Stop Setting Goals You Don’t Care About – An OT Guide to Following Through (Autistic Lens)
- Brainz Magazine
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
April Ratchford, OTR/L, is an autistic occupational therapist and the voice behind Adulting with Autism. She supports neurodivergent adults across the world with relatable storytelling, lived wisdom, and empowering strategies for real-life challenges.
Every January, we do the same thing. We set a long list of goals, feel motivated for about five minutes, and then put everything off until Monday. And if January 1st happens to land on a Monday? We wait for the next one.
As an autistic occupational therapist, I can tell you, this isn’t a motivation problem. It’s a goal-design problem. In clinical practice, goals are not wish lists. They are structured, functional, and rooted in how the brain actually works. In this article, I’ll show you how to set goals using an OT framework from an autistic lens, so they are realistic, achievable, and sustainable instead of overwhelming and doomed to fail.
Why most New Year's goals fail (and it’s not laziness)
Most people fail at goals because they confuse volume with effectiveness. More goals do not equal more progress. In fact, the longer the list, the higher the likelihood of burnout, especially for autistic and neurodivergent individuals who already experience executive function overload.
In occupational therapy, goals are:
specific
time-bound
meaningful
broken into manageable steps
A goal that doesn’t respect how your brain works will fail every time.
You actually have to care about the goal
This is the part no one likes to hear. If you don’t genuinely care about the goal, if you’re doing it because you “should,” If it’s based on external pressure or expectations. That goal will fail.
Not because you’re undisciplined, but because motivation does not survive against disinterest. Before setting any goal, ask yourself:
Do I actually want this?
Will this make my daily life easier?
Am I willing to engage with the process, not just the outcome?
If the answer is no, remove it from the list.
Short-term vs long-term goals: How autistic brains work best
Many autistic minds do not think well in long timelines. Year-long goals or even 90-day plans can feel abstract, boring, or overwhelming.
Instead, I recommend:
30-day long-term goals
1-2 short-term goals within that timeframe
Autistic brains thrive on pattern recognition. We want to see A - B - C and understand how changes affect outcomes. Short cycles provide feedback, clarity, and momentum.
Case example: Organization is not one goal, it’s many
“I want to be more organized” is not a goal. It’s a category.
You must choose what you want to be organized about:
your room
medications
clothing
appointments
daily routines
Pick one.
Real-world OT example: A dorm room reset
When I walked into my son Z’s dorm room after a rough semester, the clutter explained everything. The space was so visually overwhelming that functional thinking was nearly impossible.
We didn’t start by “cleaning the room.” We started by identifying tasks.
Opened unopened boxes
Sorted medical supplies
Assigned one active medical drawer
Created designated zones
Then we moved one area at a time: closet, desk, bed. This process took two hours in a small room, because organization is intentional, not fast.
Turning goals into systems that stick
Once the physical space was addressed, routines were next. Goals fail without systems.
We created:
a weekly medication routine
a designated cleaning day
a fixed time block for room resets
a written weekly schedule
Autistic and ADHD brains do not reliably operate on memory alone. Time blocking reduces cognitive load and decision fatigue.
Is it annoying? Yes. Does it work? Also yes.
Consistency beats perfection every time
You will mess up. That is expected. The difference between success and failure is same-day recovery. Failure is not proof you can’t do something, it’s data. It tells you:
the task was too big
the timing was wrong
your body needed something else
The goal is not perfection. The goal is returning to the system the same day.
Big goals still work, when you shrink them
Goals like weight loss, financial stability, or major life changes require breaking down the process even further.
Instead of doing everything at once:
choose movement or food
choose structure or habit change
choose one variable at a time
Too much, too fast guarantees quitting.
The autistic reality of goal-setting
Year-long goals don’t work for me. Ninety days is too long. I operate in 30-day cycles with short-term goals nested inside. That’s not failure. That’s accommodation.
Most neurodivergent people function better this way, they just haven’t been taught to work with their brains instead of against them.
Key takeaways for the year ahead:
Pick a goal you genuinely care about
Limit yourself to one or two short-term goals
Use 30-day timelines
Build systems, not motivation
Treat failure as data
Adjust, don’t abandon
This is how goals become achievable instead of exhausting.
Read more from April Michelle Ratchford
April Michelle Ratchford, Occupational Therapist/Podcast Host
April Ratchford, OTR/L, is an autistic occupational therapist, writer, and global advocate for neurodivergent adults. As the creator and host of Adulting with Autism, an internationally ranked podcast with over two million downloads, she blends clinical expertise with real-life lived experience. April specializes in supporting autistic young adults as they transition into independence, higher education, and adult identity. She is known for her clear, empowering approach that makes complex neurodivergent challenges accessible and manageable. April is currently advancing her studies in neuroscience through King’s College London to further elevate her work in autistic well-being and adult development.
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