Stage 4: Strategy | Focus Areas & Goals

You can't improve everything at once, and trying to will scatter your energy until nothing moves. The goal of this step is to identify 3 to 5 focus areas where change would create the most momentum in your life right now, then set specific, values-aligned goals within each one.

The word "goal" gets a bad reputation, mostly because people set goals that belong to someone else (a parent, a partner etc) and then wonder why they can't stick with them. The research shows that goals only work when they match who you actually are. When they connect to your real values, you try harder, persist longer, and feel better doing the work. When they don't, you burn out or quietly abandon them.

So we're going to help you set goals differently here. Each one will be tested against your values, your strengths, and your energy. If a goal doesn't pass that test, it doesn't make the list. Simple!

What the research says

Goal specificity and challenge

Edwin Locke and Gary Latham spent decades studying what makes goals effective. Their goal-setting theory, first published in 1990 and updated through the 2000s, found two consistent predictors of performance: specificity and challenge. Vague goals ("do your best") produce weaker results than specific ones ("finish 3 client proposals by Friday"). And goals that stretch you moderately outperform easy ones.

But difficulty only helps when you're committed and your commitment, of course, depends on whether the goal feels meaningful to you. Which brings us to the next piece of research.

Self-concordance

Kennon Sheldon's self-concordance model asks a simple question: whose goal is this? Goals that come from your own values and interests (what Sheldon calls "autonomous motivation") lead to more sustained effort, better performance, and more satisfaction when achieved. Goals driven by guilt, obligation, or external pressure produce less effort and less happiness, even when you hit them.

Sheldon found that people who set self-concordant goals were more likely to keep working on them over time and more likely to experience well-being gains from achieving them. So, before you commit to a goal, check whether it's actually yours.

Keystone changes and the domino effect

Charles Duhigg's research on habits introduced the concept of keystone habits: small changes that cascade into other improvements. When someone starts exercising regularly, for example, they often start eating better, sleeping more, and feeling more productive at work, without consciously deciding to change those other areas.

The same principle applies to focus areas. Some domains in your life have more leverage than others. Improving your sleep might improve your mood, your relationships, and your work. Fixing your finances might reduce anxiety that's bleeding into everything else. The "momentum potential" in Exercise 1 is designed to help you find these leverage points.

Exercises

Access your Notion workbook here.

Exercise 1: Choosing your focus areas

Pull out your vision work from Stage 3. Look at the life you described wanting. Now score each domain below on three dimensions: current satisfaction (1-10), importance to your vision (1-10), momentum potential (1-10). Be honest; there are no right answers.

Life dimensions
Work/purpose
Relationships/love
Health/body
Finances/freedom
Hobbies/projects/fun
Home/environment
Contribution and community

Momentum potential: if this area improved, how much would it positively affect the rest of your life? A 9 means improvement here would ripple outward. A 2 means it would stay contained.

Now multiply Importance by Momentum potential for each row. Your top 3 to 5 scoring domains are your focus areas. Write them down.

Exercise 2: Goal setting for each focus area

For each focus area you chose, fill in the template below. You're setting one 90-day goal per area. Keep them specific and measurable. "Feel better about my finances" is too vague. "Save £500 in an emergency fund by September" is specific enough to act on.

Focus area:

• 90-day goal (specific and measurable)

• Why this goal (connection to your values or vision)

• What "aligned" means here (how does this goal connect to who you are?)

• First action (the smallest next step you could take today)

Exercise 3: The alignment check

Before you commit, run each goal through these four questions.

• Does it use my strengths?

• Does it honour my energy rhythms?

• Is it mine? (Or someone else's expectation?)

• Would achieving it give me peace of mind?

If a goal fails more than one, reconsider it. A misaligned goal will drain you even if you achieve it.

Use Yes / No / Partly. If you wrote "No" or "Partly" for more than one question on the same goal, that goal probably needs reworking. Ask yourself: what would a version of this goal look like that I could answer "Yes" to on every line?

Reflection

Sit with these. Write whatever comes up, even if it surprises you.

• Which focus area scares you the most? What does that fear tell you?

• Are any of your goals motivated by guilt or obligation rather than genuine desire? Be honest.

• What would you need to say no to in order to protect time for these focus areas?

• If you could only achieve one of your goals this quarter, which one would change the most?

• Who in your life would support these goals? Who might resist them?

• What's the cost of not choosing? What happens if you try to work on everything at once?

AI companion (optional)

How to use: After completing exercises 1 through 3, use this prompt to get a second perspective on your goals. Paste your actual answers (not generic descriptions) for the most useful feedback. The AI works best when it has specifics to react to.

Copy and paste the prompt below into Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI assistant:
I'm working on a life-design exercise where I've identified my top focus areas and set 90-day goals for each. I'd like your help pressure-testing them.
Here are my focus areas and goals: [Paste your focus areas and goals from Exercise 2]
For each goal, help me check:
(1) Is it specific and measurable enough that I'll know when I've achieved it?
(2) Does it feel like MY goal, or does it sound like something I think I should want? |
(3) Is the 90-day timeframe realistic given my current life?
(4) What's one way I could make the goal more aligned with my actual values?
(5) What's the smallest possible first step I could take this week?
Be direct. If a goal sounds vague or borrowed, say so. I'd rather fix it now than abandon it in 6 weeks.