If you work while moving, you already know the problem with most “goal lists”: they’re generic, vibes-driven, and ignore jet lag, lumpy income, and the constant drag of context switching. Below is a concise, portable set of goals that actually survives travel and founder schedules—each tied to clear metrics and routines that research supports.
How to use this list

• Make goals operational. Pair each goal with a one-line “if-then” plan (e.g., If it’s 08:30–10:00 local, then I work offline for 90 minutes.). Implementation-intention research shows these specific cue→action plans meaningfully increase follow-through. (ScienceDirect)

• Review weekly. Monitoring progress raises the probability you’ll hit your goals; a 2016 meta-analysis found progress-tracking interventions improved attainment across behaviors. (American Psychological Association)

• Design for motivation that lasts. You’re more likely to keep showing up when your goals support autonomy, competence, and relatedness—the core needs in Self-Determination Theory. Use them as a smell-test for goal design. (Self-Determination Theory)

• Expect variability. Habit strength generally builds over weeks, not days; a field study found a median of ~66 days to reach automaticity (range 18–254). Plan accordingly. (Wiley Online Library)

• Principle: systems beat willpower. The research on goals is clear—specific, challenging goals + immediate feedback outperform vague wishes. (PubMed)

The canonical list of personal goals to have (nomad-ready, US-focused)
Each includes a metric, a practical “if-then,” and the rationale.
1) Protect your sleep window (7–9 hours in bed nightly; consistent wake time)

• Metric: 7.5h average time-in-bed; wake time variance ≤30 minutes.

• If-then: If I cross ≥3 time zones, then I take a 20–30 min early-afternoon nap and shift light exposure to destination mornings for eastbound, evenings for westbound.

• Why: Sleep restriction reliably impairs attention and working memory; vigilance suffers most. Strategic naps, timed light, and gradual shifts help during travel. (PMC)

2) Time your caffeine (no caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime)

• Metric: Record last caffeine of the day.

• If-then: If it’s after 14:00 local, then I switch to decaf or tea.

• Why: An RCT found caffeine taken 6 hours pre-bed measurably degrades sleep; results support the standard “6-hour cut-off.” (PMC)

3) Hit the movement baseline wherever you are (aerobic + strength)

• Metric: 150–300 minutes moderate aerobic (or 75–150 vigorous) weekly and 2 strength sessions. Hotel room? Stairs + bands.

• Why: US guidelines call for exactly this split; aerobic training also supports memory and hippocampal volume in older adults. (CDC)

4) Run four deep-work blocks per week (90 minutes, offline)

• Metric: ≥4 × 90-minute sessions weekly; notifications off; phone outside the room.

• If-then: If it’s 08:30–10:00, then I work offline and batch meetings later.

• Why: If-then planning improves execution, and experiments show the mere presence of your smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity—even when you don’t touch it. Minimize task switching; “attention residue” is real. (ScienceDirect)

5) Keep a weekly learning block tied to the next revenue-relevant skill

• Metric: One 2–3h session with a tangible artifact (notes, prototype, script).

• If-then: If it’s Friday 14:00, then I ship the artifact before closing.

• Why: Goals persist when they feed competence and autonomy; treat learning as part of core operations, not a someday. (Self-Determination Theory)

6) Lock in a city-setup checklist (complete within 60 minutes of arrival)

• Metric: eSIM/SIM active, primary workspace identified, default meal chosen, grocery staples, gym/park route walked, urgent-care address saved.

• Why: Friction kills adherence; a stable environment accelerates routine re-boot after each move.

7) Use a jet-lag playbook on every trip

• Metric: For each trip, pre-decide your sleep anchors, light timing, caffeine cut-offs, and whether to partially not adapt on short stays.

• If-then: If eastbound ≥5 zones, then I advance bedtime 1–2h for 2–3 days pre-flight and target morning light at destination.

• Why: Authoritative travel-medicine and sleep-medicine guidance endorses timed light, melatonin, strategic sleep scheduling, short naps, and judicious stimulants; on brief trips, staying on “home time” can be wiser. (CDC)

8) Standardize a “default meal” and hydration rule in each city

• Metric: One repeatable meal that reliably hits protein/fiber; 6–8 cups water/day, adjusted for heat and activity.

• Why: Defaults reduce decision load and stabilize energy for cognitively demanding work.

9) Do a one-page weekly review, same slot every week

• Metric: Answer eight prompts: sleep, deep work, exercise, learning, travel plan, finances/runway, relationships, and top risks + countermeasures.

• Why: Monitoring progress increases attainment; writing it down amplifies the effect. (American Psychological Association)

10) Build and maintain an emergency fund (US)

• Metric: Target 3–6 months of core expenses; consider more if self-employed or income is volatile. Keep it liquid.

• Why: Both FINRA and CFPB emphasize a dedicated “rainy-day” buffer; start small and automate transfers. (FINRA)

11) Automate saving and step it up after raises

• Metric: % of income auto-transferred within 48 hours of payment; annual “step-ups” scheduled.

• Why: Pre-commitment designs like Save More Tomorrow increase savings by committing future raises; auto-enrollment and defaults materially change behavior in retirement plans. (University of Chicago Journals)

12) Track financial runway monthly

• Metric: Runway (months) = Emergency-fund balance / monthly burn; alert when <3 months.

• Action: If runway <3, pause nonessential travel and add client-acquisition blocks until >3.

13) Make relationship deposits every week (2 hours)

• Metric: Scheduled calls (recipient’s time zone), one substantive update message, one intro/help offered.

• Why: Maintaining relatedness sustains motivation and buffers stress over long independent stretches. (Self-Determination Theory)

14) Institute device-friction as policy during work blocks

• Metric: Phone out of room; site blocker active; communication windows batched.

• Why: Removing the phone from the room improves cognitive capacity; fewer switches reduce attention residue and improve performance on the next task. (University of Chicago Journals)

15) Run a quarterly risk review (backups, insurance, identity, documents)

• Metric: Tested restores from off-site backups, current insurance, encrypted copies of travel docs, 2FA and recovery codes verified.

• Why: Mobility amplifies single-point failures; treat this like business continuity.

Jet-lag, deep work, and fitness—why these levers dominate

• Goal design matters. Specific, challenging goals with feedback loops outperform vague intentions; this is the spine of goal-setting theory synthesizing decades of evidence. (PubMed)

• If-then plans close the gap. Cue→action planning improves initiation and shields pursuit from interference across domains. (ScienceDirect)

• Attention is the scarce resource. The phone’s presence taxes working memory; switching leaves “attention residue” that hurts the next task. Design blocks that protect attention. (University of Chicago Journals)

• Energy precedes output. Sleep restriction impairs cognitive performance; exercise guidelines are clear and practical to meet even on the road, and aerobic training supports memory with age. (PMC)

• Progress tracking works. A meta-analysis shows monitoring itself boosts attainment; that’s why the one-page weekly review is non-negotiable. (American Psychological Association)

What this looks like inside NomadDigits (pragmatic demo paths)
NomadDigits is building the boring, durable scaffolding around the goals above:

• Travel-proof routines. Prebuilt if-then blocks you can place by city/time zone (e.g., four deep-work sessions auto-scheduled after you land). This leans on implementation-intention research for adherence. (ScienceDirect)

• Weekly Review automation. A one-page check-in that auto-pulls last week’s sessions and flags what slipped; evidence says monitoring increases attainment. (American Psychological Association)

• Runway guardrails. A lightweight buffer tracker that shows months of runway in USD and warns when you dip below three months; guided by FINRA/CFPB emergency-fund guidance and SMarT-style step-ups. (FINRA)

• Jet-lag playbooks. Trip-specific templates that encode CDC/AASM timing for light, sleep, melatonin, and caffeine (with a “don’t adapt” option for short stays). (CDC)

The one-page Weekly Review (copy/paste this into your doc)

1. Sleep: 7-day average time-in-bed; any caffeine <6h before bed?

2. Deep work: # of 90-min offline blocks; schedule next week’s four.

3. Movement: Total minutes + 2 strength sessions planned.

4. Learning: One session tied to current project; artifact shipped.

5. Jet lag: Any upcoming travel? Light/sleep/caffeine plan set?

6. Finance: Emergency-fund months; runway trend; savings automation running.

7. Relationships: Two hours of deposits completed and scheduled.

8. Risks: Top 3 risks next week and the if-then countermeasures.

The point isn’t perfection. It’s a weekly reset that re-anchors your systems to the realities of where you’ll be and when you’ll be awake. The literature says this kind of progress monitoring makes a measurable difference. (American Psychological Association)
References woven into the guide (selected)

• Goal setting: large-scale synthesis of specific/challenging goals + feedback effects. (PubMed)

• Implementation intentions (cue→action planning): meta-analytic evidence of improved attainment and shielding. (ScienceDirect)

• Self-Determination Theory (autonomy, competence, relatedness). (Self-Determination Theory)

• Progress monitoring → higher goal attainment. (American Psychological Association)

• Habit formation time course (~66 days median, wide range). (Wiley Online Library)

• Sleep restriction and cognition (meta-analysis). (PMC)

• Caffeine cut-off (6 hours pre-bed RCT). (PMC)

• US physical-activity guidelines (150 min + 2 strength). (CDC)

• Aerobic exercise and hippocampal volume/memory in late adulthood. (PNAS)

• Jet-lag management (CDC Yellow Book; AASM reviews/guidelines). (CDC)

• Smartphone presence reduces available cognitive capacity. (University of Chicago Journals)

• Attention residue when switching tasks. (ScienceDirect)

• Emergency-fund guidance (US). (FINRA)

• Save More Tomorrow / auto-enrollment effects on saving. (University of Chicago Journals)

Quick start for the next 7 days

• Block four 90-minute offline sessions (phone in another room). (University of Chicago Journals)

• Move 150 minutes and lift twice with whatever you have (bands, stairs, bodyweight). (CDC)

• Cut caffeine 6 hours before bed; add one 20–30 min nap if you crossed ≥3 time zones. (PMC)

• Automate a small weekly transfer to a dedicated emergency account (even $25). (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)

• Run the one-page Weekly Review next Saturday and reset your if-then cues. (American Psychological Association)