my strategy for getting things done is so different from the common one that it barely seems related, much less relevant

FWIW, it's not that different from common ones taught in the field; for example, the "spinning" method described in the book "Master Your Workday Now" is functionally quite similar to your "thinking about the goal from time to time as I go about my life".

And your question of 'how would the situation I'm in be different if I'd already achieved my goal?' is part of the methods I teach, e.g. in the Thoughts Into Action video, and with the same intended effect ("If the goal is compelling enough, I generally find that I have trouble not making little bits of progress on a project every time I think about it"), just on a smaller scale and more immediate time-frame.

I'm kind of surprised your article hasn't gotten more upvotes; 13 seems really low for the value of the advice. OTOH, I myself didn't read it until now due to the massive wall of text: it desperately needs some subheads to separate topics and techniques, as well as shorter paragraphs, and perhaps some bulleting or numbering of key points per technique. (I suspect a catchier title would help, too!)

Thanks for sharing your report, though! It's always nice to hear of independent inventions and differing descriptions of the common methods. Not only does it provide corroborating evidence for their effectiveness, it also increases the number of people for whom some description will eventually stick. ;-)