As we plan our goals for the coming year, motivation is soaring. Riding that wave of anticipation, we feel energized and ready to dive in. Perhaps we want to ramp up our content creation, or maybe we aim to become a certified professional photographer. But over the next month or so, it starts to wane. By early February, it has dissipated, and we’re treading water again.

How can we approach goal-setting and achievement in a more sustainable way?

Our problem usually isn’t the goals we’ve set—it’s how we’re approaching them. Read on for a new way to think about evaluating and accomplishing your ambitions. We’ll look at why we so often fall short on achieving our New Year’s resolutions, how to identify great goals, and how to implement a blueprint for a successful system.

Why We Fall Short in Progressing Toward Goals

When it comes to taking action to reach goals, several common issues hold us back. A couple are psychological in nature; the other pertains to the framework we implement (or don’t) for achieving our goals. Let’s examine each of them in turn.

Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis seriously harms our productivity, creativity, and overall well-being, research has shown. We get caught up in the myriad of large and small decisions that we need to make en route to a goal, facing choice overload. This stumbling block on the road to success keeps us from channeling our energy into creative and effective forward movement. Getting caught up in the unlimited information at our disposal, we fear taking the wrong steps and procrastinate on taking action.

Our decision-making style can influence our tendency to get caught up in decision paralysis. Some people mull over a decision indefinitely in order to make an optimal choice, while others prioritize making a good choice even if it’s not perfect. The former, termed “maximizers,” tend to be less satisfied and happy in life, writes Bryan Lufkin for BBC. Meanwhile, the latter, termed “satisficers,” tend to be more content because they accept their choices—even though they’re not perfect. These tendencies can affect how we approach countless large and small choices as we tackle daily projects.

Internal Obstacles

Everyone faces obstacles toward their goals. How we navigate them makes all the difference. And the internal obstacles are often the most insidious, because we may not even recognize them in the moment. Our self-talk and energy level can affect our motivation and progress in significant ways, for instance. While positive self-talk can improve executive functioning, negative self-talk can make us feel defeated before we’ve even begun.

Lack of a Plan

True progress comes from small, ongoing improvements, as James Clear says in an excerpt from his best-seller Atomic Habits. People who don’t bring home the gold medal at the Olympics had the same goal as the winners, he points out. The difference is in the system they used to achieve it.

Have you set great goals, but not systems for reaching them? Goals help you establish the direction of progress, but systems are what actually move you toward your objectives, as Clear says. Instead of ruminating on your goals, focus on designing systems that will help you move toward them. Let’s turn to how to do that now.

Embracing a Systems-First Mindset

Having a “goal-first” mentality can make us less happy and fulfilled, Clear explains. Why? We’re constantly delaying our happiness until we’ve achieved the next milestone. This also imposes an “either-or” conflict, he adds—either we succeed in achieving our objective or we fail. We’re focused on that conflict throughout the day.

The solution? A systems-first mentality. “Goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress,” says Clear. “When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy.”

Let’s discuss how to implement strong systems for moving toward your goals now.

Create Daily Routines

Design daily routines that support productive habits. You can have different routines centered on different types of work, such as editing and photography sessions. Create workflows that consider how your energy fluctuates throughout the day. For instance, you might begin by working on a more mentally demanding task at your desk and then progress into client calls or photo sessions after your social battery charges.

To build new behaviors into your routines, try habit stacking. This means attaching a new habit onto an existing one. For example, as you tidy up your desk and prepare to leave work, you could set mini-goals for the following day. Or, before returning a client’s call, you could look at notes on your previous sessions with them to reflect on their preferences.

Define Clear, Measurable Steps

A good system has clearly defined steps that can be tracked and measured. Create or adopt checklists for certain types of projects so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time. Break each step into smaller ones to avoid ambiguity. And for each deliverable, define what the finished product should look like.

Construct Methods of Handling Obstacles

By anticipating obstacles that might undermine follow-through, you can overcome them. Come up with “If-then” plans for handling situations like feeling low-energy or growing overwhelmed. For example, “If I’m feeling drained, I’ll take 10 minutes to work on a simpler task that I really enjoy.”

Similarly, consider the conditions that will set you up for success. If you want to learn a new skill, practicing it for 30 minutes each day might work better than spending five hours on it every two weeks. 

Choose an accountability partner as well. Make agreements to talk through your challenges with each other, sharing ideas and perspectives.

Create Time Constraints

Parkinson’s law holds that tasks will expand to consume the amount of time we allocate to them. So, set tighter deadlines for the milestones you want to reach, while still being realistic, as Brian Tracy suggests. Then, in focused time blocks, devote your complete concentration to the task at hand.

Engage in Long-Range Thinking

Long-range thinking centers on continuous improvement rather than shorter-term goals. Focus on the purpose that drives you and the habits you’re forming more than the specific goal you’re heading toward.

Use Tools to Track Your Progress

Leverage intuitive ways of measuring your progress over time, like project management tools. Apps like Todoist and Monday can help you prioritize tasks, stay organized, and track the direction of progress. If you add an assistant or other staff, these tools will also help you track team efforts.
By implementing great systems, you’ll feel more capable of moving toward your goals. And because you’ll be focused on the process rather than just outcomes, you’ll enjoy what you’re doing more as well.

Getting to the Root of Your Goals

As you achieve some of your objectives, you can easily set new ones when you already have them in the pipeline. Use these prompts to drill down to the root of your goals, journaling on these topics:

• What “wins” from the past year made you feel most satisfied?
• Did any successes, large or small, really highlight your emerging strengths? How so?
• How did you adapt to any curveballs? What did you learn in the process, about yourself or the work?
• What elements of your work do your clients most appreciate? What brings them the most joy or meaning; what surprises them?
• What about your approach is working, and what is not?

Prompts like these can provide food for thought that helps you keep refining your goals and systems throughout the year.

By adopting a systems-first mindset, you’ll stay enthused and engaged in meeting your goals throughout the year—all while maintaining a profitable photography business. As you reach each goal, you can set new ones, leveraging the same systems to keep momentum high. In the process, you’ll likely find yourself feeling more energized, optimistic, and focused.

Use PPA’s range of helpful photography business tools, and our supportive community, to move steadily toward your goals. Talking through your challenges—and celebrating your successes—with peers and mentors in your field can be immensely rewarding. Our members find it helps them keep their motivation high as they build their business, enhance their skills, and achieve professional milestones along their journey to success.