So, how are you doing? Have you settled into the work rhythm? Have you set your New Year's goals?

It's an interesting story with them, of course. Every January, everyone enthusiastically comes up with as many goals as possible, carefully writes them down, and plans them out.

Sometime around February or March, they take a last look at the list of goals. And then at the end of the year, they "summarize the results." And, of course, plan new goals.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." It's often attributed to Einstein, but that's not true. However, it doesn't really matter who said it. The main thing is that it makes sense.

The problem with setting annual goals is that it usually ends there. We fixate on what we want, but don't think about how to achieve it.

Strictly speaking, a goal like "Save a hundred thousand millions" is a bad one. From the perspective of the very concept of a goal. Because it doesn't answer the question—how, exactly, do you save it?

If you set such a goal, it means your current income is insufficient to save the required amount. And you need to come up with something. Get a promotion at work, grow your business profits, take on something new.

But then the goal should be formulated differently. Isn't that right?

For instance, the goal "lose 10 kg" only says that you are dissatisfied with your current weight. But it doesn't answer the most important question—how to lose that damn ten kilos. Although there are only two ways to achieve this goal: either eat less or burn more. Preferably both at once.

So the goal needs to be set differently. For example, "exercise 2 times a week." Or "stick to the daily calorie and macronutrient intake."

And then it's clear what to do with such a goal—it answers the question "how." And if you actually exercise 2 times a week and stick to your macros, you will lose weight. No doubt about it.

Actually, here's my point. Reminder published a good article on the topic that instead of setting goals, you should create systems. Like in the example above—not "lose weight," but "go to the gym 2 times a week." Not "improve English," but "study for 15 minutes every day in an app."

But there's also bad news. When you set a goal for the year, you'll only feel frustration once—at the end of the year, when you realize that in the next day and a half you won't lose 10 kg or earn 100 million.

But with a system, you'll get a mental slap every time you ignore it. Because a system implies that you will constantly be doing something. Every day, every week, every month.

But that's the only way to achieve something.

In short, this resonates with me. So for 2026, I've planned my goals exactly according to this scheme. Let's see what happens.

How are things with your goals?