Week 7: Designing Your Roadmap

(If you’re new here, this post is part of a 12-week series: The SONG Framework for Living Your Dreams. You can catch the introduction here.)

I hope you’ve spent the last three weeks marinating on what’s been holding you back and starting to dismantle those barriers. The next three weeks will focus on goals and action — and that work will be far more meaningful if you’ve already named your blockers and begun addressing them.

We’re now in Phase 3: N — Navigating. This phase is all about direction. How will you get where you want to go? What do you need for the journey?

Before you begin, revisit Week 3, where you defined your dreams and set 1–3 SMART goals for each area of your life. If you haven’t done that yet, pause and complete it — your roadmap depends on knowing your destination.

Choose One Goal to Start With

If you’re like most people, you probably have several goals across different areas of your life — health, career, finances, relationships, or personal growth. That’s wonderful, but trying to tackle them all at once can scatter your focus and drain your energy.

Start with just one goal — the one that feels most urgent, exciting, or necessary right now. It might be the area causing the most frustration or the one that, if improved, would make everything else easier.

Once you’ve built your roadmap for that one goal and begun taking consistent action, you’ll start to see how this process works. You’ll gain confidence, insight, and rhythm. Then you can apply the same framework — one-liner, how, when, resources, people — to your other goals. Think of it as practicing the skill of goal execution. Once you get the drift, you can multiply your results across every area of life.

Your Goal, the One-Liner

When I work with clients, I ask them to describe their goal in a single sentence. A one-liner brings instant clarity and makes your goal easier to remember and share.

Try this simple formula:

“I want to [result] by [date].”

For example:

“I want to lose 10 kg by November 30 next year.”
“I want to earn a promotion to Senior Project Manager by June 2026.”

Say your goal out loud. If it feels fuzzy or complicated, refine it until it’s sharp and memorable.

Road-Mapping: Planning the Journey

Knowing where you want to go and when is only half the journey — the other half is figuring out how you’ll get there. A roadmap breaks your goal into a sequence of doable actions, mapped with resources, timelines, and people to support you. The more specific you are, the higher your chance of success.

Take the fitness example.
Goal: Lose 10 kg in 12 months.
Roadmap questions: What actions will get you there? If you choose physical fitness, what kind — jogging, strength training, group classes? When will you exercise, and for how long? What do you need — running shoes, a plan, a gym membership? When will you get those things?

Every question you answer adds depth to your roadmap. When goals stay vague, they stay undone. Clarity turns intention into action.

Or consider a career goal.
Goal: Promotion to Senior Project Manager.
Your roadmap might include delivering two standout projects in the next year, completing a leadership course by March, and scheduling monthly check-ins with your manager. Each step should specify who supports you, what resources you need, and when you’ll take action.

Common Reasons Goals Fail — and How to Avoid Them

Many goals fail because they’re too vague, lack timelines or accountability, or aren’t backed by the right resources. The solution? Get specific.

Replace “get fitter” with “lose 10 kg by [date] through jogging three times a week and tracking progress biweekly.”
Replace “become a better leader” with “complete a leadership course by [date], lead one cross-team project by [date], and request feedback quarterly.”

The more defined your roadmap, the less room there is for excuses or confusion.

A Simple Roadmap Structure (Use in Your Journal)

Start with your one-line goal, then answer these four sections in short paragraphs:

The How — What specific actions will you take each week?
The When — What’s your realistic timeline with milestones (30 days, 90 days, 6 months)?
The Resources — What do you need and when will you get it (tools, funds, training)?
The People — Who will support or hold you accountable, and how will you involve them?

Example (Health Goal)

“I want to lose 10 kg by November 30 next year.”
I will jog for 30 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday mornings, and do a 20-minute strength session on Thursdays. My first milestone is to establish a consistent 3x/week routine within the first month. I’ll buy proper running shoes and a fitness tracker this week and track my weight every two weeks. My friend Anne will be my accountability partner — we’ll check in every Sunday to celebrate wins and talk through challenges.

Your Homework

Choose your one starting goal. Write your one-liner, then create your roadmap using the four sections above — How, When, Resources, and People. Set your first 30-day milestone and schedule your first three actions this week.

Once you’ve done that, come back and tell me how it’s going — I’d love to see your roadmap! Think of it as showing your coach your travel map before you set off.