How to Win the Day, Crush Your Goals, and Make 2024 the Best Ever with MJ DeMarco

[SSTrey]

Hi Trey. Thanks for letting me know.

I see this flagging issues on our end as well. Please close out of this tab completely, and visit this link via a new tab: goalsumo.com/app/account/logout on your mobile device. There's an edge case in your authentication state I'm currently looking into and working to resolve. After logging out, please try and log back in. Your account is not setup to login via Google, so use your email and password combination.

If this issue persists, please shoot me an email via support@goalsumo.com so I can continue to help troubleshoot.

Thanks. After a few attempts I'm back in now.

 

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[SSTrey]

@Dean Irwin while Im at it, I sent you 2 emails yesterday.

 

[Dean Irwin]

@Dean Irwin while Im at it, I sent you 2 emails yesterday.


View attachment 54640

View attachment 54641

I responded to them. Sorry, I was a bit behind on support tickets the past week.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Here is how my GoalSumo.com account is setup for HABITS.

Every morning I wake up and this is what I see. (It is automatic, no need for rentry)

About 2 hours are dedicated to habits that move the meter on my life, from health to business.



All of these are habits that I do daily.

This is how I win my week.

And this is how I win my month.

And the year.

And life.

Notice, I'm not focused on some esoteric goal next year.

I'm focused on the day and the week.

It's not rocket science.

Do what needs to be done, and the rest falls into place.

 

[Dean Irwin]

Hi folks, We've recently released a brand new feature! You can now quickly add from a library of over 70 bucket list templates and 30 Kaizen Values! Weren't sure what to add to your lists? Go ahead and try out a few templates and get up and running quickly!

 

[Dushko]

Tool is getting better and better. Using it daily, goal chains, habits, etc all fall nicely into place. Big help, thanks for this.

 

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[Vadim26]

Great app! I just wanted to report there might a bug.
It won't let me add an item from backlog back to dailysumo.

"Response not successful: Received status code 400"

 

[Dean Irwin]

Great app! I just wanted to report there might a bug.
It won't let me add an item from backlog back to dailysumo.

"Response not successful: Received status code 400"

Thanks for the report. Added it to my backlog .

We are facing a few scaling issues on the subscription server right now so if anyone is having inconsistencies in your subscription status, please email us (or DM me) and let me know so I can fix it up for you.

 

[MichelleWood]

Hey @Dean Irwin wondering if there is a way to 'clear' previous tasks that I've ticked off in Calendar (thus resetting the 'Rank'), without deleting any Goal Chains?

Reason being, I've been setting up loads of interlinking and complicated co-dependent goals. Due to still using several systems in my business (Kanban+our office workflow system) I haven't yet committed to getting onto GoalSumo.com first.

I realize I could just ignore the rank and past tasks, but the OCD in me would like a clean slate to start using the system daily with an unbroken streak.

 

[Dean Irwin]

Hey @Dean Irwin wondering if there is a way to 'clear' previous tasks that I've ticked off in Calendar (thus resetting the 'Rank'), without deleting any Goal Chains?

Reason being, I've been setting up loads of interlinking and complicated co-dependent goals. Due to still using several systems in my business (Kanban+our office workflow system) I haven't yet committed to getting onto GoalSumo.com first.

I realize I could just ignore the rank and past tasks, but the OCD in me would like a clean slate to start using the system daily with an unbroken streak

A question just to make sure I understand!

You would like to reset your ranking statistics and analytics, so that you can start with "0 points" and a fresh slate again?

The DailySumo score will reset daily, and shows the Daily Stats. The ranking is based on a cummulative score. We wanted to give people the display of both "Today's wins" and "Overall wins". It looks like you might want to reset overall wins from my understanding of your feature request.

The design of our analytics system right now would prevent completely resetting this score, but there's maybe something we can do in our new analytics system to improve it, and allow certain aspects to be reset.

 

[Dean Irwin]

We introduced a new feature today to make habits a bit more exciting! You can now see how many times you have completed a specific habit on the habits overview page.

We're working on an archive view to see all deleted/cancelled habits (and how many times they were completed). This will be available soon!

 

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[andyhaus44]

We introduced a new feature today to make habits a bit more exciting! You can now see how many times you have completed a specific habit on the habits overview page.

We're working on an archive view to see all deleted/cancelled habits (and how many times they were completed). This will be available soon!

We introduced a new feature today to make habits a bit more exciting! You can now see how many times you have completed a specific habit on the habits overview page.

We're working on an archive view to see all deleted/cancelled habits (and how many times they were completed). This will be available soon!

This is a great feature! Nice job!

 

[SSTrey]

We introduced a new feature today to make habits a bit more exciting! You can now see how many times you have completed a specific habit on the habits overview page.

We're working on an archive view to see all deleted/cancelled habits (and how many times they were completed). This will be available soon!

This is great, thannks @Dean Irwin

 

[jolinem]

Thank you, I wouldn't be pushing it if I didn't think it was effective, if not life changing.

This newer system has improved my life in so many ways that I'm now incredibly passionate about it. I can honestly say that this thing has probably added a few years to my life. (I hope I don't jinx myself, I have a dental surgery scheduled today and will go under anesthesia).

Here's how you continually improve your life.

This is how my day starts without having to do a thing...

4 Health Habits chained to a Value (Better health)
1 Business Habit chained to a Big Goal (A new book)
I will manually add a few tasks today that chain to bigger goals.
And some life minutiae tasks not linked to any goal.

View attachment 53322

• The piano improves my cognitive function as well as relieves stress -- can confirm.
• The exertion function ensures I'm moving all day (standing treadmill instead of a desk) -- can confirm as I've put on muscle and lost body-fat.
• The stretching has helped me stay in the gym and put on more muscle in my 50s, than in my 30s -- can confirm.
• And progress on the new book has been steady. I shouldn't take me 4 years to write it like every other book that I've written.

When I used my pen/paper version of this, the Habits always fell off, and many times I was too busy to rewrite the goals in the sidebar.

Focus, productivity, and results has been 10X'd.

I LOVE the piano piece of this!!! I love to play and with my last relationship, was always made to feel guilty for it. Thanks for this positive example, reminding me of the things that are good for us, and sharing the things we need, for improving ourselves!

 

[andyhaus44]

@Dean Irwin, would it be possible to create a strikethrough feature for the Notepad?

 

[Dean Irwin]

@Dean Irwin, would it be possible to create a strikethrough feature for the Notepad?

Shouldn’t be too hard. Added it to my list for tomorrow!

 

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[Dean Irwin]

New Feature Drop!

We spent this week building a suggestion algorithm that can suggest a relevant goal template within seconds! No more need to search through our template library (unless you want to).

Watch how easy we've made it to get a pre-filled goal template for "buying a new car"!

Keep crushing your goals!

This feature is experimental, so we would love to get feedback on it. We've also added a setting to disable this feature just in case you don't want to see suggestions on your editor . Not all goals will match to a template, which means a suggestion will not always be shown.

 

[andyhaus44]

@Dean Irwin, I hope all is well today. Would it be possible to fix the GoalSumo.com print out date? (it prints out the previous day)

 

[Dean Irwin]

@Dean Irwin, I hope all is well today. Would it be possible to fix the GoalSumo print out date? (it prints out the previous day)

We’re currently upgrading the DailySumo system. I added this into our issue tracker so we can make sure to fix it up on the next release. Thanks for letting us know!

 

[MichelleWood]

And some life minutiae tasks not linked to any goal.

OMG I just realised I am going about GoalSumo all wrong! I'm sharing this in case anyone else is experiencing this and might have some insights.

I have been using GoalSumo like a visual 'goal servo mechanism', to 'see' my goals laid out in front of me, rather than just in my subconscious. I've diligently backward planed out my BHAG and all the subsidiary goals. At the same time I'm using my IWFE, Kanban board and to do lists for business, Google calendar for appointments and personal tasks and Garmin app to schedule my training (fitness). Frankly, it can be a little overwhelming.

Yesterday I had a 'feeling' to go back and re-read the example (on this thread) of how MJ is using GoalSumo. BOOM! I realise now I can add the recurring personal tasks as 'habits' - they don't have to be part of any goal. I can add my training sesssions so I don't have to check my Garmin ap (just to execute my sessions). I could probably use Google calendar just for appointments. I feel we need 'convergence' of multiple task and goal systems - this way, one can operate in a more streamlined manner and achieve more.

@Dean Irwin and MJ I'm confident that someday soon GoalSumo will be 'the only app you'll ever need'. In the meantime, how is everyone else managing convergence of multiple systems?

 

[Dean Irwin]

OMG I just realised I am going about GoalSumo all wrong!

Haha, I don't think someone can use our app "Wrong", but we are in the process of including more informational content, and more guided content into the site to make it "click" easier. For now, you can check out our docs, which we've put together to help explain how some features can be used in context. We need to do some updates on these and integrate them into the app still.

Frankly, it can be a little overwhelming.

We started GoalSumo with the intention of building a tool that is less overwhelming and more focused than other systems, such as Notion. There's a whole marketplace out there for Notion templates.

This is one thing we are very careful about, we don't want people to question "How tf do I organize this information" or "Yeah we just need to spend 160 days setting this up for our workflow and then we will finally be productive!". Setting up productivity workflows often is an Action FAKE.

This being said, if there's something specifically about GoalSumo that's confusing or overwhelming, this is something we need to know about and fix. We appreciate any feedback given to us about how to improve the app, either via the support mailing or via the forum here.

(This actually has been the majority of our product development struggles, making sure we can communicate how to use our tool better, and streamline learning/adoption of it. I would say it's the "hardest" problem to solve in a business like ours, so any help we can get, we're always open to it).

I could probably use Google calendar just for appointments.

This is what I do. Here's my workflow:

If something needs to be done at a specific time on a specfic date, that's when I use my calendar. When I was still in school, this was very nice because I could link the learning platform with my calendar, then I would know all the assignment due dates. These days, the only thing I do on a ridgid schedule is meet a friend or pay bills, so my calendar hasn't seen a lot of love in the past year.

Everything else, in my system, becomes a LIST. Simple, easy, 1 bullet point after the other. Less complexity, the better. GoalSumo isn't exactly a listing app. I actually use two listing apps. One is yellow lined paper (yellow is easier on the eyes imo), which I keep on my desk next to my mouse at all times, so I can immediately write something down, or task something. The other is a shared Issue Tracker (the fantastic Linear.app), that we use for tracking code changes and software updates.

My paper list can easily be converted into a DailySumo task list. (Although because I sign in and out of GoalSumo test accounts and create test data all day, it's kind of hard for me to use my GoalSumo as a task list). I use GoalSumo to track Weekly, Monthly, and long-term goals. I specifically LOVE the vision board, which can give me a bit of motivation when I'm not feeling it...

I recommend this solution, as it's what I do:

At the start of your day, review your calendar, and add it to a list (your DailySumo!). Calendars are really good for tracking specific information about dates & times. On my busiest day last year, copying this information took me about 5 minutes. Use GoalSumo for listing, as it's a fun todo list, and I try to design the DailySumo so that it's easy to view previous days, and see what was accomplished on that day, kind of like a daily task journal.

I feel we need 'convergence' of multiple task and goal systems - this way, one can operate in a more streamlined manner and achieve more.

We're still exploring how to best integrate our system with a calendar. What we might do is add a "Calendar feed" that can be setup in GoalSumo, so that you can one-click add tasks from your calendar into your DailySumo. Unfortunately, there's a lot that goes into building a calendar integration, especially because we have a system that works by rolling tasks between days. Last I checked, there was a requirement for Google Calendar API integrations to hire folks for independent code reviews and all other kinds of small complexities with this.

Consider calendar apps & GoalSumo integration a work in progress, but a deprioritized one. I still think nothing really beats a list, based on a calendar.

@Dean Irwin and MJ I'm confident that someday soon GoalSumo will be 'the only app you'll ever need'. In the meantime, how is everyone else managing convergence of multiple systems?

I'm not sure we will ever be "The only app you'll ever need", but we try to add functionality where we see a need for it, and when we can maintain simplicity.

It's okay to use different apps for different parts of your workflow, in fact, I would say it's a good idea. Using an app that's designed specifically for the purpose of the problem is normally a better experience. I use different apps throughout my day.

For example, Notion.... loved by many, conquered by few. Apps that do everything almost always end up a complexity nightmare. It's a really hard balance to strike, but if you ever see something you think needs to be a part of GoalSumo, please let us know on ideas.goalsumo.com!

-----

I'm super happy you're finding love with GoalSumo, and finding ways to do more in our platform. If you ever have any questions for us, please let us know

 

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[BGLefty]

I’m trying to get this setup but I’m having problems.

Weekly Workouts (Goal Chain)

• 1st Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Shoulders
• 2nd Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Back
• 3rd Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Legs
• Sprinting (weekly goal? habit?)
  • 3 times a week

If I create a Goal Chain, then put a weekly goal in Individual Goals, I can’t make it recurring.

I need to create a habit to make it recurring weekly. A habit can be linked to a weekly goal, but a weekly goal can’t be linked to a Goal Chain.

I would like my recurring weekly workouts linked to a Goal Chain. Is there a way to do this, am I missing something?

Thanks.

 

[Dean Irwin]

I’m trying to get this setup but I’m having problems.

Weekly Workouts (Goal Chain)

• 1st Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Shoulders
• 2nd Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Back
• 3rd Weekly Workout (weekly goal? habit?)
  • Legs
• Sprinting (weekly goal? habit?)
  • 3 times a week

If I create a Goal Chain, then put a weekly goal in Individual Goals, I can’t make it recurring.

I need to create a habit to make it recurring weekly. A habit can be linked to a weekly goal, but a weekly goal can’t be linked to a Goal Chain.

I would like my recurring weekly workouts linked to a Goal Chain. Is there a way to do this, am I missing something?

Thanks.

Goals are currently 1-time things. I would setup a Weekly goal that you just never check off, such as "Exercise" or whatever you'd like to label it as, then you can chain your habit to that weekly goal. We'll revisit this use case, as it's something I've noticed as well as a frustrating functionality limitation.

 

[Dean Irwin]

Would it be possible to fix the GoalSumo.com print out date?

Hi Andy, this has been patched along with the release of the new DailySumo system (nothing big changed, just got faster/optimized). Thanks for letting us know about it!

 

[SSTrey]

@Dean Irwin Unsure if anyone else having this issue, I cannot click anything on my laptop browser? (strangely, I can on my phone though).
Also, is there a reason we can no longer edit DailySumos more than 5 days old? Curious.

"You can not edit DailySumos that are more than 5 days old."

 

[Dean Irwin]

@Dean Irwin Unsure if anyone else having this issue, I cannot click anything on my laptop browser? (strangely, I can on my phone though).

Please try to refresh and see if you are still experiencing a dead page. If so, send me a DM and I can dig into it further.

Also, is there a reason we can no longer edit DailySumos more than 5 days old? Curious.

We have never supported updating DailySumos from more than 5 days old previously. The reasoning behind this was mostly a technical one, as it involved updating every future date with the older task rolling logic. We can revisit this now because our system works a bit differently. I'll add it to my list of things to explore.


Let me know if you have any further questions

 

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[mikecarlooch]

Hey @MJ DeMarco

I have a suggestion for GoalSumo - measurements

I've been doing this on pen and paper but it would be great to just be able to measure progress on the things I'm doing digitally.

Example: If we make a daily habit (e.g call 5 prospects), what metric constitutes success for that particular action? (Revenue generated for example)

Maybe there's already a way to use GoalSumo for this purpose, but let me know thanks.

 

[Geld]

I'm loving the app, thanks for the work MJ and Dean.

A feature I'm missing that I've seen in similar productivity softwares are editing when the day resets. Some of us like myself don't eat breakfast and I just wake up and go straight to work and since I don't go to bed until 1:45 AM I might still have work left to do for that day to check off as it's done or to simply check before bed in case I forgot something.

 

[Dean Irwin]

I'm loving the app, thanks for the work MJ and Dean.

A feature I'm missing that I've seen in similar productivity softwares are editing when the day resets. Some of us like myself don't eat breakfast and I just wake up and go straight to work and since I don't go to bed until 1:45 AM I might still have work left to do for that day to check off as it's done or to simply check before bed in case I forgot something.

Glad to hear that you're enjoying GoalSumo, and thank you for your feature request. If you wouldn't mind, I would like for you to post this on ideas.goalsumo.com for a public feature vote.

As for a solution that exists right now, you are always welcome to go back to a previous date (less than 5 days old) using the Calendar button and complete a task.

Out of curiosity, can you DM me what tools have the ability to change the "day end"? I would like to see their implementation of it.

Thank you again SumoStar!

 

[Dean Irwin]

I have a suggestion for GoalSumo - measurements

Thank you for the suggestion.

We've had a few requests since launch for the ability to track a quantitative measurement along with the goal progress. We've not really modeled a solution to this yet, but I think it's one we can make happen.

Stay tuned on this one. If you wouldn't mind, can you post this idea on ideas.goalsumo.com ?