The Pros and Cons of Goal Setting

Two years ago a friend posted a photo online at the beginning of summer break that caught my eye. She and her family had made a giant poster filled with the fun things they wanted to do that summer. I borrowed the idea and gave it a little tweak, instead making my list out of Post-It Notes and turning my refrigerator door into one big colorful Summertime To-Do List.

It turned out pretty well. I didn’t complete every note, but I got to most of them. The whole thing added some welcomed structure to my summer, not to mention it really felt satisfying to peel off those notes when I was finished with them. I liked the idea well enough that I did it again last year, to about the same degree of success. 

Summer break for 2017 starts in just a few more days, and I’m not sure whether or not I want to cover the fridge in Post-Its again. I'm definitely a list guy, and this can be a great way to push myself into doing things I normally might not do if there weren’t goals attached. Making a list can motivate you to try new things, explore interesting places, and give yourself some experiences and adventures that you otherwise might not have. It’s also a great way to keep track of books to read, movies to see, or shows to binge. A list like this can help make sure time doesn’t slip by without having some fun, and can help provide the summer with a narrative.

My one mistake was making a list had actual To-Do list tasks mixed in with the summertime fun goals. A lot of these tasks are things I mean to get done during the summer because I’ve nearly procrastinated them into oblivion during the rest of the year. The problem is I’ll continue to procrastinate since I know I have the whole summer to get them done. Giving yourself things to do seems easy at the beginning of the summer when there’s all the time in the world ahead of you. The notes with those unpleasant chores and boring appointments have always been some of the last ones I've accomplished, if they even get addressed at all. By late August they end up staring at me from a mostly empty refrigerator door, almost taking on an attitude because they’ve gone ignored for so long.

Goal setting can be a good way to get things done, but it can also be defeating if it isn’t managed carefully. When you set goals, you need to consider how much motivation you’ll bring to your attempt. How badly do you really want to accomplish these things? Are those goals making it onto the list because you know you should really get them done, or because you genuinely want to achieve them? How many things on the list are Want-To instead of Have-To?

I know I’ll have to get some of those stupid chores taken care of this summer. I also know there will be some I continue to ignore, as long as they aren’t demanding me to deal with them. That leaves me with wondering whether or not to include them, if I make a list. 

Which begs the question: Should I even make a list? Should I take advantage of this newly-discovered and hard fought wave of optimism I’m riding after such a long and personally dark winter and wait for the discoveries and adventures present themselves? Or would it be better to give myself the challenges of taking steps outside of my comfort zone?

What’s better — to intentionally aim for the things I might not otherwise consider, or to use this my time off to let things spontaneously evolve as they will? 

I have exactly three days to make up my mind.