Planning for 2012
/About this time every year I think about what I’ve accomplished in the current year and what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Today’s blog item is about the forward look….what I’ve found works best for me. It is not as simple as making a short list of resolutions although that can be a starting point.
The key ‘extra step’ is to establish some frequently taken measurement toward the annual goal. It is important to do this because for almost everyone ‘what gets measured gets done.’ Here are some examples about developing those measurements that will help you accomplish whatever annual goals you set.
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If you want to take off 20 pounds and get in shape during 2012 some example measurements could be:
- Lose 2 pounds per month for the 1st 10 months of the year and sustain your weight for the last 2 months of 2012 (check your weight weekly to know where you are in the 2 pound window for the month)
- Average 12,000 steps per day (use the same pedometer or other measurement device for the whole year) and measure at least weekly
- Lose 10 pounds in the first quarter (January-February-March), sustain the loss in the second quarter, lose 10 pounds in the third quarter (July-August-September), sustain the loss in the fourth quarter.
Of course, this also means that whatever you measure can warp your behavior for the negative. If you decide that the bathroom scale is your sole metric - don’t fall into the obsession of weighing yourself several times a day. You could even decide to weigh yourself infrequently but use a pair of tight jeans as a secondary metric (it always is wonderful to be comfortable in clothes that were previously tight!).
If you have a previous goal that was very successful, it may have become habit and you really don’t need a new annual goal. I had the 12,000 steps a day goal in 2011 and now it is easily achieved with the way I move through my day. For 2012 it is something I will continue doing it but it isn’t a stretch goal any more. Maybe this year I’ll do something with intensity of those steps; this is something my Fitbit Wireless Activity/Sleep Tracker
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Establishing a goal to see more of the area you live in - hiking or museums or restaurants - is a goal for many people and may increase in importance if you already know the time you will live in the area is limited. Some example measurements:
- Take at least one local excursion every month (make the list of 12 now or decide that you will magnet the directions/brochure to your refrig at the beginning of each month). If the activity is weather dependent, do it as early in the month as possible so that you won’t have to double up the following month.
- Take a local vacation week and plan day trips every day of the week. Plan an excursion for every holiday rather than spending the day at home.
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If you have accumulated a lot of stuff over many years…and are ready to jettison some of it, a goal for 2012 might help get it done. Here some example ways to measure your progress.
- Spend 2 hours each week reducing clutter around the house.
- Donate or freecycle at least once a month.
- Wipe hard drives then take old electronics to Best Buy for recycling by mid-year
- Participate in the neighborhood yard sale in the fall
- Develop of month by month plan of all of the above
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Sometimes a goal can be about a habit you want to change. A few years ago I decided that it would be useful for me to use my left hand for the computer mouse even though I am right handed (so I can have a pad and pen on the right side of my keyboard and the mouse will not be in the way). It took me a few weeks to get reasonably comfortable and a little longer to get totally proficient with the left hand…but now I actually am more coordinated using the mouse with my left hand than with the right. The key for a goal like this is to ‘just do it’ and discipline yourself to stick with it for some pre-established period of time. I used 2 weeks for my initial time window and by the end of the period knew that I could learn to use the mouse with my left hand and the new habit was well on its way being established.
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I almost always have a goal related to journaling since it helps me keep perspective on everything happening in my life. At first my measurement was ‘write something every day’ - there was no length or quality metric. Then I used ‘write a page a day’ and went through times when poems became my popular form of entry because it would make a page pretty quickly. This year I may go with a word count metric…something like ‘1000 words a day.’
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So - do your goals for 2012 and get a fast start on all of them at the beginning of the year!
