How do I Set My Goals?

I spent some time today working with my boss to define my goals for the year. I'm glad I work in a place where I get to help define my goals, and don't just have a task load handed down to me from the nether where I'm not even sure where a task originated.  One of the great benefits of having goals is knowing how to do my absolute best to exceed all expectations of my performance. Another benefit of having goals is to have something to measure myself against. And, goals also help me as a person better understand if my boss' expectations of my output match my expectations of what I'm capable of as a worker.

When I was taking a course in operating systems (and at the same time taking a course in operations management...) it occurred to me that the algorithms used for processor scheduling, specifically determining which process/thread gets processor priority at a given moment, isn't very different from operational management.  However, instead of working on an application process, usually operational management focuses on a project or output of a product.

The operating system has "goals" for its processor.  It knows which applications get more priority based on the importance of the process for the user, and for maintaining system operations. In the same regard, goals as a developer give us the direction that we need to focus our attention.

I can't speak for every developer out there, but for many of the developers I've worked with, solving one problem can lead to research and implementation that may not actually solve the immediate problem at hand, or even really have much of a relationship to the original problem being solved.  I, myself, have regularly had programming problems/algorithms invite my brain to start contemplating P versus NP Problem, but I have the added benefit of goals to look at and remember that solving P versus NP has 2 issues:

1. It's an impractical use of my time in the current situation I am in because it doesn't really help me reach the goals my boss and I have set for one another
2. Theoretical thinking is great. But it's even greater if it applies to the problem I'm trying to solve

Sometimes goals are used as extrinsic motivation (I think this is a horrible idea.  So does this guy: Dan Pink: The Puzzle of Motivation) and if this starts happening, it's probably time to re-evaluate the goals system, and also potentially your current employment situation.  If, however, the goals you define closely mirror what you're intrinsically motivated to excel at anyway, goals give us a clear picture of what we "Should" and "Shouldn't" be working on. For me, that's a clear removal of cognitive dissonance, and something that I really appreciate having.