Even before 2020 rolled in, I was considering how I would handle my new year. I have a habit of seeing an empty calendar ahead of me and feeling an urge to make sure it’s got a lot scheduled before the end of January. As a mother of three, this often means putting things like school breaks, sports, and at least one family vacation on the calendar early in the year. Aside from that planning look ahead, I often aspire to make big goals and accomplish them —- just like everyone else I’m told.
The newest statistic that I read this year is that most people will quit their new year’s resolutions by January 17. Here’s what I know about goal setting from my personal history and research: If I set more than three goals, I’m likely to attain zero of them. I’m more likely to attain a goal if it is hyper-focused on one area of my life.
My word for the year is DEPTH. Therefore, I’m going to go deep on 1-2 goals per quarter and if I’ve not had time to go deep enough, then I’ll carry over those goals for another quarter.
The method of choice this year to map and measure goal attainment is going to be OKR’s (Objectives and Key Results). This phrase has been a buzz word in the tech industry for decades. It was birthed by Andy Grove and applied effectively at Intel. There is a book called Measure What Matters by Jim Doerr, that I’m reading and listening to currently, which is a how-to-guide with interesting stories of various applications of OKRs. Objectives are essentially the “what” you want to accomplish, and Key Results are the objectively measurable steps to “how” you will reach your objectives.
Now, the information that I’ve nested (intentionally) at the end of this post is the two goals I am setting for myself for the first quarter of 2020. My inner critic is yelling that these goals are so common and boring I shouldn’t even share them. It seems predictable for a woman in her 40’s to set health goals. But what I know, as I’ve seen a glimpse at my personal shifts, is that if I attain these goals I will feel better. I will feel better in my body, my thoughts will be more clear and focused, I will be able to be present and calm with others in a way that’s different than when my mind is jumpy.
Here’s what is written in the small gold glitter notebook you see above.
First, I made a list of about 5-7 health ideas that I would like to focus on to get them on paper. After I did those, I then wrote on the next page the value of those goals to me. What would the attainment of those goals change in my health? I realized that I typically come up with my strongest ideas first and subsequent ideas feed into those. Likely because I have been subconsciously committing to these ideas for weeks already as a mental warm-up to writing them and really committing (oh the mind!).
Here are my two OKR’s for the first quarter of 2020:
Lose 12-15 pounds by March 28, 2020. This is the kickoff of spring break for our family and I hope to be celebrating with a long walk on the beach in a skinsuit that feels better than the one I’m wearing today.
Complete 45 days of Miracle Morning in the first quarter. Miracle Morning is a morning routine that I experimented with last fall. It provided me with incredible energy and clarity. I’ll do an entire future post (or many) on this book, as it was a real difference-maker when I needed one last year.
That’s it. That’s what I want to accomplish in the first three months of this year. It’s easy to write and hard to execute. I’m putting it out here for accountability and conversation.
Written with love from myself to myself.