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I& #39;ve been thinking about goals differently recently. More like "intrinsically valuable visions."
Thread on how I use @RoamResearch to track visions/activities/projects/intentions (kind of like @Complice but I needed stepping stones between goals and intentions).
#roamcult
Thread on how I use @RoamResearch to track visions/activities/projects/intentions (kind of like @Complice but I needed stepping stones between goals and intentions).
#roamcult
To outline "Visions": one way to start is with any goal you have or thing you might care about doing, like "run a marathon."
But ask: why? *Why* do I want to do that?
Keep asking until the answer is just something like "because it& #39;s good."
Example internal convo:
But ask: why? *Why* do I want to do that?
Keep asking until the answer is just something like "because it& #39;s good."
Example internal convo:
- I want to lose 10 lbs.
- Why? Why do you want to lose 10 lbs?
- Because it& #39;s better for my health.
- What does it matter to you if you are healthy?
- If I am healthy, I will feel fully alive.
- Why do you want to feel fully alive?
- *I just do*.
- Why? Why do you want to lose 10 lbs?
- Because it& #39;s better for my health.
- What does it matter to you if you are healthy?
- If I am healthy, I will feel fully alive.
- Why do you want to feel fully alive?
- *I just do*.
IMO people often set goals because they *seem like* good goals, without introspection re: why the goals matter. By asking "why", you end up with a set of statements that boil down to "I think it& #39;s intrinsically valuable to do X", which you can interrogate productively.
Once you& #39;ve narrowed to something intrinsically motivating, you can describe any particular vision a little better.
e.g. What does feeling "fully alive" look like, for me? I expanded: "I want to feel healthy, alert, vibrant, focused, at ease."
e.g. What does feeling "fully alive" look like, for me? I expanded: "I want to feel healthy, alert, vibrant, focused, at ease."
I ended up with 6 of these statements, that do a pretty good job of spanning my overall lifespace. Any goal/activity/project I take on should be in accordance with at least one of these. If I feel like I& #39;m missing something, I& #39;ll add it later.
OK, how do you do decide what to do on any particular day, given that you& #39;ve got a sort of outline now of what it looks like for you to live well?
Under each vision, I ask: what am I pretty sure I have to *maintain* in order to achieve this vision? E.g. to "feel alert", I& #39;m pretty certain now that I need to consistently eat a low-carb diet, and exercise at least 3-4 times a week. These just seem to be empirical facts.
This is how I generate a list of "activities to maintain." I create notes for these prefaced with "A:" in Roam, nested under each of the Visions.
Next step: for each vision, ask: what are concrete things I could do that would improve my likelihood of realizing this vision?
E.g. for "feel healthy, alert..." I could hire a coach, or consult a nutritionist, etc.
E.g. for "feel healthy, alert..." I could hire a coach, or consult a nutritionist, etc.
I create a "Project" page for any of these that are multi-step, nested also under the Vision. Each project page has a Next Steps block, which contains a list of /TODOs suggesting next possible actions to move the project forward.
Note though my "run a marathon" goal is just GONE now. It turns out running a marathon is not particularly causally linked to anything I intrinsically value. Neither is something like "lose 10 pounds." So I got rid of these sorts of unjustified goals.
OK, now I have a list of "Activities" to maintain, and a list of "Projects" that will help me realize "Visions." How do I decide what to do on any given day?
I scan across all Activities and just check intuitively how well I& #39;m maintaining. Am I eating well, sleeping enough, writing daily, etc? What areas need renewed attention? Remember these are all things I& #39;ve decided are *necessary* to achieve the visions I described.
Monthly: I choose the Activities that need the most focus/attention, create resolutions for the next month about how often I& #39;ll engage in those activities, and then add them to a [[Monthly Resolutions]] page. Monthly seems like a good timescale to review these sorts of things.
![Monthly: I choose the Activities that need the most focus/attention, create resolutions for the next month about how often I& #39;ll engage in those activities, and then add them to a [[Monthly Resolutions]] page. Monthly seems like a good timescale to review these sorts of things.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ebpo0lhU8AE7qVk.png "Monthly: I choose the Activities that need the most focus/attention, create resolutions for the next month about how often I& #39;ll engage in those activities, and then add them to a [[Monthly Resolutions]] page. Monthly seems like a good timescale to review these sorts of things.")
Weekly: Then I set [[Weekly Priorities]]-- the two or three projects that I am choosing to prioritize that week. On the [[Weekly Priorities]] page, I block reference the Next Steps block of each priority project.
![Weekly: Then I set [[Weekly Priorities]]-- the two or three projects that I am choosing to prioritize that week. On the [[Weekly Priorities]] page, I block reference the Next Steps block of each priority project.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbpqGc7UcAAisq9.jpg "Weekly: Then I set [[Weekly Priorities]]-- the two or three projects that I am choosing to prioritize that week. On the [[Weekly Priorities]] page, I block reference the Next Steps block of each priority project.")
Daily: I use a Daily page template that has block references to the current month& #39;s Resolutions, and the current week& #39;s Priorities. So I set intentions each day *in the context of my resolutions and priorities*, and create /TODOs for each intention under an "Intentions" block.
Periodically I review which intentions I fulfilled on the [[Intentions]] page, which has backlinks to all the daily entries, so I can see anything left undone, look for patterns in what I& #39;m maybe procrastinating on https://twitter.com/hardy_lisa_a/status/1276602482962034688?s=20">https://twitter.com/hardy_lis...
Still slowly adapting this, but it has been working pretty smoothly for me so far for intention-setting in Roam!
(Even though I swore to myself I wouldn& #39;t use Roam for project/task management... I got sucked in.)
(Even though I swore to myself I wouldn& #39;t use Roam for project/task management... I got sucked in.)
