How To Plan & Achieve Your Goals (With The Power Of 3 Method)

Planning will help you feel organised and in control. But the biggest benefit of planning is the one that’s forgotten the most... It helps you create a life that feels true to you.

To do that, you need to plan your goals with intention. Here’s how to plan and achieve your goals with the science-based Power of 3 method.

How to plan anything

How can you plan your goals, when everything else seems to “fail”? That was the big question we asked ourselves when we set out to design a new goal planner.

That question made us realise that we could create something new, by using something that had already been around for a long time before.

The rule of three.

How to plan with the rule of three

The rule of three refers to the use of the number three to divide, organise and explain things in a clear, succinct and memorable way. It’s used in story writing, photography, aviation, scuba diving and so much more.

Your brain remembers things through instinctive pattern recognition. And the smallest number to create a pattern? You’ve guessed it. It’s three.

And so the Power of 3 was born.

A goal planning method that’s backed by science. And the easiest way to achieve your goals. You’ll discover your potential through an intentional focus on manageable and memorable goals, organised in threes.

How to achieve your goals, with the Power of 3

There are three phases to goal planning with the Power of 3 method. They’re designed to be worked through in order and to be repeated each cycle.

• Set goals that are right for you (and realistic)
• Complete manageable monthly and weekly tasks that move you towards your goals
• Review and reflect on your progress (and update your goals accordingly)

1. Set goals that are right for you (and realistic)

Find the right goals

How do you know that a goal is right for you? You’ll need to do some big picture dreaming first.

In the Power of 3 goal planner, this happens on your yearly focus page. You’ll think through what’s important to you and what three areas of your life you want to focus on this year.

Then, ask yourself what you can control. And what you can’t. If something’s out of your control, it doesn’t belong in your goal planner. This is about looking at the specific actions you can take.

Finally, use your big picture thinking to write out your big goals for the year to cover the three life areas you chose to focus on.

Set goals that are realistic

Now, you’ll plan the first three months of your year. Remember, you can start planning your goals at any point in the year. It doesn’t have to be in January. So if you’re starting in the summer, your first three months might run from September through to November.

Planning each quarter at a time enables you to take a closer look at your goals and see what’s really possible in that three-month time frame. 

Set yourself three goals to achieve in the first three months of the year. Remember, they should link back to the big picture goals you set for yourself earlier on.

Then, break each goal down into three milestones to achieve along the way. This allows you to check in with your progress and celebrate your success as each milestone is slowly but surely ticked off the list.

You’ll then turn each milestone into three tasks, with deadlines to hold yourself accountable to those mini-goals. This is a great way to double-check that each milestone is achievable within your three-month timeframe. 

2. Complete manageable tasks that move you towards your goals

Now that you’ve set your goals, it’s time to start bringing them to life. The easiest way to do this is to slot your pre-set tasks around the rest of your life. 

If you’re going to be consistent, you need to go after your goals in a way that feels sustainable. Which means sticking with the events, personal commitments and other activities that you have going on in your life.

So, start by filling out your weekly and monthly calendars with those commitments first. Then, review your task list for those three months and move key tasks over into your monthly and weekly planners.

This allows you to plan your goals and the tasks you need to achieve around your regular life organisation. So the two can sit in harmony together. 

3. Review and reflect on your progress (and update your goals accordingly)

It can feel so tempting to skip this step and just carry on doing all the things. But it’s too important to miss.

So, at the end of each three-month period, give yourself a moment. Pause. Take a second. And think about just how far you’ve come.

Reflect on your goals

Take a moment to look back at the goals you set for yourself three months ago.

• Did you achieve them? Why, or why not?
• Are the goals you set still important to you?
• If you were to remove a goal from your life, would that negatively affect you?

Reflecting on your goals in this way allows you to tweak and improve for the next quarter. You’ll come to learn what works, what helps you, and what doesn’t. And you’ll become crystal clear on whether or not you need that goal in your life.

Migrate your goals

Once you’ve finished up with your goal reflection, it’s time to migrate the goals that are still important over to the next quarter.

Remember, remove the ones that no longer matter. This is just as important as completing a goal, as it frees up your time and energy to focus on what matters most.

And if you’re keeping all your goals, remember that you can still tweak them too! Edit any goals that are no longer quite as relevant or having the impact you’d hope for. This will ensure that you’re always working towards goals that are meaningful to you.

Now, it’s time to begin again. With the next step of your cycle, all over again. Good luck!

Make your goals meaningful, with the Power of 3

The perfect gift for a loved one (or yourself!)