OK, HERE'S THE FIRST GOAL SETTING TIP

The most important one, in my estimation. So, you've rested and are beginning to feel that itch, that knowing in your bones that any more rest would be laziness, and a waste of time; that if you rested any more you would turn into a blob. I mean, I could wait till the beginning of the year and rest some more, but I don't feel good about my blobby self anymore and must begin. But how? The inertia of the resting won't allow you to break out of it. Action is called for, but what sort of action?
The action of punching a button. Yes, the button of a timer. I have used one for years, and have them strewn around the house -- three, to be exact. One by the bed, one in the living room, and one on my desk.
Some backtracking: what intimidates us about action is the enormity of it, and wrongful thinking about it. We think that we should complete our tasks ALL AT ONCE. Stupid as this may sound, we do think stupidly. We do not factor in time to accomplish any task. The beginning of one of my books begins with five minutes of work. Whenever I return to work and labor, I tell myself I am going to work on it for only five minutes, no more. I open up a file, punch the START button of a time, and begin. Often all I do in those five minutes is just read what I have written before, or stare at the blank sheet. If this is all I do in five minutes, and if this is all I can do in five minute, I tell myself I have reached my daily goal. And often this is the case. I congratulate myself for beginning, don't give myself a hard time for not doing more, let it go at that and go about my day with zero feelings of guilt.

But  let me tell you, more often than not, the five minutes become ten, then twenty and before i know it, I am IN, IN-VOLVED, HOOKED. My attention has been engaged. The next step, and the step after that becomes easy as pie. The psyche, which is where all action happens, has been tricked and motivated if not impassioned, to carry on.

Oh, and what do the other timers do? The one by the bed is for 20 minutes of meditation daily. I swear my meditation. if you want to be convinced read a book called HOW GOD CHANGES YOUR BRAIN. I forget the names of the authors but it is available on Amazon.con. The one in the living room  is for a minimum of twenty minutes of yoga daily. I swear by it, too.