Every December, I sit down for a bit and review progress against the goals I set for the year and start to sketch out goals for the upcoming year.
I love goal setting. It forces me to focus, provides self-accountability and gets me energized to push outside my comfort zone.
In general, establishing a framework or at least some organizing principles that are aligned to what matters most to you and your purpose provides an anchor for your goals. For the last couple of years, I’ve organized my goals into three main categories:
Business
Athletic
Personal (personal encompasses things like family, community, and development; last year, I added a book promotion specific goal for From Barista to Boardroom since that was a major focus of mine)
Other goal setting best practices I use:
Be specific - use numbers, dates or behaviors that I can measure
Stretch yourself - choose goals that are achievable but a little bit scary
Select an intention - this becomes the mental model and practice of how I want to go about achieving my goals
Make them visible - keeping them front and center helps me stay focused
Share them with others - one of the best ways to get support and accountability is to let others know what I'm hoping to accomplish
So, in the spirit of modeling my goal setting practices, here are the goals I've set for 2022:
Grow my business by 20% - I had big growth last year and want to use 2022 to stabilize a bit and refine my operating model.
Complete multiple endurance athletic events and run 2022 miles - I'm signed up for two marathons, my first 50k and plan to do some sort of epic long distance bike ride. 2022 is the year for athletic goals for me provided I achieve my #1 goal of staying injury free.
Deepen my learning about organizational effectiveness - This has become my sweet spot for my business (leadership development + structures + culture) and, while I have a lot of experience in this area, I'm planning on being a student of this domain as well.
One of the ways I keep myself on task is by writing my goals on a whiteboard in my office (see below - I've made some of them generic for client anonymity). I put my annual goals at the top and then each week, I break them down into weekly priorities and then each day, I break them down to daily tasks. The weekly and daily priorities are color coded to align with the big goals. That said, being an entrepreneur has taught me to be very flexible in how I achieve my goals which is why I don't plan super far in advance.
You'll notice in the upper left corner of my whiteboard that my 2022 intention is "CURIOSITY".
Every year, I order a new MyIntent bracelet with my annual intention stamped on it. By being curious, I will learn more about others and how I can help them, deepen my learning about organization effectiveness and see what my body is capable of.
So, what's on your radar for 2022? Drop me a note at christine@christinemchughconsulting with your goals and/or intentions. They don't have to be fully developed but I'll commit to checking in with you periodically to see how it's going.
Cheers!
Christine