How to Achieve Long Term Goals

Most people struggle to achieve their long-term goals, as opposed to short-term goals.

The psychology behind this? I’m no expert, but it seems pretty straightforward.

Short term goals are at the forefront of your mind, and often driven by your need for instant gratification.

Long term goals, on the other hand, provide delayed gratification, the rewards of which can be much more impactful, but also less tangible. A long term goal of buying a house, for example, can provide financial stability, skyrocket your net worth, and help you dip your toes in real estate investment. However, saving up for the down payment can be a struggle if you’re living beyond your means and easily drawn in by advertisements for things that satisfy immediately like makeup, technology, etc.

The Maximalist Living Long-Term Goal Achievement System

1. Daydream - what does your ideal future look like?

Long-term goals are big commitments with big impacts on your life. To stay motivated and on track with these goals, make sure they matter to you in the long run.

Try this thought exercise:

• What does your ideal day look like? Forget financial limitations, geographical boundaries, and even logic. Map out what your ideal day in an ideal location and ideal environment would look like on a calendar. What time are you getting up? What job are you heading out to? Are you heading to work at all? What does your home look like?

• Now, what are the things that would help you make this day or imagined lifestyle happen? An apartment, a certain job, a certain academic degree, a certain amount of capital (money $$$), etc.

• Those larger things — a Master’s degree, for example, are long term goals. Buying a house is a long-term goal.

2. Write SMART goals

Goals should be well-defined so you have a clear path to success. Luckily, the SMART goal framework makes it easy to create clear and measurable goals. SMART is an acronym that stands for:

• Specific

• Measurable

• Achievable

• Realistic

• Time-bound

Here’s an example of a SMART goal: “This year, I will save $15,000 as a down payment for my first car, which will help me start my own business.” It specifies the amount of capital, what the capital is for, and the time frame within which the goal should be achieved.

3. Divide your long-term goals into short-term goals

Long-term goals take work and time to achieve, so you may feel overwhelmed at first. By breaking long-term goals into short-term goals, you make daunting tasks seem much more manageable, while also forming a path that will lead you to achieving big.

To set short-term goals, record all the tasks you need to accomplish in order to reach your long-term goal. Turn each of these bite-sized goals into its own SMART goal.

4. Make a plan to track your progress

It’s easy to forget or lose track of even your short-term goals. Make a plan to check in with yourself regularly! For example, debrief every Saturday, or after work each day. Gauge where you are in terms of progress.

Using a free project management tool like Notion or Google Sheets is a great way to visualize your progress.

5. Know when to get back on track

Sometimes, we give ourselves a little too much grace. If you haven’t checked in with your progress in over a week, that’s not flexibility — it’s a gateway to failure. For example, this article was supposed to be published on January 14th, and I’m currently wrapping up editing on January 25th. That huge delay is unacceptable to me, and I need to make a plan on how to remedy this sort of procrastination.

Take a a few hours to meditate on failure (which is expected and okay!), and develop a strategy to keep yourself motivated and on-track.