The Difference Between Goals, Objectives, And Daily To-Do Lists

You’ll often hear people use the terms “goals” and “objectives” in the same sentence. Your goals are clear statements that you intend to achieve. Objectives are the milestones or mini-goals you accomplish on your path to achieving your bigger goals.

Think about how you might plan out a project. For example, let’s say that your goal is to create a printed monthly newsletter that you’ll send to prospects to educate them about buying or selling a home and to keep in touch with them regularly.

Your objectives would be the milestones or phases necessary to complete that goal. They might be:

• Planning Phase - Determine the logistics of your newsletter such as the number of pages, number of articles, when you’ll mail it, and who you’ll mail it to.
• Content Phase - Finish editing and proofreading draft content.
• Design Phase - Finish designing the newsletter.
• Delivery Phase - Print and mail the newsletter.

For your to-do list, you’ll break each step down further and give yourself a timeline. In our example, you might:

• Brainstorm for ideas and decide on 3 article topics by March 2.
• Create the first draft of each 300-500 word article by March 9.
• Proofread and edit your first draft by March 16.
• Purchase a newsletter template through StockLayouts.com by March 19.
• Add the newsletter content to the template by March 22.
• Send the newsletter and your mailing list to the printer by March 23.
• The printer mails the newsletter to your mailing list by March 30.

For each objective, you’ll have a list of tasks that must be completed in order to achieve that objective. If you feel stumped, take a minute or two to ask yourself “what is the first logical step I must take to move towards my objective?” If you still aren’t sure, call someone who has done this before and can guide you through the process or do an internet search. Don’t let confusion about what to do next prevent you from taking action!

Once you know step 1, ask yourself “what is the next logical step I must take to move towards my objective?” And so forth until you’ve accomplished that milestone.

By breaking down your goals into bite sized pieces, you can accomplish even the most overwhelming of tasks at your own pace. You’ll also be able to monitor your progress so that you can see that you really are moving towards your goals.