If a goal does not have a timeline, you may procrastinate and never achieve it.

https://tiredmarketer.com/lockes-goal-setting-theory-of-motivation/

Temporal motivation theory (TMT) that was developed by Piers Steel and Cornelius J. Konig in 2006,
states that procrastination occurs when people’s motivation is low, which can happen because of some
combination of low-value outcomes, low expectations of achieving outcomes, high delay before
achieving outcomes, and high sensitivity to the delay of outcomes.

https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-theories/#:~:text=Temporal%20motivation
%20theory%2C%20which%20states,to%20the%20delay%20of%20outcomes.

Emotion-regulation theory, which states that procrastination occurs when people prioritize their short-

term mood over long-term goal achievement and wellbeing, primarily by postponing aversive tasks in
order to postpone associated negative emotions.

https://solvingprocrastination.com/procrastination-theories/#:~:text=Temporal%20motivation
%20theory%2C%20which%20states,to%20the%20delay%20of%20outcomes.

Cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) states that people procrastinate because of established ways of
thinking, and within this framework, CBT highlights the importance of replacing irrational beliefs with
rational ones (Dryden, 2009). Research has emphasized that there are solid cognitive structures
underlying academic procrastination behaviors (Flett, Stainton, Hewitt, Sherry, & Lay, 2012; Knaus, 2010;
Steel, 2007). For example, Flett et al. (2012) indicate that Toker, Avcı / Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral-
Theory-based Skill Training on Academic Procrastination Behaviors... 1159 negative automatic thoughts
generally play an important role in procrastination behaviors, and Steel (2007) reports in his meta-
analysis study that there is a positive correlation between academic procrastination and irrational
thoughts. Balkıs (2013) and Balkıs, Duru, and Bulus (2013) state that students with high levels of rational
academic beliefs demonstrate low levels of academic procrastination; thus, they proposed a correlation
between academic procrastination and cognitions that highlights the importance of changing cognitions
in eliminating procrastination. Numerous experimental studies have focused on the management of
academic procrastination (Binder, 2000; Kutsela, 1998; Schubert, Lilly, Donald, & Stewart, 2000), and the
lack of effective intervention programs is emphasized in the international literature (Rozental &
Carlbring, 2013; Rozental, Forsström, Nilsson, Rizzo, & Carlbring, 2014). M

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an effective form of psychological treatment that is practiced by
many thousands of therapists worldwide. CBT theory suggests that our thoughts, emotions, body
sensations, and behavior are all connected, and that what we think and do affects the way we feel.
https://www.psychologytools.com/self-help/what-is-cbt/

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1101267.pdf