

3. Have a means of tracking whether or not you’ve completed them 

A concept that really helped me make my goals more actionable was breaking down “Lag Measures” into “Lead Measures”. 

A lag measure is the traditional goal or end result (Run the race, lose weight or get fitter). The lag measure tells you whether or not you’ve achieved your goal, but only after the fact.

By contrast, a lead measure is an actionable step or behaviour that you have direct control over. Lead measures are the key actions that you can measure and see if you are making progress in real-time (Meal prep on Sunday or complete 4 training sessions each week). At the end of each week you will be able to see if you completed your lead measures and are on track towards your goal or if you haven’t completed them and need to refocus.

By focusing on your lead measures and tracking them consistently, you'll create a system that not only keeps you accountable but also ensures steady progress toward achieving your goal.

Step 4: Set up your environment for success

The final step is planning in advance so that you can follow through on your goals even when you’re tired and lack motivation. What changes could you make to your environment to support your goal? For example, if your goal is to work out consistently, you could lay out your workout clothes the night before or keep your gym bag packed and ready to go. 

What decisions could you make now to save energy later? If you plan ahead and build the steps into your system, you’ll reduce the mental load of sticking to your goals day to day, and make it easier to be consistent even on challenging days. 

Lastly, who or what will hold you accountable? Whether it’s a friend, coach, yourself, or even a system like a calendar or habit tracker, having someone or something to hold you accountable increases your chances of following through.

Get the free goal and system setting worksheet

Those are the 4 steps to turn your goal into a system. If you’d like to get the key questions, examples, and actions for each step.

My suggested further reading: 

This system setting process was put together from concepts from a number of books. If you’re interested in diving deeper, here are my top picks:

1. The 12 week year - Brian P. Morgan & Michael Lennington

2. Atomic Habits - James Clear

3. The 4 Disciplines of Execution -  Chris McChesney, Sean Covey & Jim Huling