January is the traditional time for blog posts and articles about New Years Resolutions – how to make them, how to keep them, sharing yours, asking about other peoples’.
I don’t have any.
If you, too, have grown weary of the endless merry-go-round of resolutions and productivity and “getting things done”, don’t feel guilty! Just because someone in Roman times decided that Janus, the god of (among other things) beginnings and transitions, deserved to be honoured doesn’t mean we should all be slaves to the tradition of setting lofty goals in January.
What is better than a lofty goal?
A goal that is challenging but achievable, with a short timeframe and a defined plan for success.
Challenging but achievable
In the past I’ve set goals like “get x new students for the club”, but the problem with goals like that is that they’re not entirely under my control. I can do things to attract people, but ultimately I can’t go out and kidnap people and force them to learn Shorinji Kempo!
So what is an achievable goal for me, for the club?
Maybe… follow up with everyone who does a trial lesson to find out what they enjoyed about the class and encourage them to return. Or organise the students to take part in some charitable or social activity.
Do you have any suggestions? Make them in the comments!
Short timeframe
So I said I don’t have any NY Resolutions. This is true. But I do make plans. My plans tend to be on a quarterly cycle: the 12 week year. If you think about it this should make Janus happy, because I get three extra opportunities to have a beginning in the year…
Studies have shown that people work harder and are more focused at the start and end of their available time – when they’re fresh and enthusiastic, and when the deadline is looming. With a whole year to play with, the middle gets kind of lost, but with only 12 weeks you’ve got to get on top of things.
Defined plan for success
The thing that trips up a lot of people when they set NY Resolutions is that they set a goal, maybe even a realistic one, but they don’t have a plan.
So they’ll say “I want to be fitter… I’ll run three times a week,” but they don’t think about which days, and what time of day, and what they need to prepare, and what they’ll do if something unexpected crops up. Soon they’ve skipped a day, and then they feel guilty, and then they give up.
Don’t be like those people.
But – don’t be too rigid with your plan. Don’t be afraid to modify it as you learn more about how your goal is progressing. You might find you made it too hard, or too easy. You might tweak the details of when you’ll do things. That’s ok!
Over to you
Here’s your homework:
What do you want to achieve in the next 2-3 months? Figure out a plan for achieving it! Bonus points for carrying out your plan.