Better resolutions with this free tool
Using AI to get my sh*t together
Last week, I shared how I use tools like Notion to plan my New Year resolutions and goals, but this year, I’m using it in tandem with an incredible tool I stumbled upon — Summit. Summit is an AI that helps you plan your goals with actionable steps, milestones, and motivation. It’s like having an accountability partner (or drill sergeant, if you prefer) that keeps your goals focused.
If you’ve used ChatGPT, you know how helpful it can be when outlining or clarifying ideas — imagine that, but personalize it specifically for your goals and lifestyle. Summit takes AI and gives us a specifically trained bot to help us achieve our goals and stop beating around the bush.
Full disclosure: Summit reached out to me to see if I’d like to partner with them, and I said yes the moment I had signed up on their site — it’s a fantastic tool and completely free, so while this is a sponsored post, as always, my opinions are 100% my own.
Setting Goals
When signing up on Summit, you are prompted to set a goal. For this example, I’m setting up the goal “walk a 5k every week” since I know I’ll need ongoing motivation to stick to it. As you write your goal, the AI chatbot prompts you toward actionable, measurable, and specific goal writing to help you reach it. You can add as much or as little detail as you’d like, but I want to take full advantage of the tool, so I’m putting in as much information as possible.
Summit will then generate milestones for me — since I hardly use my walking pad right now, the AI suggested I build up to a 5k by starting now (December 2023) so that when 2024 hits, I’ll be ready to begin hitting my 5k goal. Once you set your goal, you can also choose your coach. Each has a different coaching style, so you can choose one that best motivates you. During your goal progress, you can chat with your coach and change the daily prompts to fit your needs better.
Today Dashboard
Your today’s dashboard provides an overview of actions you need to take to progress on your goals. You are also given the chance to “plan your day,” where you can talk through your plans with your coach and make a list of action steps you should work on. (I like to do this before time blocking in Sunsama to ensure my goal tasks are top priority for my day.)
The coach is great at pushing for specific action steps and forces you to move past vague ideas and plans that aren’t linked directly to a result. It will push you to answer questions that are often uncomfortable to work through and get to the underlying reason for each goal and action step. When working toward big goals, it is essential to ensure you’re not wasting time with unnecessary busy work.
The AI remembers your past conversations well, so you don’t have to train and re-train it to be useful. You also don’t have to just chat or type with your coach; there is a call feature, which is super cool and comes with a realistic voice for a conversational tone.
On your “today” dashboard, AI will autogenerate action steps based on the information you’ve provided. These can be checked off to be automatically added to your daily activity or re-generated to get new steps. I’ve found these to be really useful and often right on target for my goals. I usually copy these into Sunsama to schedule time to work on them throughout my day.
View your goals & progress
The “Myself” dashboard gives you an at-a-glance at all of your goals and milestones. You can see the progress made on each goal and track activities toward them. This dashboard will auto-update as you finish milestones and discuss plans with your coach.
Your Coach
Each week, I check in on my goals, and my coach asks me specific questions about milestones I’ve set, activities I’ve tracked, and goal progress overall. It’s like talking to someone who remembers every piece of your previous conversations and holds you accountable. It’s incredibly motivating.
A coach who understands your context and offers support is crucial for working towards your goals effectively. A coach familiar with your unique circumstances can provide personalized guidance and encouragement, ensuring that your strategies and actions align with your needs and aspirations.
You can customize your coach with different voices, styles, a name, and a description. You can even set up SMS reminders for the extra push to actually do the work. I personally love this option; this way, I don’t have to remember to log in and check my actions — I’ll get a text.
When your coach understands your context, they can offer tailored advice and suggestions that resonate with your situation. They can help you navigate challenges and obstacles that are specific to your journey, providing insights and strategies that are relevant and practical. This level of understanding allows for a more productive and efficient coaching experience, as you can focus on implementing strategies most likely to work for you.
Basecamps
One of the exciting features of Summit is the ability to join community groups called basecamps. These groups can significantly enhance your goal-achievement journey. By joining a base camp, you can connect with other like-minded individuals who are also using Summit to pursue their goals.
You can share your goals, milestones, and progress within these groups, creating a supportive and motivating environment. You can join public groups or even create your own basecamp, inviting others to join. For instance, you might consider forming a group with other entrepreneurs or students with similar aspirations (you can join my Goal Getters group here).
Being part of a community group can provide extra motivation and accountability. Knowing that real-life people follow your updates and progress can push you to stay committed and focused on your goals. It also offers an opportunity to learn from others, exchange ideas, and celebrate each other’s achievements.
Summit for Goal Planning
You can use Summit as a standalone app, or you can use it in tandem with your other task managers. I like using this with my other tools; it’s very nice to have a personalized AI just for my goals. I often set significant goals that require multiple steps to achieve them, so having an AI can help me figure out my next steps is a valuable timesaver. I honestly can’t believe this tool is free, and I won’t be surprised if they roll out more premium options later on.
If you want to try Summit, you can access the tool here. Don’t miss this opportunity to supercharge your goal planning for 2024.
