Have you ever heard of the concept of the minimum effective dose? I think the first place I heard about minimum effective dose was from Tim Ferriss. He defines it as “the smallest dose that will produce the desired outcome.” I define it as doing the bare minimum that I will still consider successful.
See, this is how my goal setting typically works each year. I get really pumped up about setting annual goals. I have even purchased several books and courses on the best ways to set goals. I create a list ambitious goals based on the Wheel of Life, so I can ensure I am addressing every area of importance. (Is my Type A showing yet?) But without fail, by December I have only accomplished 1 or 2 on the list, and feel like I failed and just wasted my year.
Stop the insanity.
But thinking about grace, my word for 2017, reminded me of the minimum effective dose. So I revisited my goal list and re-wrote them in a way that takes much of the pressure off myself but will still help me move the needle in several areas.
My Goals for 2017
- Spiritual: Spend 5 minutes each morning in prayer and pray before every meal.
- Health: Complete Revelation Wellness’s The Little Way challenge.
- Marriage: Read two Christian books on marriage.
- Motherhood: Play with Francesca 30 minutes each day with no distractions.
- Work: Double income from 2016. (This is not that impressive; 2016 was a slow year.)
- Personal Development: Create evening routine and complete She Works His Way digital detox.
- Social: Join connect group at church.
- Recreation: Complete 1 fun project each month such as hand lettering or soap making.
To keep these manageable, I’m going to follow Jon Acuff’s advice in 30 Days of Hustle of just selecting 1 or 2 goals to focus on each month. And Chalene Johnson recommends treating these 1 or 2 things like a course of study, eliminating distracting information from books, podcasts and blogs that doesn’t center around that month’s goals.
I’ll report in at the end of each month and let you know how it went. Up for January is The Little Way challenge. I love tackling a health goal in January because making healthy choices is in the air. Everyone is doing it, and that makes it easier for me to have accountability. I’m only choosing one goal for January because we are moving into a new house, so I’m going to be slightly busy with that. (Hate moving but love being moved.)
And if you missed the first post in this series about choosing a word for the year, you can read it here.