Kevin Rutherford has taken me literally and has some ideas for defining and quantifying personal goals, personal goal-setting:
What's required, then, is a way to define our goals - and to quantify them.
So here's the mad part: Suppose we define our personal (productivity) goals using the approach Tom Gilb takes to defining software requirements.
He suggests rather than simply stating goals, they should be based on deeper personal needs. Repeatedly dive into the goal, asking "why" it is important. Does it bring you business, reduce stress? Does it satisfy curiosity? Does it lead to satisfaction?
It's a thought experiment at this point. But I think this jibes with the general idea that we need to be doing those things that move us in the right direction. I like to have fun too, but I would like to give consideration to those things I claim as important and ensure that they are really as critical as I think.
His thoughts were spawned by my own on comments (and Kevin's goading) in my post, Too Busy Being Unproductive to Learn to Be Productive.