Today I’ll introduce 5 useful tools for achieving goal setting smarter and productivity boost. These goal setting websites all work on a common principle: build habits to get things done.

The 5 solutions I’m going to review includes premium web apps with lots of functions and simple DIY tools using Google Docs and Calendar. Just choose whichever works on you!

Fitango

Fitango is a powerful web app for everyone who wants to achieve goals by building action-based habits. You begin with creating an account or logging in using your Facebook account. Then create an action plan or choose among templates created by “experts”. These plans cover a wide range of goals, like personal fitness, productivity enhancement, parenting and family etc.

Each action plan consists a number of actions and each action requires completion of something on a regular basis. For example, you can have an action plan that requires you to cold-call 10 potential customers a day or work out for 60 minutes every alternative day. The choice is yours, set your plan according to your own situation. You can integrate Fitango action plans to external calendars, so don’t worry about manually adding events to your Google calendar. Once completed each day’s action, go to Fitango to mark completion. Completion the required actions everyday, you gradually build a habit.

Fitango keeps a record of your achievements which could be represented graphically. You could analyse your progress and make changes as you see fit. If you think you are ready to increase exercise frequency, just alter your action plan.

Fitango makes this process a little bit easier and enjoyable by adding social elements. Firstly, you could invite somebody as your motivator. If you prefer someone who has knowledge in the area you work on, try seeking guidance from “experts” on Fitango. Or you can interact with other Fitango users who are using the same action plan as yours. You can even send an action plan as a gift to your friends who you think may need it (a keep-fit reminder to your better-half?). If you so prefer, Fitango can send progress updates to your Facebook, letting your friends know how much you weight you lost.

http://www.fitango.com/

StickK

The selling point of stickK is a system designed by a group of Yale University economists with field tests to prove its effectiveness. The method is simple, if you put something valuable, i.e. stakes, as a bet. For example, if you failed to achieve a goal, say jogging 60 mins a day, you lose a certain amount you specified, which would be transferred to a recipient you designated. It is believed that by putting something valuable at risk, people have the strongest incentive to achieve a goal.

The “stakes” part of sticKK is optional. You don’t have to pay any body if you don’t want to, but I bet a million if you chose the right amount of stake (say the whole of your assets) you would be the most successful achiever on the planet.

StickK asks you to name a “referee”. He/she is the one who independently monitors your progress (no cheating guys!). This is optional too if you believe in your own integrity.

Think you have too much pressure? No problem, stickK on the other hand has a “support” section, where other stickK users are there to cheer you up. You make achievements, people applaud you. You failed, you lose something. That’s how this system works.

But of course, no one knows what your goal is if you properly set the privacy level. Rest assured that your friends won’t get a clue you are aiming at losing weight.

http://www.stickk.com/

Commitie

You got it right, I spelt it correctly. It’s not commitie, another online tool for habit building. The name is a play of the word “committed”. This web app is a little brother of the minimalist diary web app Memiary. They have the same founders.

Commitie inherited the same simplistic style. You can choose from 9 types (and only these 9 types) of habits, add a commitment and track your achievements. You have to set a goal, say 10, and everytime you completed the specified action you get 1 point. Mark down if you did what you specified everyday and see your progress, until you reach your goal.

Commitie has a community feature. You can see the number of users who work on the same type of habit. People who made great achievements are shown in the hall of fame – “Leaderboard”. On the other hand, people who did not perform well are shown as “need some cheering”. If you don’t want both of this, turn sharing off so that nobody knows even you are the worst (or best) achiever.

http://www.commitie.com/

Joe’s Goal

Joe’s goal is Joe’s product, and Joe is someone who created a system for himself and all people on the internet to achieve goals.

It works in a way similar to Commitie. The difference is Joe’s Goal has slightly more setting to make, i.e. greater degree of customization. You can set the points you get for completing each day’s task (weight), the target days and type. There are two types, positive and negative. For example, doing something good is positive and bad habits (e.g. eating snacks) are negative. The more negative points you get the worst your situation is.

http://www.joesgoals.com/

Goal Planning Template, Google Docs and Calendar

I appreciate that there’s no single web app that suits everybody. If you want total control, I suggest creating your very own system.

Firstly, think about how you are going to carry out the habit building exercise. If you like incentive system, I recommend a template created by Tomas Bay, a personal development coach, which could be found here.

This system, names POWER, helps you to achieve goals by creating good habits and getting rid of bad ones. It’s a 30 day challenge you create to yourself. You set up an action plan of doing something regularly, and removing bad habits deterring the achievement of your goal. Use incentives (and punishments) to motivate yourself.

I recommend this POWER system because I’m a user of it. Last year I attended courses of Tomas and learnt this awesome habit building tool. I used it and successfully achieved some goals, like going to bed early and learning foreign language. (My recommendation is made purely due to the effectiveness of it, this is not an affiliated link.)

You can download a weekly planning sheet and upload it to Google Docs. It becomes a cloud copy of your action plan which you could carry around. Fill in your goals and action plan, and follow it strictly. If you commit to donate $100 to charitable organizations when failed to do something, don’t eat your words. Your learning moment is when you feel the pain, trust me.

To helpful yourself, you could mark the tasks as appointments in Google Calendar and set reminders. It is the best (and free) online calendar system. No matter what smartphone you use, you can always carry your action plan with you. It would be even better if you have other tools like Remember the Milk or Toodledo, but basically Google Docs and Calendar are all you need.

Summary

From my experience, to build a habit is the best way to enhance productivity. Get used to doing something, make it part of your daily life, you gradually improves your productivity. I hope the above tools could help. As always, drop a few lines below if you have any comment or sharing! Thanks!