Thereâs a lot of advice out there about Twitch Goals.
With 2018 in full swing, Iâve noticed a lot of talk about setting new Twitch goals from big and small streamers alike.
Iâve also noticed a lot of different opinions on what âgoodâ goal-setting looks like, and debate over whether setting goals even matters at all. Just the other day, #ResolutionsGuaranteedToFail and #ResolutionsAreMayhem were trending on Twitter.
With so many different ideas out there, I set out to find out a few things:
Does goal-setting matter?
If so, what kinds of goals are best?
What kinds of goals are best for Twitch Streamers in particular?
After looking through a ton of scientific studies on goal-setting, I came to the following conclusion:
Everybodyâs kinda right, and everybodyâs also pretty wrong.
Does Goal Setting Matter?
In a word â yes.
Actually, it matters a lot.
Hundreds of studies have shown conclusively that people who set goals outperform those who donât, in every environment. School, athletics, business â setting goals is helpful to every area.
In fact, the most accepted piece of research I found through this whole study was that, if nothing else, you should at least set SOME goal, regardless of what it is. Even vague goals are more helpful then no goals at all.
With that said, the types of goals you set do make a difference.
What Types of Goals Are Most Effective?
Research shows that when setting goals for yourself, you will be most successful with goals that are:
Long-Term AND Short-Term
Studies have found that long-term and short-term goals are both effective for motivation. The best solution is to incorporate both types of goals into your strategy (and even medium-term, if youâre feeling frisky).
Make sure to use both types! With only short-term goals, youâll feel like you arenât going anywhere in the future; with only long-term goals, youâll feel like youâre not making any notable progress.
Controllable
To sum up this idea, researchers say that you have to be able to answer the âhow.â How are you going to accomplish your goal? What specifically can you control?
If you have a goal based on numbers like followers or friends, be sure to work out how you can reach that goal with actionable strategies, not blind hope. More on this later.
Meaningful
âEven though the goals may be SMART, if [subjects] donât perceive them as meaningful or valued, their engagement with goal attainment progress will diminishâ (Turkay)
Be sure that your goal means something to you. Think about the why behind the what!
Specific
In many studies, researchers found that specific, measurable goals were far more effective than broad generalizations. Additionally, the more specific a goal, the more (generally) that it was likely to be completed.
For example, consider these three goals:
Okay â I will stream more
Better â I will stream once a week
Best â I will stream every Wednesday
Challenging
This one was my favorite. There are a good number of studies that stress the importance of a challenge for making meaningful goals.
Itâs all about the payoff! Researchers found that when subjects set goals slightly outside their comfort range (but not absurd), subjects were both more motivated and more likely to achieve those goals. Plus, they were happier when they succeeded.
Okay, but how does this relate to Twitch?
Good question. Letâs take two extremely common Twitch Goals, and look at how they line up with these ideas.
Goal #1: I want to be a partner
This is by far the biggest goal I see for Twitch streamers, and with good cause. Partnership is sweet.
If youâre looking to really push for partner, you need to think of partnership as more of a vision...
