Pick the right kind of goal

Before Hitaji asks you anything else about a goal, it asks what kind it is. This is worth getting right — it decides how progress is measured, and it is the reason some goals feel satisfying to track while others quietly rot.

The work gets done

Progress comes from completing tasks. Use this when the goal really is a body of work — launch the new price list, clear the backlog. Link tasks to it and the bar moves as they are finished.

A number moves

Progress comes from a figure you update. Use it when success is measurable and the work behind it varies — reach 500 subscribers, cut returns to under 2%.

You set a metric name, a starting value, a target and a unit, and you pick a direction: Climb to the target or Fall to the target. That second option is the one people miss, and it matters — for anything you want to reduce, climbing would report your progress backwards.

Time invested

Progress comes from hours tracked. Use it for practice and habit — ten hours a month on training. Tasks linked to a time goal carry a contribution, and your tracked time feeds the total.

If you cannot decide

Choose "the work gets done". It is the easiest to keep honest, because completing a task is unambiguous in a way that "updating a number" quietly is not. You can always create a sharper goal later; a vague number nobody updates helps nobody.