For most of my life, I made New Year’s resolutions. Made them and forgot them. And my life went along, day by day, kind of wandering without a destination. Then one New Year’s Day as I was announcing my resolutions, it hit me like a ton of bricks… what was I doing?! Where was I going? What was I doing with my life?

That day I set my first goal – to learn how to set goals. It was a long learning curve, but I persisted. And today I have settled on a process that serves me well. Because to the degree I follow it, I always achieve the goal I set. Here are my time-proven steps for achieving what you want in life:

Step 1. Keep a Master List of Lifetime Goals. I organize mine into 7 categories: Career/ Business, Finances, Health, Leisure Fun, Family/ Relationships, Personal and Spiritual Growth, and Physical Environment. For each category, I write down what I want to do before I leave this life. These are my BIG GOALS. The things that “if I could have, do, or be anything”, what are they?

Write each goal in positive “I have it now” language. For example, “I am a trim, toned 145 pounds”. Make sure your goal is quantifiable, that is, don’t simply say “I want to Iose weight”. Write your goal with as much detail as possible.

Add to your Master List as often as you like. (I have over 100 goals currently!) Periodically update your goals, making them clearer, more specific or larger. Stay flexible!

Step 2. Select Annual Goals from your Master Lifetime Goals list. Pick one or two from each category. Ask yourself “what would make this a homerun year for me if I were to achieve it?” Create a list of goals you want to achieve in the next 12 months.

Now give each goal on your 12-month list a reality check. Do you honestly believe you can achieve this goal? If not, why not? Does this goal conflict with any of your other goals? How would you feel 5, 10, 20 and 50 years from now if you never achieved this goal? Would it really matter? Having asked and answered all of these questions about your goal, do you still want this goal?

Step 3. Once you have a solid 12-Month Goals list, take each goal and break it down into broad action steps. For example, if you have a goal of Family Vacation in Hawaii, your action steps might be 1) schedule time on family and work calendars, 2) research transportation and lodging arrangements, 3) calculate budget, and 4) finalize travel arrangements. Identify any obstacles you must overcome to achieve each step. These might become action steps in themselves. Is there someone or something that stands in the way of you completing each action? What must you do to overcome them? Perhaps you need the help of a certain person or group to achieve your goal. An added action might be to contact and enlist the help of these persons. Do you need to learn a new skill to achieve your goal? What must you do to accomplish that?

When you have a fairly comprehensive list of actions, set a “no later than” completion date for each of the steps you have listed. Rearrange your goals with their actions in chronological order according to the completion dates from nearest to farthest date due.

(Okay, by now you’re saying “Kathy… you’re killing me! What is with all the LISTS?! I’m never going to do this!) It sounds cumbersome, but you only do this once a year. Hang in there for another paragraph… I promise, there’s a method to my madness.

Step 4. Now that you have broad actions identified for achieving your annual goals, break them down even further. Take each action and create a 20-minute Task List. Write down tasks that will take you no more than 20 minutes to complete. For example, under Research Transportation and Lodging Arrangements, you might list “get airfare comparison online from SideStep.com” and “check Navy Lodge website for availability”.

Once you have your 20-minute tasks, they become your “time fillers” that we all look for between meetings, phone calls, and appointments. You know, that white space in your day that you currently fill with wondering what to do or maybe catching a quick game of computer solitaire? That time when you say I wish I had more time so I could get started on that big project?

By having a planned 20-minute task list, you can now fill that white space with actions that will move you closer to your goals. Before you know it… you will have achieved your goals with NO EFFORT!

Why is it that some people have everything they want and others are struggling just to keep up? If you aren’t achieving your goals in life, if you aren’t living the life you always wanted – You may simply need to rethink how you spend your time. Personally, I’ve discovered that the 20-minute task list absolutely helps me achieve all of my goals… and then some.

In fact, the first year I used this method, I had achieved all my annual goals by April. Hmmm… Time to set some bigger goals!