If you’ve been sourcing for premium online goal software for some time, tendency is, you would have come across MyGoals.

Started in February 2001 by Greg Helmstetter, MyGoals is one of the pioneers in the goal setting software market and has won numerous mentions in renowned publications such as Forbes.com, Times Magazine etc over the years. Just scrolling down the list of accolade banners took me half a minute. Yes, it’s that long! In fact, it was also through one of the local women’s magazine that I first read about this online tool.

Almost 7 years have gone since MyGoals first debuted. Is the “patent pending technology” they’re claiming to use still relevant? And how does it score against the 10 selection criteria I’ve previously highlighted?

I decided to put it through the test.

My First Impression

Operating on a subscription model, it costs $5.95 per month to use MyGoals. You can get the 12 months package for the savings. But according to the registration page, it says “… Sorry, but we can’t offer pro-rated refunds”. Does that mean no prorated refunds request will be entertained if you terminate before the 12 months’ grace period? Frankly, I’m not really sure.

Though MyGoals doesn’t come with a pretty interface, the website’s fast and not too chunky. Very important for an online tool, since it’s unlikely the system will hang on you. Especially if you’re in the middle of a goal plan update.

The fast access also made transactions hassle free. For example, it took me less than 30 seconds to register for the 10 days free trial. The only bane is, I need to provide my credit card details, which will be automatically charged if I forget to cancel the subscription before the 10 days’ up.

There are quite a number of short, straight to the point goal setting tips on the website. Which, I think are very useful for people who want to know more about goal setting but doesn’t have the time. If you’re looking for more depth, go for the 6 goal setting articles here. I’ve read some of them. Solid content. But if they were written in a more conversational tone, I think they would appeal to more people.

One article which I found particularly interesting is their press release on their annual predictions of the goals people set. Nice touch.

So, How Does It Fare Against My 10 Criteria?

Here’s the scorecard :

• Brainstorming

  If you’re depending on MyGoals goal setting software to help you determine your life goals, you’ll likely to be disappointed. The moment you login, it shows you a list of high category goals – such as Health & Fitness, Family & Relationship etc etc – assuming you know which to work on immediately. Though it doesn’t come with a real brainstorming wizard per say, the huge database of pre-made goal plans is likely to bounce off some ideas.

• Sample Goal Plans

  I didn’t do a count but I guess there should be at least 200 different plans. Each complete with obstacles, subtasks, milestones, due dates. The unique part is that, it identifies obstacles first and subtasks are designed to counteract the obstacles. Something I’ve never seen in other goals software. The system is also flexible enough to let you create your plan from scratch or adopt an pre-made plan straightaway.

  Each subtask also comes with a brief paragraph explaining the rationale for the task and reference to some useful resource links. It’s like having a virtual coach. But out of 10 links I clicked, almost 4 are either not working or are pointing to the wrong page. Hmm… looks like MyGoals clearly needed some clean up. This definitely limits the usefulness of this functionality.

  For people who have a rough idea on what they want to do but prefer to cut down the time taken to write down the detail plan, this is indeed a great help. Though I figured a lot of customization would be required before each plan is workable. But then again, which plan isn’t?

• Full Suite of Project Management

  It takes only 3 steps to add a new subtask, making this one of the easier-to-maintain application I’ve ever seen. It also supports recurring tasks and milestones. But if you’re thinking of integrating the data with your blackberry or mobile, I’m sorry. It clearly doesn’t support that. The only reminder you’ll get is only via email, which can be sent once, daily, weekly, monthly, prior to your due date or randomly.

• Comprehensive Goal Tracking

  Goal tracking is really lacking here. Other than the ability to print out your detail goal plan, complete with all the sub tasks, deadlines etc, I don’t see any other reports. But there’s a nice surprise when I tried to complete a goal. I was directed to a page that reminds me to reward myself with either a small tub of ice cream or buy a gift from some online store. Not too bad.

• Motivation Adds On, Auxiliary Content & Accessibility

  If you’re looking for added motivational resources from the site, you’ll be disappointed. Other than the free goal setting tips & articles on site, a newsletter – both which you can access even as a non-member – and perhaps a built in feature for announcing your goals via email, there’s really nothing else. No member supported forums. No additional reports or bonus software.

  But well, for $5.96 a month, I probably can’t ask for too much, can I? It’s also important to note that there’s no offline version or any export features available. So, in case you’re stuck overseas for long periods of time without internet access, you may need to print out your plan on paper for manual tracking and update it when you’re back.

• Trial or Money Back Guarantee

  Frankly, I really love the 10 days free trial. It goes to show the management’s confidence in their product. Hence, I’ll strongly encourage you to go for the trial first before deciding if MyGoals’ suitable for your needs. And even if you’ve decided to cancel, the process’s quite hassle free too. Just go to Account Settings and click ‘Close The Account’. That’s it.

• Support & Maintenance

  There’s a well written help section when you log on to the system. Anything you need to know, from “What’s a reminder” to the steps to access and update your goal plan, are all in there. Partly because of this and also for the fact that this is a pretty stable and user friendly application, there’s really no need for a helpdesk support centre per say. This seems to be supported also by the fact that there was nothing ridiculously negative about MyGoals in the forums.

• Value Over Price

  Paying for MyGoals is equivalent to paying for the pre-made goal plans. Personally, I don’t have much issue with brainstorming the subtasks for my goals. So, paying $5.95 monthly for an email reminding service that I could get free with tools such as Google Calendar or IWantSandy seems rather cost ineffective.

Conclusion

Overall, MyGoals is a rather simple, user friendly online goal software. For anyone who needs some suggestion with their goal plans and don’t mind forking the low $5.95 monthly charge, go ahead and give it a run. But for those who wants something more robust, I’ll suggest you to look elsewhere. Or just try my free goal setting software recommendations.

P.S. Is there any other goal setting software that you’ll like me to review? Feel free to drop me an email and let me know!

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Free goal setting software & tools are cool but what if you need something that’s capable of more and don’t mind paying for it? Before you reach out for your wallet and start buying any premium goal setting software you see, here are some important considerations you may want to review on the product first :

(1) Brainstorming Tool

If you have no clues what personal mission statement or core values you have or the goals you’ll like to work on, a brainstorming tool comes in very handy. Such a function makes you go through a list of questions, scenarios and a set of prioritization logarithms to come up with the goals you may want to consider. However, if you’re pretty sure of these already and know what you want to achieve, this function’s a lesser priority.

(2) Sample Goal Plans

If your goal is to quit smoking, wouldn’t it be cool if the software comes with a sample set of subtasks you’ll need to complete in order to reach that goal? You can add or remove the subtasks where necessary. Although it’s true that each goal plan differs in accordance to one’s unique requirements, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to have a baseline to start off with. Think of the time savings! That alone is sufficient justification, isn’t it?

(3) Full Suite of Project Management

Most people pay for goal setting software because they want a more robust project management capability. I totally agree. Because if what you’re paying doesn’t give you this, you might as well stick to some of the free ones I’ve recommended. Why pay when you can get it free? In my opinion, it’s nice to have such a tool with :

• A Flexible Subtasks Maintenance

  Allows all the goals subtasks, their targeted outcome, deadlines and urgency to be recorded and ad hoc items added on the cuff. Depending on the status, items can be checked off or rescheduled where necessary. To do list, overdue items report and pocketmod exports can generated as and when required.

• Recurring Subtasks Support

  . Repeated tasks for habitual goals, should be created effortlessly with just a few mouse clicks. The basis for the recurring (eg, daily, weekly, monthly) can also be customized.

• Milestones & Rewards

  Milestones are various checkpoints that help you evaluate your goal progress. Say your goal is to generate $10,000 per month from your business in 12 months’ time, you can set $5,000 to be earned in 6 months as your milestone. Such, help to break up large goals into smaller segments, and when jointly implemented with an attractive reward system, can motivate you to review and move your strategy going forward.

• Auto Notification & Reminders

  … to inform the user via email, mobile or system login in the case of overdue or pending items.

• Integration

  Can your goal plans and updates be seamlessly synchronized between mobile devices such as your blackberry or PDA phones, exported or imported easily using common formats such as Excel or CSV? Though this may not be utilized by all users now, with the advent of technology, this could be something as common as email is to us today, in a few years down the road.

(4) Comprehensive Goal Tracking

Does the system come with enriching and insightful reports or charts that shows how far you’re from your target or milestones? Is there an auto reminding capability for you to keep your goal data updated? Does the chart or report attempt to explain why you’re not achieving the goals within the targeted deadline? Are the variables used to measure the progress scientific and customizable?

Though these may sound pretty basic, you’ll be surprised at the quality of such goal tracking capability in many premium software. A good goal tracking system not only can let you know your progress, it can motivate and keep you on your toes as well. So, my advice is, don’t rush into buying one that scores well for the rest but sucked in this.

(5) Motivational Add Ons

Are there any additional features in the software which motivates you in your goal pursuit? Such as a personalized motivation rating chart, a progress journal, a built-in Vision Board, a regularly updated success stories section etc. A software with these reflect the developer’s understanding of a complete goal setting methodology and sincere desire to help their users achieve their goals. Creating the plan is just the start. Keeping you going is what matters.

(6) Auxiliary Content

Are there any special bonus reports or software given free together with the purchase? Are there any supplementary content such as useful goal setting articles, motivational videos and audios provided on an ongoing basis by the vendor? Is there an interactive members only forum available for people to congregate and discuss their experience?

Though this is absolutely not necessary, having this value adding bonus will help you decide between 2 seemingly comparable software. And in my opinion, sometimes, this bonus alone can be worth more than the price.

(7) Accessibility

Can the software or system be assessed online or offline? Some people have qualms about storing their personal data such as income online, so getting an offline application or online tool with strict privacy and security policies becomes major. However, if you’re from the camp which believes in announcing goals to secure commitment, features that facilitate such interaction will be more important to you.

(8) Trial or Money back Guarantee

Any system which comes with a trial or a money back guarantee goes to say something about the product. The developer or vendor is so confident about its quality that he’s willing to risk your not purchasing the product after the trial or getting a refund after the purchase. This also reflects the vendors’ commitment towards customer satisfaction, which is very important especially if you’re using a monthly subscription based paying software.

(9) Support & Maintenance

Nothing irks me off than poor support. You can purchase a solid product with all the features you want but if you’re having problems getting help installing the system on your computer or accessing it behind a firewall, it’s as good as not buying it, isn’t it? I had such a bad support experience from one software provider (it’s not a goal setting software in case you’re wondering), that I unsubscribed from their services just after 3 months. Yes, it can be that bad.

The best way to know if a software vendor gives good support? Ask around! Check out personal development forums and ask if anyone had similar experiences using that software. Google for independent review articles or comments on the internet and read through them carefully.

(10) Value Over Price

After you’ve access all the 9 considerations, take a moment to rank them in the order of importance and select a couple of software that seemingly possess the attributes you’re looking for. Then, finalize the purchase decision based on price. If 2 products with similar features match your ranking and are selling for $99 and $33 respectively, it’s natural to take the one with a lesser price, isn’t it? Most of the time, it may not be that clear cut. My proposition is, always to chose the one that offers the most value rather than blatantly just looking at the price.

Photo by Victor Nuno

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Over the past week, I’ve been scouring the web for a list of such free goal setting software and here’s my result. A word of warning though. Don’t lose the forest for the trees. Action and persistence is the key when it comes to Goal Setting so though it may be tempting to try each and every tool, hold your horses and pick only those free goal setting software that looks relevant to your needs!

Most of these free goal setting software tools assume you’ve already decided on your goals and therefore doesn’t have much of a brainstorming function. Except for one. If you want some help with that, please subscribe to Goal Setting College and refer to the 2 free brainstorming questionnaires that comes with your free subscriber bonus.

With further ado, here are the ones who made it to the list :

1. Joe’s Goals

   Simple and effective, this nifty online tool is great for tracking goals that involve a habitual routine. Like, how many times you’ve worked out this week, how many articles you’ve written etc. For every task or vice you commit, you add and deduct a point respectively. Total up the score and you can show it off to your friends. With more than 10,000 users, you can’t go wrong with this.

2. Goalsetting1

   Using graphs, this tool tabulates your bodyweight loss, income earned or whatever that’s defined by you against the period specified. Daily, weekly or monthly email reminders are sent for progress update and it’s excellent for tracking time critical SMART goals. You can also write short journals posts and invite others to leave a shout out. Even though there’s a ‘privacy’ mode, there’s no true privacy. Once you update your goals, it’ll be published in the dashboard on the main page.

3. LifeTango

   The only tool with a brainstorming wizard. After answering a series of questions such as “Where would you like to go on vacation?”, “What job title would you like to achieve?” etc, you’ll have a list of recommended goals derived on your answers. Pick the ones you want, set a deadline and slowly indicate your progress in percentages. You can add milestones and invite friends and family for comments in this free goal setting software freeware. Monthly reminders are also available.

4. BackpackIT

   A very efficient to-do list, you create your own set of to-do goals, shuffle them as much as you like and check them off once you’ve completed them. Email and mobile text (only certain countries) reminders can be set on the fly. The premium version allows you to tie it up with a calender and load motivational graphics and files. In my opinion, the free version is more than enough to handle the job.

5. 8goals

   A simple system with a rather basic interface, 8goals allows you to add current, future and lifetime goals. To update your progress, you need to indicate the percentage of completion for each goal to generate a simple graph and pie chart. Refer to the instructional video on the site to find out more about other features.

6. My Life Changes

   Similar to Joe’s Goals, this tool’s suitable for tracking habitual life goals in congruence to your core values. For example, how many times have you trained up for your Mount Everest trek (as opposed to your values of Adventure under the Health/Energy/Image life category). You mark it in red if you’ve not met the goal, yellow if you’ve come close and green once you’ve achieve it. If you want to setup reminders, write journals, keep your past accomplishments, archive your old entries and remove the ads, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium version of this free goal setting software.

7. Goal Setting Toolkit

   This is a set of wallet sized paper goal setting cards for you to carry to wherever you go and is the only non-software tool I’ve on the list. The main motive is to keep your goals in sight, similar to the effect Vision Boards create. Download the templates and try out all 9 different cards.

8. Sparkpeople

   Great for health & fitness related goals, Sparkspeople is a large community of weight loss enthusiasts. You get to specify your ideal weight, your nutrition goals and fitness regime and track them as you go along. More importantly, you’ll get a lot of support from the helpful forum, informative recipes, tips, articles etc. Anything you want to know about Health & Fitness can be found here. There is also an ‘Other Goals’ section where you can work on non-fitness related goals as well.

9. FitDay

   Similar to Sparkpeople, Fitday is exclusively for the health & fitness community. You get to track the foods you eat, monitor your workout activities, set your weight goals and maintain your own journals etc. It also comes with a calendar to trace all your historical and planned activities. Cool. The online account is free. However, if you’re experiencing slow internet access generating all the colour charts and statistics, you may want to purchase its desktop version.

10. Wesabe

    Doubling up as a financial goals setting site, Wasabe’s main job is to help you track your expenses. If you’ve an electronic copy of your credit card bill or bank statements (selected banks only), upload it and you’re set to analyze your finances. Once you’ve set your financial targets, the system will prompt a list of related tips based on comments from other people within the community and also provide feedback based on your expenditure. I’m not able to verify this though. Because Wesabe doesn’t support Singapore bank accounts!

11. 43things

    Write out your goals here and see what happens! You’ll get suggestions and recommendations from fellow members that may inspire or laugh you off your seat. You can also ask for advice from people who’ve completed similar goals. As they say, success leave clues. Who knows? It may not be that tough after all!

That’s all I have. If there’s any free goal setting software you know that’s not on this list, feel free to let me know in the comments!

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