I don’t know that I would describe myself as extremely goal oriented. I do enjoy achieving things, but I’ve never really set goals for myself. Before, I was pretty fickle with what I wanted for myself. How can you set goals if you’re not sure whether you’d rather stay in a city you know or start something new? I got inspired by my recent InnerGuide Planner purchase. Not only does it help you keep track of your life, but it also helps put your goals in front of you every day.

There are all sorts of studies that say you’re more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Huffington Post says you’re 42% more likely to achieve your goals if they’re written down. It’s brain science! Elite Daily backs goal achievement to having a set plan. When you write it down and build it out, you’re more likely to achieve your goals.

Here are four simple steps to help you determine and achieve your goals.

1. Picture your dream life.

Just take a moment, no more than five minutes, and picture your dream life. Where do you live? What do you do? What, in this dream life, makes you happiest? Maybe you’ve won the lottery. Perhaps you travel for a living. Your dream life may surround the creation of your own company.

Write it down!

Write down every aspect of this perfect life, even down to the breed and name of the perfect dog. Once you have your list, you can portion it out into different “sections” of life, love & relationships, financial, professional, etc.

Now…how do you get there?

2. Start with 1, 5, and 10 year goals.

The goals will be more broad as you get into the later ones. In order to achieve that dream life, what goals do you need to achieve? You might want to be an entrepreneur, so a goal may be quitting your job. Remember that goals are to help you achieve what you want to achieve, whether they’re perceived positively or negatively.

Write it down!

3. Create action items for your goals.

Goals are useless if you don’t have a plan to achieve them. That’s great that you want to be a freelance at-home chef, but how are you going to get there? What do you need to do to finalize that dream?

Write it down!

4. Write it down. Hang it up. Look at it every day until it becomes a reality.

A roommate of mine used to have goals and notes on her bathroom mirror to remember. Some people put sticky notes on their computer. Do whatever you need to do, but do not lose (literal) sight of your goals.

A Practical Example

I generally “draft” things before I finalize them. I grabbed one of my many notebooks, and started writing down goals that I wanted to achieve.

Once the goals were finalized, I moved them to their own individual index cards. I have the goal completion date, what the goal is, my action items, as well as a unique motivational quote at the bottom.

Once I had the goals I wanted to achieve, I drafted my action items before putting them on the notecards as well.

Fifteen goals over the next 10 years. These are things I want to achieve by the time I’m 35. It took me a couple of afternoons to complete this project, but you could finish it in an hour if you’re not distracted and don’t color code things.

It really is that simple, and (hopefully) that rewarding. Just four steps toward achieving your goals and building your dream life.