Yes, I write new year resolutions. My list for 2018 is done, and, believe it or not, it is over 20 items long.
Now, I don’t make a big deal about writing this or other lists. Reason: I am, in general a “list-man”. I write long-term and short-term goals: Five year goals; one year goals; quarterly plans; monthly goals; weekly plans and daily task lists. I also write tasks for those who work for me. I take these lists seriously enough that I have some automation built-in — to track/manage/review my tasks and of those who work for me.
Of course, I confess, being a list man does not make it any easier to achieve what I set myself up to. I struggle to get things done. I set goals that I do not achieve. I also take on tasks that were not in my list of “to-do”s — too often. Still I make lists, and find them very valuable.
Because I have struggled and wrestled with lists-based pursuits for years, I suppose I qualify to offer a few thoughts (and suggestions) about resolutions, goals, plans, task-lists or to-do-lists — whatever you prefer to call yours:
First, make them holistic: Set goals (for yourself and those under your charge) that address the whole person: mind, body and soul; goals whose pursuit results in growing you (and others) holistically: to gain knowledge, skills and to grow spiritually. Reading goals. training goals. Friendship goals. Church goals. Missions. Here are some suggested wordings: to read through (a book or the Bible), and draw 3 application lessons; to master a new language; to understand a neighbour’s culture; to form a socio-economic forum/group and pursue member improvement programmes; to equip my staff with xyz skills… I remember when my kids were between 5 and 10 years, I set a goal to work with them to gain typing skills, with QWERTY masterly, and to build their typing speeds to 40 words per minute with an accuracy of 95%. It happened, and for many years, each one has benefitted tremendously from finding themselves with the best keyboard skills among their peers.
Second, to use a tired goal-setting phrase, make only SMART goals: Specific; Measurable (to learn to bake a fruit cake); Achievable; Realistic and Time bound. E.g. To develop branding labels and obtain KEBS mark for our yoghurt product by the end of March. Whether the item is listed in your daily task or part of an year-long pursuit strive to ensure that it is clear enough for you to communicate clearly what it is and when it is accomplished.
Third, set leadership development goals – Yours and that of your mentees. I reflected on this aspect of goal setting when someone recently asked me how to manage several undertakings simultaneously. Looking back in my own life, I realised that it had been a journey: of skills development; of gaining experience; of training workers; of developing systems. Without leadership development, one remains at the basic, personal involvement level, and without help from others.
Fourth, are what I call supportive-actor-role goals: These are goals for you to support other people accomplish what is primarily of interest to them – and in which which you may harbour a selfish or gratuitous interest. One time when my nephew was in primary school and struggling with a subject, I offered to assist him. We crafted a strategy and reviewed progress over time. It meant that I set apart time and some resources to aid the accomplishment of this goal. He passed well. The value of these goals is immense: towards middle age and beyond, the paybacks will start to show — in the form of gratitude; in the form of self-actualisation; in the realisation of long-term goals.
Lastly, goals mean nothing without facilitative processes. To begin with, goals need to be re-sourced. That means each goal is quantified into enough detail as to know how much it will cost you to have the goal executed. Take for example, the goal to … Then also, goals need to be monitored, reviewed; sometimes to be recast. I also recommend the use of technology (there are not many free tools in the open source market that you can download or use online) for ease and efficiency in management.
I guess you can see now why my list is so long….
Accountability. If you think you are too easy on yourself to hold yourself accountable to the pursuit of written goals, one source of help can be joining a group with a shared interest in that specific goal. In my case for example, along with nine other families, we set out to save regularly in a common fund with a view to buying land in fast developing areas. And we did. Alone, or with just my wife, I doubt that I would have been as consistent.
I mentioned earlier on that, yes, I struggle with this goals business. Setting them is easy for me. Keeping track, reviewing and recasting is tough — requiring a discipline that I have not mustered fully to date. The hardest part is consistently completing the daily list. Sometimes I forget to write one. Or write one out of urgency, instead of drawing it from the annual, quarterly, monthly plans. For example, my Annual Goal of learning French (a real one for me in 2018, in view of a long-term project I am involved in with French speaking people). The quarterly portion for this goal is to gain enough competence to introduce myself; introduce my staff; write a simple email (albeit with google’s assistance). And the monthly goal: learn 20 new French words and how to use them.
Obviously the daily goal is to learn one French phrase (a new word; a sentence — and its usage).
Simple? Should be. But, in the context of a world in which I have grand children to visit, and software to develop, and a factory to grow, and a production of vegetables to follow through from Nursery to Harvest, and blogs to write, and sermons to prepare… the most common daily reality, is the emergence from anywhere and everywhere of the “immediate” and the “urgent”, screaming for attention, as is the case in an accident site, where the most critically deserving of attention often are silent, motionless, while those with minor injuries scream at the top of their voices: “my toe!” Ambulance attendants, therefore, are trained to ignore noise but to instead search out and attend to the most critically injured, loading them into the ambulance, leaving behind those with minor hurts in spite of their screams for attention.
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Haron Wachira 