Set Goals, Make a Plan and Then Attack that Plan
It’s the new year, and time for the tradition of setting resolutions for the year to come.
Ugh.
Please don’t set resolutions this year. But Wait! you exclaim. Shouldn’t I reach for my big dreams in the new year? ABSOLUTELY! But, in order to live those big dreams, we need to set specific goals and craft an action plan to realize those goals.
Resolutions won’t get this job done because too often they are vague ideas about something we want to do or make happen. The issue here is the vagueness that comes with most resolutions. They don’t create a clear path for where we want to go, how to know if we are on that path, or when we actually get to the end goal.
Maybe you want to “be more consistent with training,” or “get stronger,” or “increase speed.” Okay, great! I’m down with these resolutions as a start. To ensure we take these vague resolutions from ideas to practice, we’ve got to:
1) be specific,
2) have a plan, and
3) engage the plan with intention.
A specific, action-oriented daily practice is the key to our success in athletics and in life. This week’s article offers tips on how we can flip the script from resolutions to ACTION.
Be Specific
In order to achieve a big dream, we need to be specific about exactly what that goal entails. Effective goals are specific and measurable. We know where we are headed, can chart our progress along the way, and feel the sense of accomplishment that comes when we’ve nailed it.
So, let’s take the example of being more consistent with training. Consistency is an excellent goal to start with. Now, let’s make this goal specific and measurable.
What does “more consistent” look like in practice? Let’s say you are currently completing an average of 60% of your scheduled training. For success at most events, we want to complete about 90% or more of our scheduled training to be prepared and ready to rock come race day.
So, we change to this goal to say: I will achieve 95% consistency in my training within 4 weeks. Once I achieve 95% consistency, I will maintain this level of consistency through the remainder of the year.
Life happens, so it’s important to leave some wiggle room for the occasional need to miss training. But you probably want to create some clear boundaries for that wiggle room. For example, it’s okay (and recommended) to miss a workout when you are sick or injured. But, it’s a good idea to set a rule that you won’t miss a workout just because you don’t feel like doing it. A lot of times, we don’t feel like it – but the show has to go on anyway. I like to encourage myself with this old chestnut: #SuckItUpButtercup.
I’m sure many of us also have a resolution to get faster. Okay, let’s play the same game. What does “getting faster” look like to you? Does this speed equate to a PR, or a certain “super secret time goal”? Whatever it is, be specific about it, and make it something you can measure.
Let’s say you want to cut 2 minutes off your 5k time, which is a pretty substantive chunk of time for short course. So, this won’t happen all at once. You may set a few milestones along the way, first taking off 30 seconds and then another, and so on. But, since your goal is measurable, you can celebrate these milestones as they come.
Create an Action Plan
The action plan takes us from where we are today to where we want to be in a certain period of time. Since we’ve created specific, measurable goals, we have a clear sense of the path. The action plan guides the journey down the path, helping us to stay on track, determined, and disciplined.
This action plan includes:
- What we need to do each day, week, and month to achieve the goals we’ve set. Consider how each of your long-term goals has a series of short-term goals, and each of those short-term goals requires a series of small, deliberate actions to make them happen. Outline those deliberate actions. Your training plan is one example of outlining daily deliberate actions.
- How to manage the barriers that will inevitably get in the way of enacting the action plan. No matter how committed you are to your goal, there will be obstacles that get in your way. What can you do to minimize those obstacles, and/or ensure you do what needs to be done despite those obstacles?
- How to hold yourself accountable to the action steps you need to take. Keep in mind that not all modes of accountability require “punishment.” Instead, think of how you might reward yourself for sticking to your plan. The challenge with long-term goals is that we don’t always see the benefits in the short term. So, creating your own benefits can help you with engagement.
Let’s return to our example to achieve 95% consistency in training. A key obstacle to consistency is waiting until the afternoon or evening to do your training. So, maybe the action plan should include steps to ensure the training gets done in the morning. That might look something like this:
- Go to bed earlier to wake up earlier
- Practice good sleep hygiene to make it more likely that you go to bed earlier
- Set up your gear, coffee, and food the night before for easy grab and go
- Do not look at your phone, email, etc., before starting your workout. A lot of times, if we let work or life enter before we start, the workout gets pushed aside. So, wake up, eat breakfast, get going, and feel great when you are done!
To hold yourself accountable, think of ways you can reward this behavior or encourage it. Some ideas:
- Arrange to meet a friend at the pool or gym. Or, invite friends to meet you for a run or a ride on Zwift. You won’t leave a friend hanging! Even if you are doing different workouts, the accountability of meeting another person goes a long way.
- Use the 10 minute rule. If you don’t feel like starting, so what? That’s normal. Start anyway. Give yourself 10 minutes. If, after 10 minutes, you feel worse, then dial back the effort or stop. But, 9 times out of 10, you’ll finish the job you started.
- Get yourself that yummy latte after your workout, or spend time chilling in the hot tub (if your gym has one), or some other sort of reward that speaks to you in the morning. These are two of the rewards I like for myself!
- Save a favorite show for when you do your indoor training. Make that your treat for hopping on the trainer or the treadmill. (Thanks to Kelly Myers for this tip!)
Engage Your Plan With Intention
Goals and plans don’t mean much if we don’t set a meaningful intention to follow through. Ultimately, no one but you can make this magic happen – not your coach, not your friends, no one but Y.O.U.
James Clear talks about an implementation intention in his book Atomic Habits. An implementation intention is “a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement a particular habit” (James Clear, Atomic Habits).
In our training, we each have habits or behaviors we’d like to do more consistently. For example, fueling and hydration, mobility, strength work, mental training, or [insert here the thing you wish you did more consistently].
Interestingly, research has found that motivation to engage in a behavior is NOT likely to make that behavior a habit.
Let me repeat that: your motivation WILL NOT help you engage your action plan.
However, if we set an implementation habit, our likelihood of engaging in the behavior increases SUBSTANTIALLY. According to some studies, we are 3x more likely to do the behavior with a clear implementation intention, which helps us remain disciplined to the task at hand. To read more about implementation intentions, see this great recap: https://jamesclear.com/implementation-intentions
To set the implementation intention for the behavior you’d like to turn into a habit, complete the following sentence:
I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].
Here are a few examples:
- I will meditate for one minute at 7 a.m. every morning in my kitchen.
- I will do my strength work for 30 minutes at 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays in my basement.
- I will run at 6 a.m. on Tuesdays at Beaver Creek Trail.
For best success, write down your implementation intentions, then put them somewhere visible or where you will get reminders. These places might include TrainingPeaks, your calendar, an office whiteboard, or a post-it note on your bathroom mirror.
The possibilities that a new year brings are exciting, and setting big goals is an important piece of what makes life meaningful. But, to achieve our big, hairy, audacious goals, we need to be specific about what they mean, create an action plan that works for our lives, and engage seriously with that plan with intention and focus.
I wish each of you an AMAZING 2026 – one in which you do what needs to be done to achieve the goals that will make your heart sing. Be open to the adventure and enjoy the journey!
Ready to turn goals into action?
If you want help building a clear plan, staying accountable, and executing with intention, reach out to us!