In between the constantly expanding list of life admin ("do laundry," "make dentist appointment," "set up coffee with Jacob,"), how are we supposed to keep sight of our longer-term goals? (You know: "Get promotion," "find new house," "save enough money for Caribbean vacation.")
Jodi Womack and Jason W. Womack have a solution for you. They call it the 30/30 Rule.
The spouses and authors of "Get Momentum: How to Start When You're Stuck" tell LearnVest:
"The very best way to create momentum in life is to establish firm, clear goals and then set up milestones - intermediate mini goals that make it easier to achieve the [larger goals] you set out to accomplish. We suggest something called the 30/30 Rule, whereby you devote 30 minutes a day to focusing on something that is 30 days away or more. For example, you spend a little time each day keeping track of a big work project coming down the road in a month rather than avoiding it and letting it sneak up on you.
"Also, the 30/30 Rule can help you with larger career questions like, 'Do I want to be in the same job a year from now or do I want to start doing everything I can to get that promotion?' If so, you would take that one-year goal and break it into 12 monthly goals. When it's time to check your progress on the next monthly goal, see if you can schedule two to four of those 30/30 Rule blocks each month to work on that."
They suggest using it for everything from your career to your finances. Thirty minutes a day focusing on a goal 30 minutes away or more? It's worth a shot.