Lena, that "break it down" approach is exactly why I had so much success with my year in the PHD program at our guild. Most of my stated goals were actually steps to completion of a project (see photo) which gave me a couple of months, on average, to actually finish each one. Our PHD leaders were so encouraging - they allowed missed months, changes, and substitutions and were always so excited when you brought in a finished project to show them. :-) I will do it again, I'm sure, when I feel I have the time and energy to add another "need to do" to my schedule!