Question 5: How Will I Make Space for This? (The ‘Where’ and ‘When’ Question)
A new goal is a new commitment. It requires time, energy, and focus. One of the most common failures in goal setting is trying to simply add a major new commitment on top of an already full life without consciously making space for it. A new goal doesn’t just appear in your life; it must displace something else. You have to decide what you will say “no” to in order to say “yes” to your goal. This requires moving from abstract intention to a concrete schedule.
The most effective technique for this is time blocking. This involves looking at your calendar for the upcoming week and scheduling specific, non-negotiable appointments with your goal. Don’t just add “work on goal” to your to-do list; that’s too vague and easy to ignore. Instead, block out “Tuesday, 7:00 AM – 7:45 AM: Write 500 words of my book” or “Thursday, 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Complete Module 3 of Python course.”
Treat these blocks like you would a doctor’s appointment or an important meeting with your boss. They are fixed commitments. This practice accomplishes several things. First, it forces you to confront the reality of your 24-hour day and make the necessary trade-offs. You might realize that to make space for your goal, you need to wake up 30 minutes earlier or watch one less hour of television in the evening. Second, it eliminates decision fatigue. When the scheduled time arrives, you don’t have to decide if you’re going to work on your goal; you only have to decide to honor the commitment you already made to yourself.
Your plan should also include checkpoints. These are pre-scheduled milestones within your larger time-bound goal. If your goal is to write a 12-chapter book in 12 months, a good checkpoint would be to have one chapter completed per month. These checkpoints serve as mini-deadlines that keep the pressure on and allow you to assess your pace. If you arrive at your 3-month checkpoint and have only completed one chapter, you know you need to adjust your plan, either by dedicating more time or by revising the scope of the goal itself. Checkpoints prevent you from getting to the end of your timeline only to realize you are hopelessly behind schedule.
Making space is a literal and metaphorical act. It’s about clearing your calendar, but it’s also about clearing your mind. It’s giving your goal the respect it deserves by providing it with dedicated, protected time to grow. Without this deliberate act of scheduling, your goal will always be at the mercy of the “urgent” but unimportant tasks that constantly demand our attention.
