# Exploring the Relationship Between the Contents of a Goal-Setting Diary and Goal Attainment: A Foundational Study for Healthy Individuals

## TL;DR

This study shows that tracking effort and satisfaction in a diary helps achieve goals, and the diary can be simplified for better use.

## Contribution

The study identifies effort and satisfaction as key predictors of goal attainment and suggests simplifying the diary format.

## Key findings

- Effort and satisfaction were significant predictors of goal attainment (adjusted R² = 0.57).
- The goal-setting diary can be simplified by focusing on effort and satisfaction.

## Abstract

Introduction: The goal-setting diary is designed to enhance goal-related performance through self-monitoring. It is essential to ensure that the contents of the diary are related to the degree of goal attainment and simplify its format prior to clinical application. This foundational study aimed to investigate the relationship between the contents of a goal-setting diary and goal attainment.

Methods: The participants were 252 healthy occupational therapy students (OTS) aged 18 years or older from three training institutions (a university, a junior college, and a vocational school). Students with diseases that are being treated were excluded. Multiple regression analysis (stepwise method) was performed, with goal attainment as the dependent variable. Quantitative data from the goal-setting diary, including the number of strategies, importance, satisfaction, confidence to continue, difficulty, persistence, self-efficacy, and effort, along with the participant’s basic attributes, were used as explanatory variables.

Results: A total of 167 healthy participants completed a goal-setting diary for seven days (response rate: 66.3%). Multiple regression analysis revealed effort (B = 0.58, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval, 0.46-0.71) and satisfaction (B = 0.05, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.06) as significant explanatory variables for goal attainment (adjusted R2 = 0.57).

Conclusions: Our results emphasize the importance of daily monitoring of effort and satisfaction levels in relation to goal attainment. Furthermore, the goal-setting diary can be simplified because it has many sections. As the participants in this study were healthy OTS, future studies are needed to apply the revised goal-setting diary, which is composed of effort and satisfaction, to clients in clinical settings and examine its effectiveness.