What are OKRs?

OKR stands for Objectives and Key Results, a goal-setting framework made popular by companies like Google, Intel, and many fast-growing startups.

• Objective → What you want to achieve. Ambitious, inspiring, and qualitative.

• Key Results → How you’ll measure success. Specific, measurable, and time-bound.

• Initiatives → What you’ll do to reach them. In Griply, the projects (and supporting habits) that drive your Key Results.

The system is usually run in quarterly cycles, but you can adapt the timeframe to fit your personal or team goals.

Unlike traditional goal-setting, Objectives don’t have to be measurable. They should feel like a direction or vision. The measurability comes in through the Key Results.

How to set up OKRs in Griply

1. Define your Objectives

In Griply, create each Objective as a Goal.

• Example: “Improve my fitness and health.”

• Keep Objectives short, inspiring, and qualitative.

In Griply you can set an optional metric at every goal, but for OKRs you can simply leave the goal’s success metric empty. This way, your Objective remains qualitative and only your Key Results carry the measurable part.

Pro tip: Place your Objective under the relevant Life Area (e.g. “Health & Fitness” or “Career”) to see how it fits into your bigger picture.

2. Add Key Results

Inside each Objective (Goal), create Sub-goals for your Key Results.

• Example Key Results under “Improve my fitness and health”:

  • Run 5 km in under 25 minutes

  • Reach 12% body fat

  • Work out 36 times this quarter

Each Key Result should be specific, measurable, and time-bound.

How to track them in Griply:

• Add a progress metric to the sub-goal (e.g. km, %, number of workouts).

• Or link them to the projects, tasks, and habits that contribute to completion.

Pro tip: Key Results should reflect outcomes, not just activities. For example:

• Bad KR: Go running 3 times per week (that’s an initiative).

• Good KR: Run 5 km in under 25 minutes (clear outcome).

3. Define Initiatives

Your Initiatives are the concrete work you’ll take on to achieve your Key Results.

In Griply, an Initiative maps to a Project: create one under the relevant Key Result (sub-goal) and add its tasks inside. Use habits for the recurring actions that support it.

Example, under the Key Result “Run 5 km in under 25 minutes”:

• Project: “Follow an 8-week 5k plan” (tasks: choose a plan, buy running shoes, book a coach session)

• Habit: “Run 3 times per week”

This keeps outcomes and work separate: the Key Result (sub-goal) carries the number, while the Project holds the work that moves it.

Pro tip: If you’re not sure whether something is a Key Result or an Initiative, ask: “Is this an outcome I want to measure, or the work that gets me there?” Outcomes are Key Results (sub-goals); work is a Project.

4. Track Progress

OKRs only work if you measure them consistently. Griply helps you do that automatically:

• Daily Planner → See your project tasks and habits next to your meetings & events.

• Goal Progress → Monitor each Key Result’s metric at a glance.

• Statistics Tab → Review trends across habits, tasks, and completed sub-goals over the cycle.

Pro tip: Check in weekly to update Key Result progress. This prevents surprises at the end of the cycle.

5. Review & Reset

OKRs are designed for short cycles (12–13 weeks is common). At the end of each cycle:

1. Review each Objective and Key Result.

2. Mark which KRs were achieved (and which weren’t).

3. Reflect on lessons learned.

4. Set new OKRs for the next cycle.

It’s okay to not hit 100%. In fact, OKRs encourage setting stretch goals, achieving 70–80% often means you aimed high enough.

Example: Personal OKR in Griply

Objective: Improve my personal productivity

• Key Result 1: Publish 8 blog posts in 12 weeks (Sub-goal with metric: posts)

• Key Result 2: Grow newsletter to 1,000 subscribers (Sub-goal with metric: subscribers)

• Key Result 3: Meditate 30 times (Sub-goal linked to meditation habit)

Initiatives (Projects & Habits):

• Project: “Set up and grow the newsletter” (tasks: pick a platform, design a template, plan the launch)

• Habit: “Write 500 words every morning”

• Habit: “Block daily time for deep work”

Pro Tips for Using OKRs in Griply

• Limit yourself to 3–5 Objectives per cycle, focus beats volume.

• Use Sub-goals for Key Results (with metrics), and keep the goal’s success metric empty for Objectives.

• Review progress weekly. OKRs only work if they stay visible.

• Don’t confuse Initiatives (projects and habits) with Key Results. Work ≠ outcomes.

• Pair OKRs with Griply’s Calendar integration to time-block your Initiatives.