Goal Setting - Introduction
The 5/2 Matrix: What Do I Want, and What Do I Do?
Goal setting and health go well together. The whole practice of medicine is more or less goal setting: we see something we're trying to accomplish or change, and we run an experiment. Humans are complex and things come up, so we're never running a clean experiment where only one variable changes. That's why medicine is a practice and not a classically controlled experiment.
Goal setting is a lot like coaching in that both start the same way — establish where you are today and where you want to go. Change psychology ties into all of it, because we have limited capacity for change at any one time.
Why This Series
Next year we're rolling out twice-yearly check-ins where we review your 5/2 document, and I've already started giving some people their templates. Watching the first group work through it, I've seen some common mistakes — and some missing the point of the document entirely. So I've decided to do a dedicated article series on it. through this series, I'll walk through examples from each category.
The Point of the Document
The 5/2 exists to answer two questions: What do I want? and What do I do? Translated, the point is to get you to think and make a decision. It's to clarify what actually matters to you, in a world where that seems to be forgotten.
The other key point is to make you realize you don't suck. The most common mistake I see is people giving themselves no credit — they "should" all over themselves. I should be doing more. And more. Then, when they build the most important list — today/this week — they forget to include the habits they're already doing that are taking them toward their goals.
Budgeting Time and Energy
Something I've been reflecting on constantly: we're only allotted so much time and energy.
You have to budget both across a multitude of categories — relationships, social, happiness, health/physical, career, creativity, finances, education/personal development, spirituality, and environment. There are only so many hours in a day, so you might not be able to spend time on every category every day. Identify the minimum effective dose for each one, and accept that some categories will get seasons of focus.
Here's what you can't escape: every one of these categories impacts your health. Gross neglect of any of them will directly affect your state of health. The great misconception of wellness culture is that diet and exercise are the only two factors that matter. Lift up the veil and there's a lot of misery underneath some of those low-body-fat physiques.
Motivation Comes and Goes
The motivation that comes with starting fades over time — generally somewhere between 4 and 12 weeks. That means the tactics may need to change fairly often, while the long-term goals barely shift. You might have to swap your training program to avoid boredom; that's exactly what the 2-month goals are for.
Why These Timelines
Dan John proposed the original 5/2s: 20 years, 2 years, 2 months, tomorrow, and today. It's a clever name, but I've modified the timelines to 20 years, 5 years, 1 year, 2 months, and today — and after recent conversations about the exercise, I think "today" should really be "this week."
That leaves the daily level to a separate list Dan John calls your pirate map: a short checklist that defines your morning and evening routine. Mine is learn something, move my body, and let my wife, kids, and dog know that I love them. If I do those three things, it prevents me from having a terrible day. A step forward was still taken, despite the throes of life.
Decide Once, Then Do the Work
Part of this exercise is that it should free your mind. You make the decision once, and then you don't have to think every day about what needs to be done.
And here's the reality from change psychology: if you're over 50% compliant with your goals, there's generally improvement. In my more challenging years I've been around 70% compliant; in more stable years, closer to 95%. No year of my life have I been 100% consistent and hit all of my goals.
Life, like the stock market, has volatility. You can build your portfolio to hedge against downturns, but sometimes they still happen. 2024 was one of those years for me — after doing this exercise in some form for a decade, it was the year I hit the fewest of my goals. It was also, I think, the year that created more long-term opportunity than any other.
Getting Started
Setting up the original template is the hardest part. After that, it's slight modifications over time. The sheet should be referenced daily but modified rarely — quarterly or twice a year.
When you first work on your sheet, ask AI for help if you use it frequently — it tends to know your preferences pretty well. If you'd rather keep AI out of it, ask the people closest to you for feedback instead.
Three Practical Suggestions
Give yourself credit first. Before you write a single new goal, start your today/this week list with the habits you're already doing that move you toward your goals. You're building on a foundation, not starting from zero.
Draft the template in one sitting, imperfectly. Block 30–60 minutes, get something on paper for every category, and stop. The first version is the hardest and it doesn't need to be right — you'll reference it daily and refine it quarterly. A rough sheet you actually look at beats a perfect one you never finish.
Pick two or three categories for focused effort this season. For everything else, define the minimum effective dose and hold the line there. Trying to advance all ten categories at once is how people end up advancing none.
Three Primary Takeaways
The document exists to make you think and decide. Everything comes down to two questions: What do I want? and What do I do?
Health is bigger than diet and exercise. Every category on the list — relationships to finances to spirituality — affects your state of health, and gross neglect of any one of them will show up eventually.
Perfection is not the standard. Above 50% compliance, you're generally improving. Motivation fades, tactics change, bad years happen — the long-term goals hold, and a step forward still counts.
Pull your head out of the water. Think about where you want to go. Decide. Then — most importantly — do the work.
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