I’m sure you've read about the importance of setting goals.
Goals are useful, giving you something to aim at. With a clear goal, you'll see how far away you are from your finish line.
However, let me offer a word of caution.
It’s easy to set goals then fall short.
“I want to write five-hundred words a day and can’t do it. I’m a failure!” (This is my brain most days with everything I do.)
If you’re new to something, it’s hard to set realistic goals. You have no baseline experience to base your goals on. You don’t know how much you can or can’t do. Only until you get the experience and understand the process can you set realistic goals.
Imagine going for a three mile run today. Some of us could do it without a problem. Some of us may think we can pull it off, until we realize we can’t. For some, just the thought is enough to produce visions of an ambulance picking us up.
Only until we have feedback or experience can we adjust our goals.
Sometimes this can take weeks or months to figure out what a “good” goal is.
Once you have the experience, set more nuanced goals. Goals based around what you know you can and can’t do.
Make goals, but don’t be upset if you miss them. Collect data and adjust.