I don’t know about you, but I tend to get ambitious with my time. Because I have a scanner personality, there are about 25 things I want to do at any given time. And I’ve gotten pretty good at defining and setting my goals. But I can’t do it all at once! Over time, I’ve developed a short answer to how many goals I can work on at a time. Yours might be different – and I have some considerations for you to keep in mind!
Short answer: 3 goals at a time
The best answer for me is to have 3 goals at a time:
- One to work on
- One to procrastinate on
- One to look forward to
So, at any given time, I’ll be actively working on something (currently, building content for the blog). I’ll also have something I know I should do, but don’t really want to work on right now (making more German flashcards). And then, I’ll have something I’m really looking forward to working on (knitting a sweater).
This isn’t a conscious rule. I don’t sit down and assign a goal to be the one I’m procrastinating on. It’s more of a loose structure that works for me. Over the years, I’ve found myself overwhelmed when I have more than three big goals on my list. And if I have fewer than three, I end up without one to look forward to. And what’s the fun without something to anticipate?
Why not one goal at a time?
One goal at a time seems reasonable. If you’re only focusing on one thing, you will be more efficient in reaching your goals, because you won’t lose any time to transitions between tasks. But that only works in theory for me. If being focused on one thing at a time works for you, I would HIGHLY recommend it.
But it doesn’t work for me – I end up doing absolutely everything but that one thing.
Don’t overdo it: the one-hand rule
Fun fact: your working memory can only hold 2-5 things at one time. So if someone asked you to remember 7 double-digit numbers, you would probably lose track after 5.
For that reason, you might want to limit your goals to a maximum of 5. If you can’t list them off the top of your head, you’re likely to lose track of them. And don’t despair: if you have more than 5 things you want to do (as I always do), use that as motivation! Pick the things you most look forward to. And when you finish one, you get to pick another! Yay!
Consider the size of your goals
Ok, let’s be real: not all goals are created equal. My goal to clean my apartment by the end of the weekend has a very different scope to my goal to learn piano and start an acoustic blink-182 cover band with my brother. Much as I would like, I’m not going to accomplish the latter by the end of the weekend.
Enter the rock, pebble, sand analogy.
There’s a popular story I’ve seen circulating about a professor that uses rocks, pebbles, and sand to demonstrate how prioritizing the important things in life will maximize how much you fit in your life. Here’s an image to demonstrate:
If, like on the left, you start with the little goals (sand), then add your mid-sized goals (pebbles), you likely won’t find time for all the big important goals (rocks). But, if switch the order, like on the right, you’ll likely be able to find time for all your big important goals, all your mid-sized goals, and most your little goals.
So when you think about your goals, try and decide how big they are. And size could be how long it will take to accomplish, how excited you are to work on it, or how important it is to you to finish. And make sure you’re keeping yourself to 2-5 rocks. Then, you can figure out how much time you have for your pebbles and sand.
Make sure your goals are in synch
As you look at your top goals, one last thing to make it easier to work on them is to ensure that they’re in synch. In other words: will working on one goal undo the work on another goal? It’s probably safe to assume that your goals support each other. But if you find yourself struggling to achieve a specific goal, take a look at why.
Money goals can often get in the way of social goals. I really value spending time with my friends, though I rarely set specific goals around it. But if I’m overspending my social budget, I have the opportunity to make a choice (rather than feeling endlessly guilty about not hitting my budget goal). I can choose to either increase the social budget, create opportunities to have spending-free social time, or adjust my expectations for social time.
Anyway, I hope these considerations help you answer the question of how many goals you should have at a time. At the end of the day, it’s a personal question with a personal answer. But the best answer is the one that works for you!
