The reason you set goals is so you focus your energies on doing the right things. Before you can do that you have to know what those right things are. That means you need to have your goals written down and well planned out.
When you write your goals out you can identify what’s keeping you from having that goal now and what you’d have to do to get it. That means you have to think through both your obstacles and your best options to overcome those obstacles. This helps you to identify the actions you will have to take.
You can increase the value you’re getting from your time when you know the actions you need to take and you can identify the actions that are most important. Plan how you will get each goal down to the level of specific actions so you can plan time each day to make those actions happen. Another advantage is that you make better decisions before you take an action.