On Twitter I see more and more people sharing their goals and habits publicly. They review the past year, think about the next one and finally set specific goals, rules and habits. I love reading these because it gives a unique insight into the thought process of ambitious individuals. After much thought I also decided to post my goals as I saw it as a good way to test the waters of external accountability. Absolutely no one would care if I wouldn't reach my goals but at the same time multiple friends already asked if my internet really isn't working before 10:00 (spoiler: it isn't).
The overall mechanics of Twitter don't enable proper tracking for most goals. Sure, I could post midterm reviews or connect my Strava to Twitter. I could even build my own Airtable dashboard. Enfin, to keep track of your goals it still entails a lot of manual work; something not every wants to do. En plus, making quitting unnecessary easy.
I believe that there is room for a product dedicated to goal setting, goal tracking, and habit tracking. Can we create software that makes sharing/tracking of goals more efficient, effective, and above all, fun?
What I have in mind is something I call a 'reallife RPG'.
The mechanics of a personal RPG
Let's break this down. To understand the mechanics of such a platform we first need to understand the mechanics of a good goal. I define a goal as a desired result that a person envisions, plans and commit to achieve.
A reaching your goals can be broken down into two pieces. Setting your goals, and reaching your goals. I see good goal-setting as something that is both measurable and has a deadline. As I wrote earlier, a goal is easier to reach when there is habit formation, external accountability and the elements of gamification.
The framework for goal tracking software can thus be summarized as:
Setting your goals:
- Making it measurable
- Setting a deadline
Reaching your goals:
- Create habit formation through daily/weekly output
- Incentivize through external accountability
- Incentivize through gamification
Let's explore this further tomorrow.
