As a big fan of goal setting in my personal and professional life myself, I have been looking at some “free” websites claiming to make goal setting (and more importantly,  achieving ) easy and fun! 

Getting Started…
43things is a great place to start if you are looking for inspiration or if you are just interested what other people want to achieve in 2013 – you’ll be amazed! But… 
 

“A goal without a Plan is just a Dream” (Dave Ramsey)
Goals are supposed to be S.M.A.R.T. 

LifeTick
LifeTick is probably the most comprehensive goal tracking system I have ever come across: 

The service is full of features that make it easy to add and track multiple goals, build plans and steps for each one, and then look back on your progress over time, complete with graphs and reports that quantify your experiences. You can filter your goals based on the part of your life you want to work on, and review your progress in each individual area – and of course you can access it from your iPhone or Android. 

Lifetick is free for up to four goals; if you want to add more or make use of the service’s journaling features, you’ll have to pay a small subscription fee. If you are serious about goal setting and tracking, LifeTick is the way to go. 

Mindbloom LifeGame
By playing the LifeGame to create your own vision board you “Grow the life you want” – a “fun, simple and effective way to improve the quality of your life”. 

Decide what’s important and grow a (virtual) Life Tree nurtured by your motivation and kept healthy by your actions that support your purpose. 

Supported for on the go via the iPhone app – it really looks like a “fun” way to follow your dreams, ahem, I mean goals, and approaches goal setting in a much gentler way than LifeTick.

Stickk
Stick is designed to help you achieve your goals through “Commitment Contracts” – a contract that binds you into achieving a personal goal: 

First you decide on your stake – either money or your reputation -, then choose a referee to monitor your progress and even supporters to cheer you on. 

I love the idea and love how easy the site is to navigate – definitely my new favourite toy for those one off achievements like losing the extra weight… speaking of which: 

MyFitnessPal
Although only designed for the goal of losing weight, MyFitnessPal has become so incredibly popular, it had to be mentioned. 

MyFitnessPal is a diet and fitness community built with one purpose in mind: providing you with the tools and support you need to achieve your weight loss goals by keeping track of the foods you eat (you can even scan in bar codes!). It includes a huge calorie and exercise database that helps you do just that. 

With the free mobile phone app it certainly makes things easier. 

The Future is Bright
Even the slickest website or app is not going to be a magic wand for changing habits and of course cannot compensate for poorly constructed goals or a lack of motivation but these websites can at least point us in the right direction and even make the progress fun!

 Happy New Year!

Have PC Harmony,
so you can concentrate on the more important things in life…