Intentions vs Goals

Every month in the Unnamed Productivity Club we have a Planning Party.

This isn’t about the club.

It’s about something I share there everymonth before we do our planning.

It’s the difference between intentions and goals.

It’s an important distinction because too many times I see someone setting a goal that they want to make a certain amount of money or sign this many new clients this month.

And maybe they even create a really fun way to track their progress toward that goal.

But if you ask them about how they’re going to achieve that goal, they have some vague plans that they’re not tracking.

This is why this distinction is so important.

When you separate intentions from goals, you end up with a two-step process that helps you create the outcomes that you really want.

So, what is the difference between intentions and goals?

What most people call goals I call intentions because you intend for them to happen, but can’t actually control it. You can make the conditions more favorable for them to happen, but you aren’t directly in charge.

You can’t control what happens.

Intentions are things like how much money you want to make, how many clients you work with, etc.

You can’t force someone to work with you, that’s a decision that someone else makes.

However, you can do any number of things to encourage those intentions to occur.

Those are goals.

Goals are how many phone calls you make, how many networking events you attend, how many social media posts you put on your business page each week, etc.

YOU can control the outcome of your goals.

Next time you’re doing monthly planning for your business (or anything really) ask:

  1. What do I want to happen? What’s the income, client, or other intention that I’m setting for the month.
  2. What goals will encourage that intention to occur?

And you can create a really fun way to track your progress toward your goals AND intentions if you want.


You can learn more about the Unnamed Productivity Club by clicking here.

Or to have a private goal setting session with me, fill out the application for coaching by clicking here.


PRODUCTIVITY FOR SOLOPRENEURS: INSIGHTS TO GETTING THINGS DONE #105