The ABC Goals System
Three tiers of daily ambition that eliminate guilt and guarantee progress
The ABC Goals System is a three-tier approach to daily goal-setting that eliminates the all-or-nothing mentality that kills consistency. Instead of setting one ambitious daily goal and feeling like a failure when you don't hit it, you set three tiers: an A Goal (most ambitious scenario), a B Goal (middle-ground base case), and a C Goal (minimum viable progress).
The psychology behind this system is powerful. On your best days, you crush the A Goal and feel amazing. On average days, you hit the B Goal and feel productive. On your worst days — when you're sick, exhausted, or dealing with life crises — you can still hit the C Goal and maintain your streak of progress. This removes guilt and intimidation while ensuring forward momentum regardless of daily conditions.
The system works because consistency over time trumps intensity on any single day. A person who makes C-level progress every day for a year accomplishes vastly more than someone who makes A-level progress three times and then quits from burnout or guilt. The ABC system turns the daily question from 'Did I hit my goal?' to 'Which tier did I hit today?' — a psychologically healthier framing that sustains long-term effort.
- Three tiers of ambition remove the guilt and intimidation that kill consistency.
- The C Goal ensures forward momentum even on your worst days.
- Consistency over time matters more than intensity on any single day.
- The question shifts from 'Did I hit my goal?' to 'Which tier did I hit today?'
- Set Your A Goal (Best-Case Scenario)Define the most ambitious version of your day. This is what happens when everything clicks — high energy, no interruptions, full focus. Your A Goal should stretch you but be achievable on your best days. It's the aspiration that pulls you forward. Don't sandbag here — this tier should excite and slightly intimidate you. Think of it as the outcome you'd be proud to report at the end of the day.Pro tipSet your A Goal the night before, when you can plan without the pressure of an already-started day.WarningIf you hit your A Goal every single day, it's set too low. This tier should be achieved maybe 20-30% of the time.
- Set Your B Goal (Base Case)Define a solid middle-ground outcome. This is your realistic expectation for a normal day with normal energy, normal interruptions, and normal life. Your B Goal should represent meaningful progress that you'd be satisfied with. This is the tier you should hit most often — maybe 50-60% of days. It's the backbone of your consistency.Pro tipYour B Goal should be roughly 60-70% of your A Goal in scope.
- Set Your C Goal (Minimum Viable Progress)Define the absolute minimum that still counts as progress. This is what you do on sick days, crisis days, or days when life completely falls apart. The C Goal might be as simple as 'write one sentence,' 'do 10 pushups,' or 'read one page.' The point is not the magnitude of progress but the maintenance of the habit and streak. A C Goal day is infinitely better than a zero day.Pro tipMake your C Goal so small it feels almost embarrassing — if it's too ambitious, you'll skip it on truly bad days and break your streak.WarningIf you're hitting C Goals most days, reassess whether your overall targets are realistic or whether you need to address the underlying cause of low-energy days.
Bloom applies the ABC system to his own writing for the Curiosity Chronicle newsletter (650,000+ subscribers). His A Goal might be completing a full draft, his B Goal might be writing 500 words, and his C Goal is writing one idea or outline point. This ensures he makes progress on every single day, regardless of travel schedules, speaking engagements, or low-energy days.
Sahil Bloom introduced the ABC Goals System in his Curiosity Chronicle newsletter as part of his 2023 compilation of the 100 best frameworks. The system addresses a universal problem Bloom observed in his audience of 650,000+ subscribers: ambitious people set aggressive daily goals, miss them due to normal life variability, feel guilty, and eventually abandon the practice entirely. The three-tier structure was designed to make daily goal-setting resilient to the inevitable fluctuations of energy, health, and circumstance that affect everyone.