Explore How Gaming Quests Break Big Goals Into Small Steps

A runner I coached once told me she wanted to run a marathon "one day". She had wanted to for nine years. She had never run more than 8 kilometres. When I asked what she would do this week towards it, she had no answer. The goal was so big and so far away that it produced no action at all, only a vague, permanent guilt.

A few weeks later, watching my nephew play an online role-playing game, I saw the opposite. His character's ultimate goal was to defeat some ancient evil, a task that would take a hundred hours. He was not thinking about that. He was collecting eight wolf pelts for a farmer, because that quest gave him enough experience to reach level 14, which unlocked the next town. Every minute of play had an obvious next step.

Online games are masters at breaking huge goals into small, concrete quests. It is one of the most transferable things they do, and I have used the same structure with runners, and on myself, ever since.

How games structure big goals

Most large online games use a layered quest structure. The names vary, but the layers are consistent:

At any moment, the player is working on one small objective that clearly connects to the layers above. The final goal provides meaning. The small objective provides action.

Why the quest structure works

The next step is always obvious

Games show a quest log and a marker on the map. Players never wonder what to do next. In real life, most stalled goals are stalled not because they are too hard, but because the next step is unclear.

Small wins come often

Completing a quest gives a reward and a sense of progress every half hour or so. That steady supply of small wins keeps motivation up through the long middle of a big goal.

Progress is cumulative and visible

The quest log fills with completed entries. Players can see how far they have come, which matters most on days when progress feels slow.

Difficulty rises gradually

Early quests are easy. Later ones assume skills gained earlier. Players are rarely asked to do something they are completely unprepared for.

Turning a real goal into a quest log

For the runner who wanted a marathon, we built a quest log on one sheet of paper. It took about an hour. The same method works for almost any large goal.

Step one: name the main arc

Write the big goal at the top, with a realistic date. Hers was "Finish a marathon in October next year." Eighteen months away.

Step two: split into chapters

Divide the time into stages of two to three months, each with its own clear outcome. Hers were: run 5 kilometres without stopping, run 10 kilometres, complete a half marathon, build to 30 kilometres, taper and race.

Step three: break each chapter into quests

Each chapter became a list of weekly quests. For the first chapter, these included "three runs this week, at least 20 minutes each" and "buy proper running shoes".

Step four: write today's objective

Every day had one objective, written the night before. "Run 25 minutes, easy pace, park loop." Nothing about the marathon. Just today.

She finished her marathon in 4 hours 51 minutes, twenty months after we started. The plan slipped by two months because of an injury. The quest log survived it, because only one chapter had to be redone, not the whole plan.

Common mistakes when breaking goals down

Breaking goals into steps sounds simple, and people still get it wrong in predictable ways.

• Steps that are still too big. "Get fit" is not a quest. "Walk for 30 minutes after dinner on Monday, Wednesday and Friday" is.
• Planning every step in advance. Games reveal later quests only as you approach them. Detailed plans for month twelve made in month one usually turn out wrong. Plan the current chapter in detail and keep later ones rough.
• No rewards for side quests. Games reward optional tasks too. In real goals, related learning such as reading about nutrition or fixing your sleep deserves recognition.
• Ignoring failed quests. In games, failing a quest is normal. You try again or find another route. Real plans need the same flexibility.

A disagreement with the usual goal-setting advice

A lot of goal-setting advice says to focus hard on the big vision: picture the finish line, write the goal on your mirror, imagine success every day. In my experience, too much focus on the final goal is part of the problem. It makes the gap between today and the finish feel enormous. My runner had pictured her marathon for nine years and it never got her out the door.

Games handle this better. The final goal sits quietly in the background, and attention goes to the next quest. I now tell people to look at the big goal once a month, during a review, and at today's objective every day. The marathon is the reason. The 25 minute park loop is the work.

Quest logs for things other than running

The same structure works for learning a language, writing a long piece of work, saving for something big or changing career. Some examples of daily objectives people have shared with me:

• Learning Spanish: "Fifteen minutes of listening on the commute, and five new words written down."
• Writing a thesis: "Draft 300 words of section 2.3."
• Saving for a deposit: "Move this week's spare money to the savings account on Friday."
• Changing career: "Send one message to someone who works in the field."

If your goal involves building a skill, our piece on how online game players build skill through practice covers the practice side. For keeping the daily objectives going once the early excitement fades, see why motivation fades by week three. More on planning in steps is in our Goals section.