The New Year is quickly approaching and today is my birthday (I share it with Lebron James and Tiger Woods… just sayin 🙂 As a result, this time of year always feels like a double-shot of reflection and goal setting. In anticipation of the upcoming year I’ve been thinking a lot about one not-so-simple question:
How can I ensure 2015 is a great year?
My deduction is that it will be a great year if I set higher standards for my goals.
Management guru Peter Drucker has become famous for his motto, “Whatever is measured, get’s managed”. This is true for one’s organization and personal life. If we want to get results we must set the right kinds of goals and objectives. Sure, someone can get results in spite of themselves but that is the exception not the rule. You know what the rule is?
Clearly define meaningful goals and objectives and we will achieve our personal mission and vision.
When it comes to the terminology, I define a goal as a desired outcome (broad) where as an objective is a concrete milestones (narrow) that leads to accomplishing that goal.
Here’s how I tackle this process in my own life:
START WITH A THEME
Patrick Lencioni talks about this method in his book The Advantage. A theme gets me thinking in the right direction which helps guide me as I start to scheme how I can make my hopes and dreams for this next year come true. My theme for 2015 is Build a Wider Foundation.
SET GOALS IN FIVE CORE AREAS
For me it’s the following: Faith, Family, Relationships, Personal, and Professional. I ensure that I have at least one meaningful goal for each core area. Some years I’ll have more goals in an area if I feel it needs more attention or my life-stage requires it.
DEFINE THREE OR MORE OBJECTIVES
Then I get into the specifics and I outline at least three corresponding objectives to help me establish the tangible tasks or steps I need to put in place in order to help me reach my goals. To give you an idea of how I do this… here’s one of my personal goals for 2015: Maintain my current body weight while increasing strength and flexibility.
Objectives:
- Strength training twice a week
- Run twice a week
- Stretch for 15-min in the morning three times a week
- Two Plant-based meals every dayhttp://bradendouglas.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=10397&action=edit&message=10
- Reduce sugar intake by reducing desserts during the week
- Drink 2 litres of water daily
Some people see this kind of planning as over-the-top and they avoid it altogether. Don’t do that. Set your goals, print them out and post them in your bathroom. The daily reminder is extremely helpful to keep you focused. You will get off track at some point during the year, but you can always right the ship or update them and keep going. This process doesn’t just have to happen once a year, it can be on-going.
I hope this helps you in your journey to success. Dream big and good luck! See you in 2015.
– Braden