Working Towards Habits, Not Goals

Whenever you start a mission, it is a good idea to have some objectives that you'd like to accomplish. Setting goals provides you an endpoint, a place where you can say "I did it!" when you reach it. Goals make you more focused because whenever presented with something,  you can ask will this something help me achieve my goal? If the answer is no, then you can discard it.

But the issue with goals is that ambitious people tend to set them too high and are disappointed when they don't think they're making progress at a pace they'd like. Then, when you set multiple interval goals, you get a false sense of accomplishment when you reach them, which seduces you into relaxing, taking a breather.

That is why I am directing my attention to building habits. For the first month, until January 5th (when I go back to school), I want to be spending 14-20hrs a week programming. 

With any skill, there is a clear correlation between time spent practicing and skill. I have never heard a story of somebody who spent 5 or 10 years of their life programming and have yet to "get it". 

Coding is a knack where the only way you'll learn is by putting the time in and that's why my goal is to put in the time on a consistent basis.

[Hat Tip to Roshan Choxi for his insight]