Shiny Object Syndrome

This is something I’ve struggled with a LOT. So what is it? Shiny Object Syndrome is when you constantly get excited by something new and exciting. You leave projects half completed, skills half learned, interests half explored. I juggle lots of hobbies; volleyball, lifting, running, pickle ball, making music, video games, board games, reading, learning to code… The list goes on and on. The issue is that I want to excel in each of these, but I don’t have enough time in a day to improve in all of these things. I see the same thing happen in my work. Whenever my engineering team releases a new product, our sales team seemingly forgets about the rest of our product portfolio. So how can I focus myself in order to be more productive?

Set Meaningful Goals

Everyone should have goals. But not everyone makes meaningful goals. I believe that there are 3 keys to a meaningful goal:

1. Specificity: your goal must be specific

2. Timeline: Your goal must be completed by a certain point

3. Achievable: Your goal must be realistically achievable

So how do I make a meaningful goal? Let’s say I want to learn guitar.

“Learn Guitar” is a terrible goal on its own. Let’s break it down to meet our criteria.

“Practice guitar 30 minutes every day” is closer. You have a set amount of time to practice, but you’re still missing something. What does it mean to practice? How do you know when you’ve learned guitar?

“Practice guitar by learning one new chord every day. Incorporate these new chords by learning one new song per week.” This is a two-fer. You get a specific goal for how you’ll learn guitar, and you’ll build a repertoire of songs to play for friends/at shows/for yourself.

But we still haven’t answered the question, how do we know when we’ve learned guitar. That’s the tricky part with hobbies. There often isn’t an achievable skill ceiling. There’s always something to improve upon. The beauty is that you can change your goals to fit your skill level. This applies to all hobbies!

Meaningful goals help me to stay focused on an outcome. I’m not reacting to the comings and goings of each day. Instead, I’m planning my day to achieve my goals.

Put your goals somewhere visible!

Just because you set a goal, doesn’t mean you’ve changed your habits. It takes time to turn an action into a habit. Until you’ve created a habit, make your goals visible. Put them on your bathroom mirror. Put them on your phone’s background. Put them on your night stand.

Personally, I set aside time to work on them in my calendar. I get a notification whenever it is time to start making progress on a goal.

Get an Accountability Partner!

Someone cares about you and your success. I’m sure you’ve shared your goals with this person or these people. Ask them to go one step further. Get in contact with them once a week and share how you’re doing on your goals. If you don’t already know their goals, learn them. Be their accountability partner as well!

Is this it?

Yup. Setting meaningful goals, making them visible, and having someone check in is all it takes. This will help you to focus on what is important, not just what seems urgent. These three simple steps will keep you committed to a task and making progress. You’ll see this progress and become more committed, because it’s fun to achieve goals!

Good luck out there!