Breaking down big goals into manageable pieces

Developing more patience and discipline are two of my 'big' goals. I feel that these are akin to a change in my personality, which is pretty daunting. I prefer to think of it as a habit change, which is much more mentally and practically manageable.

The achievement of several of my monthly objectives rests on my capacity to deploy either patience or discipline, sometimes both, so I know I'm working on them in the margins. Yet I feel that these are important enough to be discrete Goals in themselves. Now... how do I go about it? I can't see it being worthwhile, or useful, to make myself do (or not do) something I don't actually care about just to practice discipline or patience. I have tried to be consciously patient in situations that typically set my short temper off, though I haven't had the presence of mind to do it systematically. Are there any good exercises that can quicken this self-training? What does the process of achieving 'patience' look like? Should I spend time in an ashram and meditate? Or is it enough to think about it regularly from my desk or during my commute?

So far, I've found that setting an objective whose achievement implies successful unfolding patience or discipline is a good way to go about it--- at least until I have the time and money to spend going to an ashram.

How have you gone about breaking down big goals into digestible, attainable pieces?