Whether you are building a new company, a side project, or trying to grow an existing project, you will notice that it is extremely difficult to keep focus and measure growth. The inherent chaos that comes with creating change makes it easy get distracted.
We believe that the best way to execute fast and well is with a lighter version of the OKR methodology and we've built Exponential so that your goals are always present in your workflow - to avoid the "set and forget" issue with a lot of OKR implementation.
Pick your ultimate goal, something that is what you're fighting for every day on a 5 year horizon.
Think of what you want to achieve this year to bring you closer to your North Star. Pick 3 to 5 objectives. An Objective is what you want to accomplish. It needs to be significant, concrete, action oriented and inspirational. It's usually not a benchmark or measurable but don't overthink it when you start.
Now that you have your objectives for the year, break them down in smaller bits that you can achieve over a 3 months period.
For each of your goals, pick 1 to 5 key results. A Key result is how you want to accomplish an objective. Key results must be measurable, verifiable, specific: you either meet a Key Result or you don't, there is no gray area.
Define what you want to achieve this week: this needs to be algined with your current key results. Try to define 1 to 3 Weekly Wins: tasks that you are 90%+ confident you will achieve and that will have a big impact on your achievement of your key result.
Journal throughout your day and build a knowledge base over time.
Review your productivity for the previous week/quarter/year. Keep doing what makes you productive and change what doesn't help you achieve your goals.