Setting goals can be most effective as mini-skirts; short enough to be attractive yet long enough to cover the essential parts[1].
The attractiveness of a miniskirt comes from it being mini. This principle can be employed in setting goals. I will be referring to miniskirt as sweet mini throughout this essay.
Usually goals are grouped into two: long-term and short-term. Conventionally, short-term goals are seen as those that can be achieved within a shorter period whereas long-term goals are those that require longer time. The main flaw with this definition is the focus on achieving the goal instead of the goal itself. Sweet minis are mini whether they are worn by a woman or mannequin. No one buys a sweet mini to later trim it down. In the same way, goals have their natural duration of completion even before anyone sets out to achieve them.
For example, any person interested in learning React framework anew should expect to take longer than another learning JavaScript. Basically, React is built on JavaScript; it is just JavaScript with added features. Assuming it takes 3 months to learn JavaScript. Any naive person who sets out to learn React within 3 months without any prior knowledge of JavaScript would end up spending 6 months at least because he would have to cover 3 months of JavaScript before he actually starts to learn React. Another disadvantage would be that such a person would get to only learn JavaScript that pertains to React. Whenever he starts to learn Vue framework, he would also have to spend the early months learning the JavaScript that pertains to Vue. What a waste of time and effort.
It’s ideal he learns just JavaScript within 3 months then he can branch into any of the added-feature frameworks. So get to know the natural duration of completion of each goal before you close it within time tags. Knowing it takes 3 months to learn JavaScript should inform you that setting a goal to study React within 3 months, without any prior knowledge of JavaScript is too short of a sweet mini, it’s more of a panty. Setting a goal to achieve a sweet mini whereas you’re actually directed towards a panty says a lot about how frustrated the results will be at the end. You would only spend more time to achieve so little.
Without accurate knowledge of the natural duration of completion of each goal, we will end up setting goals that cannot be achieved within the timeframes we set. Instead, we will end up achieving other irrelevant, less-quality by-product goals that are so different from our original goals.
Another principle of sweet minis: their attractiveness and identity as sweet minis depend on the size of the wearer. This principle ties in with the aforementioned on knowing the natural duration of completion of the goal. The natural duration of completion of each goal depends on it’s complexity. More often than not, complex tasks take longer time whereas simple ones take shorter time.
The sweet mini of a slim lady might be a left limb socks for an obese. Different tasks demand different time allocations. So in choosing a mini skirt, it’s essential to know the size of the wearer. Setting goals follow the same path, know the complexity of the goal before you even set out to find how long it will take to achieve it. If you set the duration of completion before you discover the complexity, you will subconsciously fit the goal within the duration of completion you've already set. However, if you assess the complexity of the goal first, you’ll end up with the natural duration of completion. Then you decide whether to agree with that duration of completion or put in more work to achieve more than expected within that duration.
The duration can’t be altered (else you’ll end up achieving a byproduct goal) but how much is accomplished within that duration can be worked at. Sweet minis of the same length may vary by how tight they are on the individual wearing it. So you can pack a lot of activities within a short timeframe but you got to also deal with the tightness and busyness that comes along with that.
Finally, every long skirt is just an elongation of sweet minis just as any long-term goal encapsulates numerous short-term goals. As unattractive as long skirts are, so are long-term goals. But you can hack your way into making your long-term goals attractive by cutting them into short-term attractive goals. Thus, you get to enjoy the attractiveness and effectiveness of sweet minis whilst aiming at making a long skirt. You do it little by little, poco a poco.
One benefit of long term goals that we often overlook is the flexibility that comes with it. Long-term goals are complex and therefore require a lot of flexibility and breaks for their accomplishments. But we seem to often despise this advantage. Most folks start with short-term goals and expect to achieve their long-term goals with the same enthusiasm and speed with which they completed the short-term goals. It doesn’t work that way. As sweet minis are elongated into long skirts, the bigger they become as they near the legs and feet. Tightened legs restrict movement. Getting to the middle and later stages of each long-term goal, enthusiasm begins to decrease as well as resources so it’s essential to be more flexible at that period so you can achieve your goal as planned.
In the same light, as you set your long-term goals, ensure the shorter ones that fill the middle and ending portions of the longer timeframe include more flexibility to fill in for the decreasing enthusiasm and increasing complexity.
Anyone can accomplish any goal if he can appropriate his short-term achievements properly to keep him on track of achieving his long-term goals. All it takes is understanding your goal: it’s complexity, natural duration of completion and how to keep the candle burning in periods of decreasing enthusiasm and attractiveness through flexibility. Carefully set these three thoughts aright anytime you set off to achieve any goal and you are surely going to achieve them within the exact timeframe you scheduled.
References
1. "...as mini-skirts; short enough to be attractive yet long enough to cover the essential parts" from Prophet Uebert Angel Snr's sermon on “Jesus among other gods”