Goal-setting frameworks for 2024

Hey Indie Hackers! 2024 is just days away and it is time to make your goals for the year. Goal setting is the first step to entrepreneurial success, but if you don't do it right, you'll end up with a pile of goals that are gathering dust by March.

According to researchers, only 9% of people achieve their New Year's resolutions and 43% of people quit on them by the end of January. That's where strategic goal setting steps in. It's not just about setting goals, it's about setting the right kind of goals.

I wanted to start my year off right by setting good solid goals, so I researched some goal setting frameworks and wanted to summarize what I found with all of you.

Framework 1: SMART Goals:

SMART goals have been popular for quite some time, and for good reason. This framework provides clear guidelines to make each of your goals achievable.

SMART stands for:

• Specific - Define what you specifically want to achieve.
• Measurable - How will you know you achieved the goal? Numbers and metrics are great if possible.
• Achievable - Set the bar high, but be realistic enough for you to stay motivated.
• Relevant - Does this goal line up with your vision? Does it help get you where you want to eventually be?
• Time-bound - When will you achieve your goal? You need to be specific about the time to completion in order to keep it a priority.

Bad SMART goal:

I will get more traffic to my website.

Good SMART goal:

I will increase my website traffic by 40% over the next 6 months through SEO.

Framework 2: OKRs (Objectives and Key Results):

Next, we have OKRs. Popularized by companies like Google, this framework is about setting ambitious Objectives and measurable Key Results. It’s a great framework for a larger company, but you can apply the same concepts as a solo founder. There are three main parts to OKRs:

Objectives - This is the big goal you want to achieve. It is like a destination on a map. Objectives are typically qualitative - they usually don’t specify the specific details of how you get there.

Your objective may be something like: “Make enough money from my side projects to quit my day job.”

Key Results - Key results are the milestones you are targeting to get to your objective. These should be specific and measurable. Your key results should answer the question: “How do I know I’m getting to my objective?”

Your key results might include:

• Grow side project A to $1000 MRR by July
• Launch side project B by April
• Save $20,000 as runway by December 1st.

Initiatives - Initiatives are the actions taken to get you to your key results and ultimately your objective. Traditionally, OKRs don’t include initiatives since they are usually used by bigger companies, but I think adding initiatives helps make these goals more manageable for Indie Hackers.

Your initiatives might include:

• Publish 2 SEO blog posts every week for side project A.
• Develop the back end of side project B by February 15th.
• Launch side project B on Product Hunt on March 15th.
• Save $500 from every paycheck at my 9-5 throughout the year.

Framework 3: HARD Goals:

Lastly, let’s talk about HARD Goals. HARD goals are meant to be more emotional and challenging than SMART goals. They HARD Goals stands for:

• Heartfelt - The goal must be significant to you. It must be personal and draw on your passions, values, and emotions.
• Animated - You must be able to visualize and paint a picture of what achieving the goal looks like in your head.
• Required - The goal must be necessary to achieve your vision. Not just something that is nice to have.
• Difficult - The goal should push you to your limits and stimulate learning and growth.

Your HARD Goal might look something like this:

“I will achieve financial independence through side projects.”

• Heartfelt - Achieving financial independence will allow me to pursue my passion projects and spend more time with my family.
• Animated - Picture a day in the life: I wake up and go to the local coffee shop and work on my business for 3 hours. Then I go have lunch with a friend and after I go to the gym. Then I come home and address emails while playing with the kids. Then I relax and spend the rest of the evening with my family.
• Required - It is necessary to get to financial independence so I don't have to worry about where my next dollar comes from while pursuing passion projects.
• Difficult - Get project A to produce a steady and mostly automated $15K MRR.

Selecting the Right Framework:

The important thing is to choose which one resonates with you.

• SMART goals are great if you need a very specific and clear definition of what you want to accomplish.
• Many businesses choose to use OKRs because they allow you to flow down a higher level goal into specific measurable key results.
• If you need that extra push to achieve something groundbreaking and life changing, HARD goals may be the way to go.

Tips:

• Review and adjust your goals as you go along. Set regular check-ins to make sure you're on track.
• Create a plan. Goals without a plan are just dreams.
• Break down your large goals.
• Be accountable. You can do this through regular reflections or you can have an accountability partner.
• Prioritize your goals. If you have 1500 goals this year, you’re gonna have a hard time meeting them all.

For me, I think I’m gonna take a hybrid approach of SMART goals and OKRs. I’ll do OKRs for my indie hacker related goals and then SMART goals for my personal goals.

What are your goals for 2024 and which framework are you going to align with? Got any tips for fellow indie hackers?

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