LearningNerd

You want to accomplish something. You know you want it, you know why you want it, and you’re willing to do the work — whatever it takes. Now you just need to make it happen. So, how do you really commit to a goal?

Investment.

A project isn’t serious until you’ve invested in it. Now, when I say “investment”, I don’t necessarily mean money; you can also invest time and effort. Nobody likes to waste any of those, which is why an investment helps ensure that you won’t give up on your goal.

For best results, use a few of the following methods:

1. Announce it to the world! Tell everybody you know about your goal. Whenever somebody asks you what’s new, say, “I’m going to [insert goal here]! What about you?” This method doesn’t require much time or effort, but it’s an investment of personal pride, which can be even more important.

2. Write it down. Add it to your list of goals, paint it on your ceiling, or write it on a sticky note and stick it to your forehead. The act of writing something on paper helps many people remember and commit to doing things.

3. Blog about it. Make a blog to track your progress! That’s what I’m doing right here. (How else would I commit myself to learning everything?) I highly recommend this method; it’s an excellent motivator, and it helps others working towards the same goal.

4. Set a deadline. Some people work best under pressure. I’m not one of those people, but even I find a deadline helpful sometimes.

5. Make a gameplan. Break up your goal into smaller goals, and break up those smaller goals into even smaller goals. Then figure out how you can work on your goal every day (or every week or month) and add your mini-goals to your to-do list. Check out Do More: Online To Do Lists Compared for a review of five great to-do list services. You could also use a PDA for this, but I prefer a cheaper alternative: PocketMod.

6. Research it. Pretend you’re writing a research paper and gather every resource you can. Not only will you commit to your goal, but all those resources will help you accomplish it!

7. Get people to join you. Nothing works better than community support. Join a group, start a group, or just get one good friend to work with you. A great place for this is 43 Things, an online community based around goal achievement. (Be sure to send me a hello!)

8. Invest money. Nobody likes to waste money. So, who knows? Paying for that gym membership might also get you to go to the gym!

9. Make a bet. Bet someone five bucks that you can accomplish your goal. The larger the bet, the more committed you’ll be.

Please share your own techniques; I’d love to make this list longer!