It’s the time of the year to review our goals and set new ones again.

For those new to A Long Long Road, I’m a firm believer in making New Year Resolutions and setting goals. When I first started setting goals, I did it with simple, old paper and pen. Later, I typed my goals into Word documents. After a few years, I moved on to goal setting/tracking software.

Goals management tools are really important to help us set goals and track them. With good tools to facilitate good goals, you’ll have a better chance of achieving them. As such, I went scouring the Internet for goal management tools for different types of users.

Below is a list of 7 tools that I think are really useful. Whether you are IT-savvy or not, you will find something useful to help you achieve your goals in 2008.

FREE TOOLS

They say that “you get what you pay for”. In my search for goals management tools, this statement seems to true. The free tools are usually simpler in features and you can’t do much complex stuff with them. Having said that, I believe they still have their place with users who prefer simplicity or are simply looking for something free to start off with:

1. Five Minute Organizer - A very simple planning template using plain old paper and pen. The Word template can be printed out into index cards which can be carried around in your wallet. Comes with templates for managing projects, appointment, contacts, brainstorming ideas and today’s goals.
   • It’s good for those who are only comfortable with the manual way of managing information using paper and pen.
   • It’s easy and straightforward for simple task management. However, too many loss cards can get confusing once your tasks’ complexity increase.
   • The best part about it is that it’s free.
2. Joe’s Online Goal Tracking Tool - A simple online tool that allows you to set recurring tasks. Tracking of task accomplishment is easily done by clicking on the calendar day. The more clicks you have means the more you have done for that goal on that day.
   • Simple and FREE signup to get started.
   • Set recurring goals and share them with friends to motivate yourself on your progress.
   • Ease of access - online tool.
   • Also comes with Joe’s logbook to journal about your life and activities.
   • Perfect for those who want simplicity in goal tracking.

3. Nozbe - Getting Things Done - A slightly more advanced tool than Joe’s Tracking Tool. I think the best part is that it can group task into logical projects which is really useful for mid-term goals that requires a set of related actions to achieve. At the same time, it can setup context for tasks so that you can group tasks together when they fit into the same context.
   • Ease of access- online tool.
   • Has multiple subscription schemes which includes a FREE subscription with limitation of 5 projects. You can signup for a paid subscription if you need more.
   • Relate tasks together using projects and contexts.
   • Can attached project-related files and resources to projects, handy for keeping information together.

PREMIUM TOOLS

The premium tools comes at a price, but mostly for good reasons. They support a much wider range of features and are more suitable if you are really serious about tracking your goals and using these tools to guide your daily activities:

1. GoalAchiever - This is an interesting one. Very suitable for Law of Attraction fans or if you are the visual type for self-motivations. It has a wizard that guides you in setting your goals and associate them with an image of your choice. The goals and image are then set as your desktop wallpaper to serve as a constant reminder of your goals.
   • Not exactly my typical type of goal management tool but can certainly serve a niche audience who are into stuffs like vision-boards.
   • Also comes with an optional screen-saver for even more visual motivations.
   • Price at US$19.95 (free trial available).
2. GoalPro 2008 - This is a really cool-looking one and it comes with a very cool interface as well. It has a great range of features with wizard that guides you in setting your goals.
   • Success tree allows you to manage major goals, goals and daily tasks. This is a really important feature that allows you to tie daily activities back to your long-term goals.
   • Calendar allows scheduling of tasks and activities.
   • Comes with a daily journal to note your thoughts and reflections.
   • Scratchpad for brainstorming. Really useful to crystallize and note down your thoughts on vague goals.
   • Comes with reports and graph to clearly indicate your progress.
   • A very cool wizard that guides you through a goals setting process. Very useful if you are new to goals setting.
   • Even though it does a lot of stuff, it is still very easy to learn and use. I guess they took some careful considerations into the interface design and usability of the software.
   • I feel it’s a shame that it doesn’t have any OutLook synchronization feature.
   • Hefty price of US$89.95 (free trial available).

3. Achieve Planner - This one looks almost like MS Project. It has a lot of complex features to support the full range of goals management activities from brainstorming, goals setting, scheduling, tracking, monitoring and reporting. This is a fairly complex tool that takes some getting use to. Suitable to seasoned users who are experienced with goals setting and project management.
   • Setting of goals according to different dimensions of your life e.g. Family, Friends, Financial, Spiritual, Work etc.
   • Task priority.
   • Weekly and daily planning.
   • Task tracking.
   • Automatic scheduling.
   • Synchronization with MS OutLook (really cool).
   • Comes in 3 editions: Standard, Pro and Productivity Suite.
   • Price range from US$59 to $119.
4. Franklin Covey PlanPlus for Windows And OutLook - I’m saving my favorite for last. This is a tool that I have personally used for years. It is based on Stephen R. Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. There are wizards for creating mission statements and balancing different aspects of our lives - physical, spiritual, social and mental. One version even integrates into MS OutLook so you can access your emails, appointments, tasks all in one place. Really neat!
   • Comes with wizards for mission statement creation.
   • Goals setting and tracking.
   • Project management.
   • PowerNotes for journal taking.
   • A weekly planner call Compass.
   • Comes in 2 version: one integrated into Outlook as an addin and the other as a Windows standalone desktop application.
   • Price range from US$49.95 to $99.95

Ok, that’s it! That’s the 7 goals management tools I have shortlisted.

If you are considering spending money to buy the premium stuff, I like to recommend that you check out 10 Considerations When Investing In Premium Goal Setting Software. My experience with the increased in productivity says that the money is worth spending. However, you still need to be prudent to make sure you get something that is suitable for your needs. My friend, Ellesse has listed some good considerations which should start you off in the right direction.

In all cases, whenever possible, get a free trial download first before committing your dollars. The little bit of time and money spend upfront will be worth it later down the road.

I know there are certainly more goals management tools out there and if you know any, please share with us in the comments.

PS: I am not an affiliate of any of these tools, so the recommendations are purely my own and not favored towards anyone.

(Photo by Kathy Marie Perez)

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