Weekly Goal Review – part 3 of 3
In previous posts, I taught you what a List Binder is and how to make one, and a strategy for scheduling your Work Days. But what do you do when you go home?
Year End Goal Review
As I mentioned in a previous post, I hate New Year's resolutions. But I DO think that the end of the year is a good time to reflect back on your previous year and plan the next one. In 'Western' society we're geared towards thinking of December as an "end" and January as a "beginning".
As such, I thought I'd write out a bit of my year-end process. I've been writing and reviewing annual goals this way for a few years now, and the process evolves every year, so I'm sure I'll be back with an update later on.
BIG ROCKS
This story was told to me in a time management seminar. It really stuck with me, and I looked around for a good video or summary, but I couldn't find one. So I drew it out really quickly (and I mean REALLY quickly, like over my lunch break kinda thing, so I apologize for that). It's kind of a third-hand story, and it originally belongs to the Highly Effective Stephen R. Covey.
Now What? Goal Review and Renewal
You have your "life-long" goals mapped out (or your "bucket list" goals) and you have prioritized your top ten goals and made them SMART... NOW what do you do with them?
Short Term Goals: Conflicting vs. Reinforcing
More than once when I've hit a brick wall on my goals, I've realized that I'd set myself up for failure. My goals were in complete conflict, and were unrealistic.
When setting short term (priority) goals, you must keep in mind that there is only one of you, and only so many hours in the day. If one goal is to compose a concerto, and the other is to create a christmas album, and they both need to be completed in the same amount of time-- you might run into trouble. Chances are you have only so many hours in the day that allow you to focus on your music - and you're forcing yourself to split that time between two goals! Making progress on your concerto means you've neglected working on your Christmas album.
Goal Setting 5 – the RANT
"Don't complain", we're told. We either get scolded for being unappreciative, or it becomes a competition.
"You think you're fat? What are you complaining for, I weigh 200lbs more than you!" Or, "You think YOUR job is tough, you've got it easy! Let me tell you--"
They're right-- you shouldn't complain. At least... not to them. In public you should be grateful for what you have, take problems in stride, and put on a strong face.
But it's natural to complainin. The urge to complain is your mind's way of telling you that something is wrong, something is making you unhappy.
That is the origin of this goal-setting excercise. If you don't know where you want to go, or why you're unhappy, just open up a notepad doc (or a pen and paper if you prefer) and start writing. Some might prefer to speak their rant out loud, but I find when I speak, it's harder to analyze what I've said and dig deeper into why it came out. The rant itself is just the leaves of the weed. Just "getting it out" might make you feel better, but to get your goals out if it, you'll need ot pull up the roots.
Go. Start writing. Once you've opened up the floodgates, let loose about everything you HATE in your life. Even the things you don't really hate, but just annoy you a lot. Don't worry about spelling or grammar, just keep letting the words flow onto the page. Some things might come up that surprise you - dig deeper.
As you continue, narrow it down to PRECISELY what it is that you hate. Is it really the toast that your roommate left on the counter that bothers you? Or is it the fact that you can't yet afford a place of your own?
Drill down and clarify those annoyances, down to the largest root-cause problems in your life. Now you've found your GOALS: to fix every one of those problems.
Goal Setting 4 – The Lottery
This is the fourth in a series of Goal-Setting excercises.
I've said before that you should not define your goals as contingent on winning the lottery (or other statistically insignificant chance of landing into a giant lump-sum of boundless cash), but it is a useful thought excercise.
If you won the lottery, and you had no more need for money for the rest of your life, what would you do?
- What would you use to fill your time?
- Where would you live?
- What type of people would you surround yourself with?
It's useful to think up the types of things that you would do if moneywere no object because it is a useful way to brainstorm dream careers and long term goals. It could also reveal a passion that you should cultivate.
But remember, money can't buy you everything!
Goal Setting 3: The Plane Crash
This is the third in a series of Goal Setting excercises.
The first two excercises (Bucket List and Ideal Day) have been pretty fanciful and fun, this one is a little darker. This excercise is about finding your PRIORITIES.
Imagine you're in a plane, and it's starting to crash. You're facing an abrupt and unexpected certain death. As it hurtles towards the earth, you think to yourself, "This is it! My life is over! I really wish I had _______!!"
That's your plane crash goal. It's the #1 thing that you must work towards accomplishing next, because it'll be your #1 regret if you die tomorrow. When you accomplish your #1 goal, run through the excercise again, the next most important thing will pop up.
Hilight this goal as the MOST IMPORTANT one. Make sure you are moving towards this goal in some small way at all times, regardless of what other short-term priorities come and go. There will always be something "urgent". But at the end, only your plane crash goal will matter.
(If you're having trouble visualising your plane-crash goal, my mind usually turns to it as I'm in a turbulent airplane -- which is the origin of the excercise. If there is some other situation that instills fear of death for you, you can go there in your mind instead).
Goal Setting 2: Your Ideal Work Day
This is the second in a series of goal-generating excercises, and this one is my favourite.
As I entered my senior year of high school I had to choose between two diverging life-paths: pure art and pure science, and this excercise helped me find MY ideal career from among the many art/science/both-related options in the world.
This excercise has two simple RULES:
1) You must work during your day. For the purposes of the excercise, "work" is any activity that can be monetized, or otherwise provide you with basic needs: food and shelter. When you think about what you will do for "work", dream about maximizing what you ENJOY doing (working with people? Being outside?) and minimizing what you DON'T (phone calls? travel?). Don't try to name a particular job or career just yet -- it might not even exist! -- just write out the things you do and don't enjoy doing based on the jobs/hobbies/volunteering that you've done before. What are the things that you like SO MUCH you would want to do them every day for FORTY YEARS?
2) Your lifestyle must be something statistically attainable with enough hard work. So no "winning the lottery" dreams or "marry rich" or "rock star" dreams. You can certainly play music or perform as your dream job, but very few people actually get to become rock stars. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't go AFTER a dream of getting rich, just don't count on it. Will being a modestly successful musician who gets by playing local shows be enough for you? Focus on the JOURNEY more than the DESTINATION - your ideal DAY not your ideal LIFE.
Now,
Part One: "Imagine yourself sometime in the not-too-distant future and picture what you would consider your 'ideal workday.'
Goal Setting 1: The Bucket List
Boston, Massachussets
This is the first in a series of goal-setting exercises.
The "bucket list" is probably the first thing that most people think of when they think of making goals. The basic premise of a bucket list is "things that you'd like to do before you kick the bucket (die)." These are usually pretty fanciful, one-time events. Kiss a supermodel. Go Skydiving. Climb Everest. Get thrown out of a bar's window.
They could also be "life goals" or things that you would like to accomplish by the end of your life. Write a book. Have children. Become Trilingual. Get a PhD.
I don't personally believe that experiencing all these events will translate into your overall, day-to-day happiness. However, I do think that it's a useful excercise to go through because it's fun, it allows you to dream, and verbalizing these fanciful dreams will allow you to recognize an opportunity when it presents itself. I believe it spurs you on to take chances and do things you wouldn't normally do, and will lead to a more interesting and fulfilling life along the way. "My friends are going skydiving? Oh! That's on my bucket list! I should go with them!"