At the beginning of 2010 I posted this yearly planner online.
As mentioned, setting 10 (or one, or two) New Year’s Resolutions is not going to help you much. Oh, ok, writing them down and posting them (like Leo of Zen Habits suggests here) is gonna get you a bit more focused.
But what really helps is tracking and rewinding every once in a while to see where you’re at.
This Easter…
Get 15 minutes for yourself, find a comfortable chair and make yourself some tea.
Pull out a sheet of paper and ask yourself:
Past - Initial goals, adjustments:
1. What did I want for myself this year?
List one or two major changes.
2. What did I spend my time on?
Maybe you had an important career turn and had to work all day to manage your job. Or maybe you decided to become an entrepreneur. Or you found a new hobby and spent your evenings with that.
3. What were my priorities? At work? With my family? For my spare time?
Remember that important project that got you the prize you had dreamt of. Or when you took your friends to a picnic on the first spring day. What mattered? What are the days you remember?
Results:
4. What did I achieve so far?
What are the visible results you can see for yourself? Maybe you’ve improved some relationships. Or you started to learn a new language.
Future – goals, adjustments:
5. What do I still need to do to be happy with myself this year? (you can insert here [to achieve my goals] but my personal belief is that the ultimate scope of Life Management is being happy, not ticking goals off a list)
Practical Actions:
6. What’s one thing I need to start doing, as of next week?
Refer here to the “What’s the next action” principle of David Allen.
Longer Term Planning:
7. How do the next three months look like? What can I start preparing as of now? (Tip: Taxes declarations are due May 31st, so if you’re living in beautiful Romania, it’s high time you start reading something about those Income Declaration Statements…)
Now, your quarterly evaluation is done. Of course I’d recommend working with a personal coach or mentor to reassess your priorities and set up the actions you want to pursue for the next 3 months, keeping track of the long term goals. If you want me to help you with that, give me a buzz by clicking here and scrolling to my contact details.
Next thing you need to do is reach out for that Easter Egg, or Easter cake!
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Making an analysis of our accomplishment is a must if we really want to succeed on our goals. Unfortunately, few are making notes on this aspect. Probably because favorable results does not come with their efforts.