The Not-So-Secret AOC Formula
After understanding the relationship between you and your goal and defining it, we must determine the best course of action to make it real.
the AOC formula breakdown
First, we take a calendar starting from TODAY and divide it into quarters or three-month chunks. Take your defined goal, and BROADLY name Level 1 Goals for your quarters.
Here's a good example:
Susan R.'s goal (which she permitted me to share!) is to change careers from marketing manager to self-employed social media coach. Go, Susan! She understands it may take longer than one year to achieve this, but it opens the door for her to begin managing her career on her terms.
Level 1 Goals:
Q1: Research & Review others in the field
Q2: Set up an Online Presence
Q3: Set up a Business Framework
Q4: Market & Solicit First Clients
They are not very specific, are they? That's the point. This is the view from an airplane window. We will get to specifics as we further break down your defined goal.
Next, each quarter contains three months, so we will take each Level 1 Goal and break it down to monthly Level 2 Goals. This is the bird's eye view.
They would look something like this:
Q1: Research & Review others in the field
Level 2 Goals:
Month 1: Find & follow ten social media coaches whose aesthetic matches what you're trying to create
Month 2: Engage on those social media coaches' pages, making connections and networking as you go
Month 3: Sign up for and take any free courses or workshops offered by these social media coaches
Q2: Set up an Online Presence
Month 4: Begin discovering your brand aesthetic, colors, vision boards, etc.
Month 5: Research online platforms & communities
Month 6: Choose platforms & tools, set up online accounts
…and so on with Q3 and Q4.
Level 3 Goals:
Your weekly goals within each month. This is where our goal starts to transform into measurable tasks. This is back down to earth view.
Here's an example using Susan's information:
Level 3 Goals for Month 1:
Week 1: Browse YouTube to discover some social media coaches. Follow a few.
Week 2: Browse Instagram for some social media coaches. Follow a few.
Week 3: Browse TikTok for social media coaches. Follow a few.
Week 4: List and review things that stuck out to you from these profiles/pages. What did you like, and what did you not like?
And that brings us to the most impactful part of our formula, the ROMP and RAFT: our daily progress.
When we arrive at the micro-task breakdown of our day-to-day progress on our goal, we will use my special classification, the ROMP, and the RAFT.
ROMP stands for:
REGULAR and REALISTIC OPPORTUNITIES for MEANINGFUL and MEASURABLE PROGRESS.
Why romp? When they are busy working on land, otters are "romping" (according to biology!)
A ROMP would be a day that you'd consider a "working day" to make progress on your task list related to your Level 3 goal. You'd work on these tasks and SCHEDULE them into your day to make it real.
RAFT stands for:
REFLECT, ASSESS, how are you FEELING, and THINK about your next steps.
Essentially, RAFT days are your rest days. Have you seen the classic photos of otters holding paws and floating on their backs in water? This is rafting!
A RAFT would be a day where no active work is being done related to your goal, but you conduct a small exercise of reflection, assessing your progress, reviewing your thoughts and feelings, and thinking about what's coming.
In Susan's case, she may have a few ROMPs and a few RAFTs during her week. Overall, she can measure her progress with a complete understanding of what is required while also choosing a pace toward her goal that matches her energy and time.
Take this as an opportunity to map out your own goal using the AOC formula. I hope it has given you a good framework to begin to chart out your goals in a way that remains sustainable and responsive to your needs.
Comment here and let me know how it went!
