How the 10 goals method works
Five minutes each morning, ten goals from memory, one goal that matters most. Here is the daily flow in Tenly, from your first entry to your first month.
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The idea is simple: you write 10 goals every day, from memory, as if they were already true. You don’t copy yesterday’s list and you don’t overthink it. Over a few weeks, the goals you truly want keep coming back, and the rest fade away. This page shows how the 10 goals method works day to day in Tenly. For the history of the practice and Brian Tracy’s original instructions, read our step-by-step guide to Brian Tracy’s 10 goals method.
How to write 10 goals every day in Tenly
Here is the whole daily flow. The morning part takes about five minutes.
- Open Tenly in the morning. A morning reminder can nudge you (7:00 by default, and you can change it).
- Write up to 10 goals from memory. Think of the next 12 months. Write each goal in the present tense, as if it has already happened: “I run a half marathon”, not “I want to get fit”. Don’t look anywhere for help. Just write what comes to mind.
- Pick your Magic Wand goal. Ask yourself: if I could achieve just one of these within 24 hours, which one would have the biggest positive impact on my life right now? Mark it. That is your Magic Wand goal.
- Choose one action for today. The method only works if writing leads to doing. Look at your Magic Wand goal and decide on one concrete step: send one email, make one call, book one session.
- Add gratitude, if you like. Next to your goals you can write up to 20 things you are grateful for. It is optional and has its own streak.
- Re-read your goals in the evening. Between 20:00 and 23:00, the Evening Review shows today’s goals in a calm, read-only view. A notification tells you when it opens.
- Start fresh tomorrow. Past goal entries are hidden for 30 days, so tomorrow you write your list again from memory. This is the 30-day lockout, and it is the method at work.
Don’t worry if you can’t fill all 10 at first. Start with what matters most. The empty slots tend to fill in over the first few days.
How to phrase your goals
A goal that works well in this method has three qualities.
- Present tense. Write it as your reality today: “I earn…”, “I weigh…”, “I speak…”. It turns a wish into a clear picture and a commitment. Tenly calls these goals written as affirmations.
- Specific and measurable. Add a number, an amount or a frequency. “More money” can’t be tracked. “$30,000 in my investment account” can.
- A deadline. The method already gives you a natural frame of 12 months. A month and year inside that frame adds urgency.
Keep each goal ambitious but possible. If one feels too big, turn it into a 12-month milestone. “I run a marathon” might start as “I complete a half marathon by September”.
Before and after: vague wishes into daily goals
| Area | Vague wish | Goal written for the method |
|---|---|---|
| Health | I want to get fit | I complete my first half marathon in under 2 hours by September 2027 |
| Money | I want to make more money | I earn $120,000 a year from my consulting business by December 2027 |
| Learning | I’ll learn Spanish someday | I hold a 30-minute conversation in Spanish by June 2027 |
| Savings | I want to save more | I have $30,000 in my savings account by March 2027 |
Notice what changed. Each goal is in the present tense, has a number you could check, and has a date.
Why write your goals from memory?
This is the most counterintuitive rule, and the most useful one. Copying a list is easy. Recalling it is a choice.
When you write from memory every morning, the goals you really care about come back on their own. Goals you wrote on day 1 only because they sounded good quietly drop off. After a few weeks, your list is no longer what you thought you wanted. It is what you keep choosing.
That is why Tenly hides your past goal entries for 30 days. On paper, it is tempting to glance at yesterday’s page and copy it. In the app, you can’t. Every entry is written fresh, so every entry is honest.
The Magic Wand goal adds a second filter. Writing ten goals keeps them in your mind. Choosing one of them every day forces you to decide what matters most right now, and then to act on it.
Your first 10 and 30 days
Days 1 to 9: build the habit
The first days are about showing up. Your list may be short, and it may change a lot from one morning to the next. That is normal. Your streak counts every consecutive day you write an entry, and the morning reminder helps you keep it.
Around day 10: first milestone and early insights
Day 10 is your first streak milestone. Around this point, Tenly can also show early insights: a first AI look at the goals you have been writing. AI features are optional and run only after you give consent.
Day 30: your monthly report
At 30 days you reach the next milestone. Your monthly AI report shows your most consistent goals, the categories you focus on, how your priorities shifted and which Magic Wand goal you chose most often.
Further milestones follow at 90 and 365 days. If you want to keep a record of what you achieve along the way, log it in the Wins tab.
What you need to start
- An iPhone with iOS 18 or later. Tenly is free to download.
- About five minutes in the morning, plus an optional minute in the evening.
- iCloud, if you want sync. Your journal lives on your iPhone and in your private iCloud. Read more about iCloud sync and privacy.
- No AI required. Goals, the Magic Wand goal, gratitude, streaks, the Evening Review and Wins all work without AI.
Tenly Pro adds deeper AI features, such as Ask AI and weekly insights, but the whole 10 goals method is free.
Questions about the method?
If you are wondering how long it takes, what the Magic Wand goal is, or why you can’t see your past entries, the FAQ about the 10 goals method has short answers. For the full background on where the practice comes from, read the complete guide to Brian Tracy’s method. And to see every screen and setting, browse all of Tenly’s features.