Background
One blog post every month, one audiobook every month, and saving more than 60 percent of my salary, were my 2021 goals. I achieved all of those in 2021. How did I do it? Answers are simple and in this post.
The post contains 5 tools and books which helped me, set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) goals and track those goals.
1. Time management course on Udemy (COST: FREE)
A Mini-Course on Time Management on Udemy.com is 37 mins long and FREE to enroll. This gem has changed my life forever.
“It is not that we have short time to live, but we waste a lot of it.”
Learn time management and you will make time for whatever goals you have planned for 2022 and beyond.
The course will guide you on how to set up your morning rituals, organize your work time, how to get in the zone for productive output, how to prioritize work, and much more.
2. Kitchen Timer (COST: $6)
Kitchen Timer is going to make sense only if you complete the course above.
The course contains ideas on getting in the zone for productive output. So set time for your goals and use the below strategy from the course to work on those goals.
- Set a specific time for your goal
- Set timer for 20 mins on kitchen timer ( that’s how long usually mind can focus)
- Focus on one thing uninterrupted (just that one thing) in that allotted time
- Provide all your mental power to that one thing
- Distractions are worst ( it takes more than 23 mins to get your focus back from distractions)
- NO Multitasking at any cost to avoid distractions
Why NOT use a phone for timers? Our phones are distraction machines. one buzz, one notification, that is all it takes to distract you and me from the current work.
Why only a kitchen timer? Anything with a timer except the phone would work. The kitchen timer has only that purpose and hence I like those. Plus you can grab in multiple colors too for your desk setup.
3. Book-Atomic Habits (COST: $12)
We are the product of our habits. Our good habits help us survive and bad habits can destroy our lives.
Understand the basics of how to form good habits. Atomic habits by James clear will help you do just that.
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
I have read, re-read, listened, and watched videos on this book. Every page is full of learnings.
This book will help you form systems to achieve your goals not just for 2022 but for the future too.
4. Book- The Compounding Effect (COST: $12)
Goals can be achieved easily if you break them down into small actionable tasks. Form habits to work on those small tasks and the compounding effect takes care of the rest.
“Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE.”
The Penny Example
The magical penny example from the book demonstrates the power of the compounding effect. Answer the below question.
Would you choose 3 million dollars today and walk away OR would you take a penny that doubles every day for the next 30 days? What option would you choose?
See the result of choosing a penny in the below pictures, a wise person would know which option to choose.
Pic: Compounding Effect in action
Learnings from the penny example,
- Play long-term games, see the graph, it took 29 days to see the value of penny against 3 million dollars
- Form good habits and stick to them, be consistent to see the long term effect
- We must suffer the short-term pain of time to reap long-lasting happiness
5. NOTION App (COST: FREE)
Notion app will help you manage and track your goals.
Notion app is the only tool that helped me organize, visualize, track, and deliver my ideas.
Here is the simple Notion board I use to deliver new content on this website.
"The habits you repeat every day largely determine your health, wealth, and happiness."
Notion application is free, available on almost all the devices, and ready to go (no learning required).
If you want advanced tips watch this video: Advanced GTD Dashboard in Notion
Conclusion
Goals can be achieved with actionable daily tasks. Write your ideas, create SMART goals, break your goals into small tasks, and form habits to work on those tasks.
The post contains a list of 5 tools that can help you achieve your goals.
- Learn Time management: A Mini-Course on Time Management( FREE)
- Kitchen Timer ($6)
- Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear ($12)
- Book: The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy ($12)
- Notion -Productivity management application (FREE)
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit."
3 thoughts on “5 must buys to achieve your 2022 goals ranging from $0 to $15”
Good list.. keep it up !
Thanks Kshitij.. Yep lots of learning and thanks for sharing the Notion tool with me.