My social media feed is stuffed full of influencers sharing their big goals for 2025.

Earn a million dollars working four hours a week. Get jacked. Climb Kilimanjaro—that type of virtue-signalling.

Good luck to these pontificating gurus! I don’t like planning goals for an entire year.

I read study after study, saying only 8% of people stick to their goals for the entire year.

Even if 8% is wildly off the mark, I hate the odd moment after achieving a goal when I wonder, “What next?”

That happened last year when I got a personal best in a marathon.

Or worse, when I miss a goal and ask myself at three A.M., “What now?"*

That happened last year when Google killed my SEO goals with a brutal series of algo changes.

I stopped setting annual goals for a few other reasons, too. 12 months is long enough to over-plan, lose motivation and procrastinate. That’s what happens to me when I plan that far out.

A few years ago, I worked with a mindset coach who suggested breaking the year into blocks of about fifteen weeks or a three-act play.

Season or Act 1 runs to early April

Season 2 runs until the end of August

Season 3 runs to Dec, with time for a longer annual review…or doing nothing!

I focus on a creative, business, or personal project for 15 weeks. For some goals, I track my progress using lead and lag measures.

A lead measure is the one thing I can do or influence each week.

A lag measure is outside of my control.

I explain these work in this video:

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15 weeks is long enough to work on a meaningful project, such as writing the first draft of a book or growing an email list by 1000 subscribers. It helps that these seasons coincide with the school year.

15 weeks isn’t long enough to delay or postpone. And if the goal isn’t right, I can change it after 15 weeks.

So here’s what I’m doing between now and April:

I’m growing a private Telegram group for pro creators (Join here).

I’m creating one recurring offer for a select group of my audience.

I’m partnering up with a digital marketing agency in Ireland.

(I still plan on writing my daily newsletter and using the content for Substack and LinkedIn.)

So, set goals for 2025.

Share them on your socials.

Or don’t.

Tackle 2025 like a 12-course meal.

Or break it up into snacks.

Track your progress.

Or let things slide.

Whatever your approach for 2025, this question helped me a lot:

What would I do more of if money wasn’t an issue?

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