Image provided by gettyimages.com
Dear friends,
September snuck up on me. The new (school) year is upon us, and it’s a perfect time to reflect on our progress and set some goals. If you’ve ever dipped into self-improvement books or articles, the topic of goals is confusing and overwhelming. Should you make “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” or SMART goals? Or perhaps goals should be discarded in favor of “Implementation Intentions”?
For these purposes, let’s consider a goal to be, as Merriam-Webster would have it, “the end towards which effort is directed.” For example, writing daily is not a goal, it’s a (good) habit. Successfully disseminating your study findings is a goal, and writing every day is the habit/ action that fosters reaching that goal. With that in mind, let’s set some goals:
How big should your goal be? Challenge yourself, but not too much. If you set a goal to keep on pace with your current activities, you will not be growing. If your goal is too big, even if you accomplish a lot, you may be disappointed. There is a saying, “shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” Actually, psychology studies would suggest that people undervalue their accomplishments if they fail to meet their own targets, even if they are self-imposed. You can frame your goals in two parts, “Ideally, my goal is to do x, but at least I commit to accomplishing y.”
How specific should a goal be? A goal should be specific enough so that you can chart a pathway to get there. Here’s a broad goal that I think works “Be the kind of invested, reliable, contributing collaborator that people want to put on their projects.” That doesn’t have a time-frame and it isn’t measurable, but you would know what actions to take to get there, right?
How many goals should you have? A feasible number. You won’t accomplish any if you have too many (read about Warren Buffett’s goal-setting strategy here.) This is where it is useful to go back to your mission and your priorities, and make sure your goals are in sync with those. Don’t forget to think about your non-work goals. If you’re planning to redecorate your house, train for your first marathon, or wean your baby, take that into account when you’re setting your work goals.
Now that you’ve set your goals, set a time on your calendar to reflect on them. I’ve decided to do this on a quarterly basis, because it aligns with my strategic planning process, but you can make it more or less frequent depending on what works for you. Many people find sharing their goals to be a helpful accountability exercise- feel free to email me with your goals, and I will promise to ask for the follow-up when the time comes.
Please keep in touch and don’t forget to give me something to brag about on social media!
Warmly,
Urmimala