Goals and Tasks

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Setting a goal seems simple enough. Figure out what you want to accomplish and set a goal.

In real life, however, things are rarely that simple. Especially for those of us with ADHD.

A goal is usually a big thing, something that will take longer than 10 minutes and more than one step to accomplish.

That can be overwhelming for us.

That’s why it’s important to learn to break a goal down into small, manageable steps.

For instance, for a very long time now, I’ve been saying that I want to lose weight.

“Lose weight” is not a goal because you cannot measure it. Theoretically, if I lost a tenth of a pound I would reach my goal of “losing weight”, but I would not be happy with the results.

Also, I had a vague idea of what to do to lose weight. Change my diet, make healthier choices, move more.

Again, these things are too vague to be of much use. Saying I need to eat healthier food is not specific.

The better way is to get as specific as possible. The way I do this is to ask myself “how am I going to do that?”

When your answer to “how am I going to do that” is something small and simple that you can do in about 10 minutes, you’ve got a good task that will lead you to your goal if you keep it up.

Here is part of my process for clarification. Each new line represents the answer to “how am I going to do that?”.

I want to lose 35 pounds.

I am going to follow a healthier and lower calorie food plan.

I am going to find a program that will support me in my weight loss.

I will search online for something that appeals to me and seems to be a good fit.

That last line is a good task to start with. Find a program online that appeals to me and seems as though it will work for me.

Once I have found one, I have completed the first step to reaching my goal of weight loss and I can go on to the next.

You can apply the same process to your own goals. Set your sites on something specific that you want in your life. Break it down into steps and work on them one at a time.

Picture of Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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