I've seen a similar approach taken in business through the use of the OKR process (objective key results), which in a common formulation targets 70% completion for similar reasons to you: at 100% completion you are being too conservative and not stretching, and at less your just not getting enough done. It's just as important to target failure as it is success because if you never fail yoyur not talking on enough risk to succeed long-term.
In a previous role I had an informal target of having 50% of our tests fail every year. It was essentially a check that we weren’t getting complacent and just doing what we already knew.
Do you ever find yourself inclined to not work as hard as you could so you don't have to set bigger goals next week?
No, because I try to align my goals with my general well-being, and not just with raw work output. It's really more about intentional living than working hard. A goal might also be: "Take at least four 20-minute breaks from work today".
Thanks! This seems plausibly effective to me, and if it works, that's awesome!
For how long have you been using this system?
Do you know of anyone else who is using it currently and says it works?
I have been using it for about 4 months now myself now. I have not shared this technique with anyone else yet, so I don't know whether it works for other people. This is one of the reasons why I made this post, to hopefully inspire some other people to use it and see whether it works for them.
Good idea, I might actually try this one.
Some questions on implementation:
When do you set your daily goals? Are you doing this exercise each morning of the particular day, or are you setting these on the evening before?
Do you have specific time slots set to update the tracking or do you do that each time you complete a task?
Did you change something in the process since you started using it (e.g., something that seemed too arduous or ineffective)?
I do it first thing every morning, Monday-Friday. This is of course a personal preference, but generally I have trouble with establishing habits in evenings, due to reduced executive function. I like to immediately tick a task as completed when done (small dopamine boost), but check when setting new goals, whether there are any unresolved goals from other days.
The main change I have made is separating goals into different time categories. before that, missing a daily goal had as much impact as quarterly goals. Other than that, I haven't changed much to the whole routine.
I use a simple but effective system to reach my goals. At the beginning of every day, week, and quarter I formulate my goals such that I believe I will have an 80% probability of achieving them. I note them down in an Excel sheet and track how many of them I reach before the deadline. If I reach more than 80% of them, I recalibrate and set more ambitious goals for the next period. Do I reach less than 80% of them, then I set easier or fewer goals for the next period. This system has multiple advantages:
If you want to try the system I have a few practical tips:
That's all. Now go reach your goals! Well, exactly 80% of them.