Select and define one priority goal to pursue at a time, setting aside other goal pursuits, as attempting many simultaneously often leads to failure.
Choose a goal that feels challenging or ‘a bit out of reach’ because discomfort, frustration, and anxiety are necessary triggers for neuroplasticity and successful learning.
Write out your priority goal and the specific verb actions you will take to achieve it on paper with a pen or pencil, as this physically reinforces the goal in your nervous system.
Clearly define the specific verb actions (e.g., ‘run X miles,’ ‘attend Y classes’) and the exact amount of time you will spend on them weekly to pursue your priority goal.
Establish a 12-week (quarterly/three-month) cycle for focused goal pursuit, and within that, clearly define the specific hours per week, hours per day, and specific days you will work on the goal.
For goals that are hard to quantify (e.g., writing a book), focus on precisely quantifying the amount of time spent on specific verb actions (e.g., ‘write 800 words/day,’ ‘practice for 2 hours/day’) rather than solely the end outcome.
Before starting daily work, assess your motivation: if motivated, visualize positive outcomes for 1-5 minutes; if unmotivated, visualize the negative feelings of failure for 1-5 minutes to kickstart action.
To increase focus, alertness, and motivation during a work block, pick a visual target (at an appropriate distance for your task) and maintain narrow visual focus on it for 30-90 seconds, repeating as needed.
To enhance focus and productivity, turn your phone off or put it in airplane mode and remove it from your immediate vicinity during goal pursuit sessions.
To sustain motivation long-term, use random intermittent reinforcement for milestones (e.g., flip a coin after a session to decide whether to self-reward), as consistent rewards diminish potency and motivation over time.
Acknowledge the ‘middle problem’ (decreased motivation in the middle of a session, week, or cycle) and overcome it by breaking the middle section into smaller, more achievable chunks, potentially incorporating visual target training or fear-based visualization.
Reframe frustration and errors encountered during goal pursuit as indicators of progress and necessary gateways to neuroplasticity, which helps sustain effort.
Learn to derive pleasure from the effort process itself, enjoying the pursuit of a goal for its own sake rather than solely for external validation or proving others wrong, as this fosters powerful and sustainable motivation.
Avoid telling others about your goals before initiating action, as the positive feedback received can prematurely activate reward systems and diminish long-term motivation to pursue the goal.
Schedule your most demanding goal pursuit sessions during your natural peaks in attention and motivation, which for most people occur 30 minutes, 3 hours, and 11 hours after waking.
While optimal timing exists, the most critical factor for goal achievement is simply ‘getting it done’ and engaging in the planned actions, even if it means working outside of ideal conditions or times.
Cultivate a positive view of your past day’s accomplishments and your upcoming day’s pursuits, as this subjective outlook significantly impacts your feelings of energy and well-being, independent of sleep quality.
If seeking external accountability, choose one ‘accountability buddy’ who will strictly remind you or ask if you completed your tasks, rather than offering general positive feedback.
If using visual reminders for goals, update them daily (e.g., write a new sticky note, move it to a new location) to prevent your visual system from adapting and canceling them out.
When eyes feel fatigued during goal pursuit, switch to panoramic vision by relaxing your gaze and viewing a broad field (e.g., horizon outdoors, corners/sides of a room indoors) to alleviate eye strain.
Drink Element (electrolyte mix) in 16-32 oz of water first thing in the morning and during physical exercise to ensure adequate hydration and electrolytes for optimal brain and body function.
Use the Waking Up app to engage in meditation, mindfulness training, yoga nidra, or NSDR sessions for varying durations to place your brain and body into different states and restore cognitive/physical energy.