Do you make new year’s resolutions? Do you plan for the year ahead, with goals to achieve? We all have the best intentions — and committing to these helps to clarify your direction and measure your performance. But planning and taking action are key to your success. So, to prepare yourself for getting the most out of the new year we’ve just begun, here are some practical actions for stepping forward into 2020 — with the best of intentions.
Goal Or No Goal?
There are all sorts of debates about the efficacy of setting goals. A paper out of Harvard Business School reviewed several research studies, finding numerous disadvantages to goal setting: “a narrow focus that neglects non-goal areas, a rise in unethical behavior, distorted risk preferences, corrosion of organizational culture, and reduced intrinsic motivation.”
So much for SMART goals! And yet — we still need to perform and achieve, especially at work. We still need a direction and measures to mark our progress.
Author Peter Bregman says (registration required) there’s a better way: “Instead of identifying goals, consider identifying areas of focus. A goal defines an outcome you want to achieve; an area of focus establishes activities you want to spend your time doing. A goal is a result; an area of focus is a path. A goal points to a future you intend to reach; an area of focus settles you into the present.”
Using the example of a sales goal, he says this might be a specific revenue target, whereas a sales area focus could involve prospecting for new clients — meeting with or speaking to a number of relevant prospects, to open relationships with a view to making new sales. Seems less daunting, perhaps — but how effective is it?
According to Bregman, having an area of focus is a more positive, open-minded process — it intrinsically motivates one and doesn’t incite anyone to cheat or risk-take unnecessarily. Quite the reverse: It actually reduces competition and provokes collaboration. And yet, it still moves you — and your organization — in the direction you want to go in. Therefore, having an area of focus provides you with all the benefits of having a goal — but without the corrosive disadvantages of goal setting.
How To Have The Best Intentions
1. Identify your direction. It can be tempting to run fast toward a finish line. But this blinkered view prevents us from enjoying the view, the company, other routes and different prizes. Often, we haven’t chosen the finish line and don’t enjoy the race. So, stop and think about what you intend to do. Reflect. There’s no better time than the start of a new year. You can still have a goal to reach that specifies where you’re heading, but a focus area helps you to plan and get there. You can also just enjoy the journey.
2. No reluctant “shoulds.” Many people fail because they take on other people’s goals — or things they “should” do. This doesn’t motivate them and, in fact, sets them up for failure. For instance, they tell themselves that they need to go to the gym to lose weight. But if exercising in the gym is a dreaded chore, they won’t enjoy it, they won’t do it and they won’t make progress. Your intention needs to suit you, your likes or your wants — ideally, your passions. Intention brings energy.
3. Congruence first. If a goal or intention doesn’t sit right with you, it is probably incongruent with your own values, wishes or desires. Elizabeth Grace Saunders says (registration required) you should focus on what she refers to as alignment goals — your “musts.” As she explains, “Congruence between my internal desires and my external goal made moving ahead relatively effortless.”
4. Be holistic. Set purposeful, holistic intentions in areas of your life important to you, in your career, the rest of your life and for yourself. All work and no play sets you up for stress, illness and worse… So, commit to acts of self-care — ensuring a good work-life balance. Switch off and relax — try yoga, meditation or mindfulness. Enjoy leisure and social activities.
5. Limit the numbers. Keep your intentions or goals limited to three to five to give them each the necessary time. To succeed in your aims, select just one or two focus areas that are aligned with your passions or preferences and are congruent with your values (what’s important to you).
6. Focus on the process, not the outcome. Identify what you really want to spend your time doing. Or, at work, agree which activities are most valuable. Then, do them. You might find it difficult to stop focusing on goals or outcomes, but focus on the activities and the process, and the results will come effortlessly.
7. Commit the time. Your intentions are important, so prioritize them. Schedule regular time in your diary to concentrate on your intention/goal/area of focus. Once a week, block out a whole day to work on it. Intend to be undisturbed. Work from home or set up an out-of-office message on your email account or a notice on your office door.
Even when you have good intentions or goals, you still need to ground them in reality by forming a plan of action — and then actually taking the necessary action! Action is what separates achievable goals/intentions from ethereal dreams.
• Note down your intention/s. What do you want to do over the next year?
• Which intention/goal excites you most (in terms of the process, not just the outcome)?
• What steps will you take to do this?
• When? And what will you do now?
Whatever you call it — resolution, goal, focus area or intention — and however you decide to do it, setting your intention is your most important task this year. So, be intentional in what you do.
