Prompt Library

Goals And Progress

Focus Area Selector for Goal Setting

Helps you select and prioritize up to three key focus areas per cycle.

1. Life Inventory

  1. Ask the user to list all possible focus areas in their life—career, business, health, relationships, learning, finances, creativity.
    • Example: "What are all the areas competing for attention—work projects, health goals, relationships, skills to learn, financial targets, creative pursuits?"
  2. Ask the user what's currently demanding attention—urgent needs or pain points.
    • Example: "What's on fire or causing stress right now? What needs immediate attention?"
  3. Ask the user about their longer-term aspirations—what do they ultimately want in each life area?
    • Example: "Long-term: Where do you want each life area to be in 2-3 years?"
  4. Ask the user about their capacity—how much focus energy do they realistically have?
    • Example: "Honestly, how many areas can you meaningfully improve simultaneously—one, two, three at most?"

2. The Power of Three

Why Limit to 3 Focus Areas:

The Focused Three Principle:

  • 1 focus area: Myopic (neglect too much)
  • 2 focus areas: Good balance
  • 3 focus areas: Optimal (balanced, achievable, comprehensive)
  • 4+ focus areas: Scattered (no meaningful progress anywhere)

Research-Backed:

  • Human brain handles 3-4 chunks in working memory
  • More than 3 priorities = nothing is priority
  • 3 allows professional + personal + health balance

Timeframe:

  • Focus areas are for specific period (quarter, 90 days, 6 months)
  • After period, reassess and potentially rotate
  • Not forever—intentional seasons

3. Selection Framework

Prioritization Matrix:

Rate Each Potential Focus Area (1-10):

Urgency:

  • How pressing is this right now?
  • Consequences of ignoring?

Importance:

  • Long-term significance?
  • Alignment with values?

Neglect Level:

  • How long ignored?
  • How far from desired state?

Energy/Readiness:

  • Do you have capacity?
  • Is now the right time?

Leverage/ROI:

  • Will progress here unlock other areas?
  • High-impact potential?

Composite Score: Score = (Importance × 2) + Urgency + (Neglect × 1.5) + Energy + Leverage

Top 3 scores = Your Focus Areas

4. Balance Check

Ensure Variety:

Life Dimension Balance:

Option A: Professional + Personal + Health

  • Focus 1: Career/business goal
  • Focus 2: Relationship/creative/learning
  • Focus 3: Physical/mental health

Option B: Three Complementary Areas

  • Focus 1: Income/career growth
  • Focus 2: Skill development (enables #1)
  • Focus 3: Energy/health (fuels #1 and #2)

Option C: Seasonal Focus

  • Focus 1: Urgent/crisis area needing attention
  • Focus 2: Important long-term goal
  • Focus 3: Maintenance (don't let slide)

Red Flags:

  • All 3 in same life dimension (unbalanced)
  • No health/well-being focus (burnout risk)
  • All urgent, no important (reactive mode)
  • No personal joy or growth (unsustainable)

5. Focus Area Definition

For Each Selected Focus Area:

Area Name: [Clear label]

Current State: [Where you are now]

  • Specific metrics or description
  • Honest assessment
  • Baseline data

Desired State (End of Period): [Where you want to be]

  • Specific, measurable outcome
  • Realistic given timeframe
  • Clear success criteria

Gap: [What needs to change]

  • Quantified difference
  • What must improve
  • What must be added/removed

Why This Matters: [Motivation]

  • Personal significance
  • Bigger picture connection
  • What success enables

Key Actions: [How you'll make progress]

  • 3-5 main strategies or tactics
  • Weekly commitments
  • Measurable activities

Success Metrics: [How you'll track]

  • Weekly check-in data
  • Monthly milestones
  • End-of-period target

Example:

FOCUS AREA 1: Career Growth

Current State: Mid-level manager, $85K salary, limited leadership opportunities
Desired State: Senior manager role, $110K+, leading strategic initiatives
Gap: Need promotion, broader responsibility, demonstrated leadership impact

Why This Matters: Financial growth for family, career fulfillment, making bigger impact

Key Actions:
- Lead high-visibility project successfully
- Develop 2 team members (delegation/mentorship)
- Present to executive team twice
- Complete leadership training
- Document achievements for promotion case

Success Metrics:
- Weekly: Hours on strategic vs. tactical work
- Monthly: Project milestones, team feedback
- End-of-period: Promotion achieved or clear path defined

6. Weekly Focus Integration

Monday Planning: For each of 3 focus areas:

  • What's the priority this week?
  • Specific actions to take
  • Time blocked in calendar

Daily Actions:

  • Ideally, touch all 3 focus areas per week (minimum)
  • Doesn't mean equal time—weighted by need
  • But nothing gets completely neglected

Friday Review:

  • Progress on each focus area this week?
  • Which got attention, which didn't?
  • Adjustments for next week?

Example Weekly Plan:

Week of March 1-7

FOCUS 1 (Career): Lead project kickoff meeting, draft proposal
- Monday 9-11 AM, Thursday 2-4 PM

FOCUS 2 (Health): Workout 4×, meal prep Sunday
- Mon/Wed/Fri 7 AM + Sat morning

FOCUS 3 (Relationship): Date night Friday, daily 20-min connection
- Friday 7 PM, daily 8:30-8:50 PM

7. Rotation & Reassessment

End-of-Period Review:

For Each Focus Area:

  • Goal achieved? [Yes/No/Progress]
  • Should it continue as focus? [Yes/No]
  • Or move to maintenance? [Keep it, less intensity]

Decision Matrix:

Achieved → Maintenance:

  • Success! No longer needs focused effort
  • Maintain with minimal attention
  • Open slot for new focus area

In Progress → Continue:

  • Making good progress, needs more time
  • Keep as focus area
  • Maintain in top 3

Minimal Progress → Decide:

  • Why no progress? (Assess honestly)
  • Wrong approach? Change tactics
  • Wrong goal? Replace with something that matters more
  • Wrong time? Defer to later

New Focus Areas:

  • What's emerged as important?
  • What's been neglected too long?
  • What opportunity has appeared?

Refresh Cycle:

  • Quarterly reassessment typical
  • Some focus areas stay year (major goals)
  • Others rotate each quarter (seasonal priorities)
  • Balance continuity and adaptation

8. Deliverables

Focus Area Dashboard:

  • 3 current focus areas clearly defined
  • Current state vs. desired state
  • Weekly action commitments
  • Progress metrics
  • Status indicators

Weekly Integration Plan:

  • Monday: What to prioritize for each area
  • Daily: Minimum actions per focus
  • Friday: Review progress per area
  • Balance check: All 3 getting attention

Progress Tracking: | Focus Area | Week 1 Progress | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Monthly Status | |------------|-----------------|--------|--------|--------|----------------| | Career | ✅ On track | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠️ | 75% | | Health | ✅ Excellent | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 90% | | Skill Dev | ⚠️ Behind | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | 65% |

Selection Worksheet:

  • All potential areas listed
  • Scored on criteria
  • Top 3 selected with rationale
  • Others deferred with notes

Visual Roadmap:

JAN-MAR (Q1)         APR-JUN (Q2)         JUL-SEP (Q3)
━━━━━━━━━━━━         ━━━━━━━━━━━━         ━━━━━━━━━━━━
Focus 1: Career      → Continue Career    New: Business
Focus 2: Health      → Maintain Health    Focus: Learning
Focus 3: Finance     New: Relationship    Focus: Creative

Review Templates:

  • Weekly check-in questions
  • Monthly progress assessment
  • End-of-period evaluation
  • Selection criteria for next cycle

Motivation Reminders:

  • Why each focus area matters
  • Vision for success in each
  • Weekly recommitment prompts
  • Celebration milestones

Present comprehensive focus area selection framework with prioritization criteria, the power-of-three principle, balanced selection, weekly integration, rotation strategy, and tracking systems to achieve meaningful progress across key life dimensions without overwhelm.