How to Smash Your Life Goals in 6 Months

6-month plans have led me to quit my job, make five figures online, and meet someone special in 2021

In 2021, I released seven online courses. The most recent of these was a collaboration with Zero To Mastery — a global academy of 500,000+ developers.

These courses have helped me quit my 9–5.

Since January, I’ve also been dating a wonderful writer. We met in person for the first time earlier this month, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.

None of this would have happened without a 6-month plan.

What is a 6-month plan?

A 6-month plan is a living, breathing document. You’ll be reviewing it daily (ideally), and it’ll help you work towards your goals.

Where do these goals come from?

Write down 100 of them. Don’t worry if you change your mind because you can delete the goals later.

Once you’ve got 100, review them using the following questions:

On a scale of 1–10, how likely is it I can achieve this goal in six months?
On a scale of 1–10, how excited am I by this goal?
Will achieving this goal make other goals easier or unnecessary?

Next, choose five goals,

“…based on five different categories: Work, Relationships, Location, House, and Hobbies…
“Go on a road trip out West with my Dad. That’s relationships.
“Go to Europe. That’s a location.
“Get 1,000 email subscribers. That’s work.” — Tom Kuegler

Before you decide on your goals, consider Pat Flynn’s question: Can I commit to this project for three years?

If the answer’s no, it may be best to save it for another day.

Breaking it down

Section #1: Prologue

This is the front page of your 6-month plan.

I’d recommend writing about how you’re feeling, why you’re trying it, and your 3–5 main goals.

Here’s a screenshot from one of my previous plans:

In my current plan, I’ve opted for updates instead of paragraphs and have put a box around my goals:

Section #2: 6-month roadmaps

Once you’ve chosen your goals, it’s time to put plans in place.

To do this, I recommend attending Google University. This is a phrase coined by Tom Kuegler. His belief is this. If you want to learn a new skill, Google can teach you how.

For example, I wanted to make money online. So earlier this year, I jumped on Google and searched “how to make money through writing”. I pasted my learnings into a Google doc and re-read articles I’d saved to my bookmarks.

The education lasted two days and helped me identify three principles. In this article, I explain them in more detail (in case you’re interested).

Principle #1: Building an Email List Can Turn Writing Into a Business
Principle #2: Writing is a Mental Game
Principle #3: Your Actual Needs Are Small

When pulling this Google University doc together, you’re looking for specifics. For example, one piece of advice I saw crop up time and time again was building an email list.

This is all well and good, but how do you do it?

I wanted practical, actionable steps. Nothing fluffy. Here’s what I pulled together from various sources:

(Note: It’s a good idea to include links to articles in case you want to refer to them at a later date.)

After attending Google University and detailing your goals, it’s time to attach dates. To do this, work backward from the end goal and realise what you need to complete to stay on track.

For example, to make £1,000/month from Udemy courses, I needed to make an additional 13 courses. To achieve this goal in six months, I had to produce two courses a month.

I broke this down further. What would I need to do each week to stay on track?

As it turns out, making this many courses wasn’t necessary for me to hit my income goal. Other opportunities popped up from my writing and collaborations.

What’ll you discover is God, the Universe, coincidence — whatever its name — seems to conspire in your favour once you’ve got clarity on your goals.

Section #3: Daily journal

This is arguably the most important section.

Every day, I spend ten minutes journalling in my Google doc. I type whatever pops into my head. I liken it to downloading my subconscious thoughts.

Often, my entries read like the ramblings of a mad man.

What’s the point?

I know what I need to do to meet my goals. It keeps me accountable. There’s nowhere to hide.

Journalling in my 6-month plan also gets me to assess whether the goals I’ve set are right for me. If money and society weren’t factors, would I still pursue them?

It’s okay if they change. It’s better to course-correct now than smash into a wall six months later.

Finally, looking back at journal entries from previous months is fun! You can see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve grown. What bothered you back then probably doesn’t today.

Section #4: Reflection weeks

At the end of the week — typically on a Sunday morning — I reflect on the progress I made on all my goals.

Am I on track? Is there anything I should change? If something’s too easy, is there something I can add?

When I reflect at the end of the month, I may decide to tweak my plan. For example, in the first 6-month plan I followed, I hit my original hobby goal in the first month.

Takeaways

6-month plans have changed my life — both personally and professionally — and I’d love you to experience their magic.

Here’s how.

Write down 100 goals.
Choose 3–5 of them.
Take a snapshot of where you’re currently at by writing a prologue for your 6-month plan.
Attend Google University to figure out the steps you need to take to smash your goals.
Work backward from these goals and decide what actions you need to take each week/month.
Journal in your 6-month plan every single day.
Reflect on your progress every Sunday morning.
Repeat in six months’ time.

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