Module 8 · Goals & direction · Lesson 2 of 8

Choosing what not to pursue

Every yes to a goal is a no to something else. Choosing a few, on purpose, makes progress possible.

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The idea

It is tempting to pursue many goals at once: a new skill, a fitness plan, a side project, a relationship goal, a savings target. Each is worthwhile. Together, they split your time and energy so thinly that none of them moves much, which can feel discouraging.

Choosing what not to pursue right now is one of the most useful decisions you can make. It is not giving up on those things. It is choosing an order: this now, that later. Writing down what you are setting aside, and why, makes the choice feel deliberate rather than like forgetting.

Competing priorities are normal; the aim is not to remove the competition but to decide it consciously. Life Compass includes a “Not now” list for exactly this: items there are not abandoned — they wait, with a note on why and when you might look at them again.

Why it matters

Fewer goals get more attention each, and progress you can see builds momentum. Many goals at once tend to produce a vague sense of busyness and very little movement on any of them.

See it happen

Leyla is trying to learn to code, train for a half marathon, write a novel and renovate her flat, all in the same year. Six months in, none is going well.

The first read

All four goals matter to her, so dropping any of them feels like giving up on part of who she wants to be.

With this idea

She chooses coding and the flat for this year, and writes the novel and the half marathon on a “not now” list with the reason: one career goal and one home goal at a time. By the end of the year, both chosen goals are done.

What changed

She deliberately set some goals aside so the chosen ones could move.

Easy to get wrong

• Confusing choosing fewer goals with never trying new things. It is about sequence, not about shrinking your life.
• Setting goals aside silently. Without a written reason and a date, “not now” quietly becomes “never”.

Different perspectives

Reasonable people disagree here. None of these is presented as the final word.

Focus multiplies progress

Concentrating on a few goals gives each one enough time and attention to actually move, and progress itself is motivating.

Variety has value too

Some people find that a mix of goals keeps them fresh, and that different goals rest different parts of them — the right number is personal, not a rule.

What this rests on

Practical wisdom. A widely used way of working. Useful to try — not a scientific law.

• Oliver Burkeman — Four Thousand Weeks (2021) — A book about time management that starts from finitude: you will never get everything done, so choosing is the whole skill.

Try it: This now, that later

1. List every goal you are currently trying to pursue.
2. Choose two or three to focus on for the next few months.
3. For each of the rest, write why it is waiting and when you will look at it again.

Reflect

• Which goal are you carrying that you have not actually worked on in months?
• What would become possible if you set two goals aside on purpose?

Use it in the coming days

Move the goals you are setting aside to Life Compass’s “Not now” list this week, each with its reason and a date to look again.

Where to do it: Life Compass

Life Compass’s Not now list keeps set-aside goals safe, with a reason and a date.