How you can use "Daily Inputs" to achieve large goals

One life-changing behavior that I've learned is this:

I don't write down big goals like "Run my first 5k!" or "Launch my new business!"

Instead, I simply work backwards from a large goal, until I reduce it to one simple action I can control each day. Something I can control is called an "input". Something I cannot control is an "output".

All of my daily tasks are inputs. I can't "Run my first 5k!" today, but I can do a simple task that gets me a little closer.

Here's a simple example that applies to my current goal of running a Spartan Sprint. It's called Couch to Sprint and the first daily task (input) is to "Complete a 10 minute brisk walk". I can do that. So I simply add "10 min brisk walk" to my task list today and I get it done. (The other secret is putting that task on my calendar and blocking time to complete it.)

If I consistently complete input tasks, I will eventually achieve large goals (outputs).

The second key is finding someone to keep me accountable to complete daily inputs. I've learned this as a dad and manager: what gets measured, gets done. If I know that someone is going to see if I didn't do a task (when I promised them I would), it's much more likely that I'll complete the task. We often review daily inputs at our morning standup, to create this accountability.

There you have it: a simple daily framework to reduce large goals into daily achievable inputs.

Please comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this method. Have you tried it? Does it work for you? Any tweaks you've made to this systems to improve results? Please share ??