LifeSketch.co | Goal Setting – Backward Design
Job Search Accelerator · Turning Your Vision Into a Plan
Purpose: This worksheet takes the vision, values, and priorities from your Week 2 work and turns them into a concrete, working plan. You'll define a clear goal, work backwards from your desired future, map it into timelines, and identify the very next step. Use one worksheet per major goal. The process of writing this down is the intervention — it externalizes the target so your brain has something real to pursue.
Big Goal / Focus Area — Often tied to a life role or your Ideal Job Profile
Step 1
Mission Statement
— Why does this goal exist?
Complete the sentence below
I seek to accomplish
so that
If I don't pursue this,
Step 2
Vision of Success
— What does thriving actually look like?
Step 3
Brainstorm – What It Takes
— Everything needed to make this happen
Don't filter or organize yet — just capture everything. Think ingredients (skills, resources, credentials, people, tools) and steps (actions, habits, tasks). Obstacles and support too.
Key Ingredients / Resources Needed
Possible Steps & Tasks
Step 4
Horizons Breakdown – Working Backwards
— Start at the end and map your way back
Begin with the long-term and work toward today. What needs to be true at each horizon for the goal to happen on time?
| Time Horizon | Key Goals / Milestones | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
|
Long-Term
3–5 years
|
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1 Year
12 months out
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90 Days
Near term target
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30 Days
This month
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Step 5
Plan of Action – Intentions Into Next Steps
— What exactly happens next?
The Very Next Step is the key column — not a project, not a goal, but the single smallest physical action you can take right now. If you can do it in under 2 minutes, do it immediately.
| # | Intention — What I Want to Accomplish | Task — What I Need to Do | Very Next Step — Smallest Physical Action |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
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2 |
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3 |
Step 6
Potential Obstacles & Solutions
— Foreshadow failure so it doesn't catch you off guard
Name what could go wrong and plan for it now. Research shows that anticipating failure — not just visualizing success — nearly doubles the likelihood of reaching your goal.
Obstacle / Risk
Solution / Support Needed
Obstacle / Risk
Solution / Support Needed
Obstacle / Risk
Solution / Support Needed
Step 7
Review & Adjust
— Weekly check-in to stay on track
Weekly review is not optional — it's the mechanism. Set a recurring time now. If you don't assess, you can't adjust. If you can't adjust, you drift.
Review Log
This material is proprietary to LifeSketch LLC. It is intended for the personal use of LifeSketch LLC clients and program participants.
Duplication or distribution for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. · lifesketch.co
Duplication or distribution for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. · lifesketch.co