What
Identify the leading (input) and lagging (outcome) indicators for your goals, then map which daily actions drive which results.
Why
Lagging indicators only tell you how you did. Leading indicators tell you what to do today. Focusing on inputs you control builds agency, catches drift early, and keeps you moving when the outcome is still weeks away.
How
- Enter 2–4 goals (or import from your Goal Network).
- Name the lagging indicators — outcomes you'd measure.
- Name the leading indicators — actions that drive them.
- Link them in a network and spot your highest-leverage actions.
- Pick 1–2 leading indicators to track this week.
Leading vs lagging
A leading indicator is something you can directly do or control — hours studied, meals prepped, applications sent. A lagging indicator is the result that follows — exam grade, weight, job offer. Leading indicators are predictive and influenceable; lagging indicators are confirmable but only after the fact.
From your Goal Network
If you've completed the Goal Network exercise, your subordinate goals are already good candidates for leading indicators, and your superordinate goals often map to lagging indicators. This exercise makes that relationship explicit and adds measurement.