4/3/2016–Metrics for goals allow simple and effective scheduling.
Having metrics is one step; identifying required tasks and checkpoints is where effectiveness really rests. Broken into pieces, each goal is seen as a series of “schedulable” blocks of time required to do well.
Once next steps are identified (or at least your best guess) they can be put into a schedule. If your tasks aren’t scheduled in a software like Outlook or Google calendar, they could be tracked mentally (good luck) or on paper, of course. But the automation allowed by software greatly increases likelihood of hitting metrics, in my experience. Schedule time to schedule tasks, even.
In addition to scheduling, sharing goals and metrics with close family and friends also increases chance of success, in my experience. This is the beauty and corollary of doing things 1st for yourself. If you create what you want to create, your initial audience may be very small, but you’ll benefit from getting a clear picture of “who cares” about your creation the most. Sharing your goals and metrics with this high quality customer base will be more helpful than trying to get support and encouragement from customers you’re only able to please with work you’re not as passionate about. Plus, you’ll be pulled in fewer directions with fewer supporters, maybe.
Prior to starting a new job, it’s harder to set metrics or even goals. It’s unclear what your daily schedule will require and what you’ll have energy for. However, most of us are not an executive or founder who’s prioritizing work over everything else. Thus, we might even benefit in the long run by setting non-work goals now (before starting a new job). This way we must almost limit or “section-off” the amount of time we’d expect to need for work. Of course, we wouldn’t block 9 to 5 mon-fri and leave it at that–humans need built-in slack. However, applying Parkinson’s law to life dictates little more than 40 hours of the average worker’s duties. Covey’s 5 rocks also support pre-employment goal-setting. Assuming most of us aren’t going to a job which is a major life priority–e.g. charity work, a startup–whatever duties we have will be subservient to our life goals. Literally, working for money and, perhaps, skills is a means to more important ends. Zoom-out even further, and consider that, ideally, we would flesh-out these goals and metrics before even applying for jobs, since a job should be fitted for what we need out off it. Instead, the pressure is on the side of just getting a good job we’ll like, then seeing if we have time for each life goal. It’s the opposite of following Covey’s and Parkinson’s laws, but recruiters don’t get paid to worry about your life goals, nor should they.
QOTW: “You can either get girls in high school, or for the REST OF YOUR LIFE!” – Sweet Pea
?FNW: What % of my metrics do I hit? 100%
11/27/2017 review–This equation of success is useful, but really difficult to monitor over time. It’s like a lot of models–more accurate than useful. Still, goal-setting is much easier by breaking bigger goals into smaller tasks. Scheduling this way has helped me complete both work and recreational goals.
I have no idea what I was trying to say about sharing goals with friends and family. I think I was distracted and combined two ideas. The benefit of sharing goals with people is that they’ll help encourage you to stay on-track. The unrelated benefit of building things for yourself first is said better by the phrase, “scratch your own itch”. In other words, rather than assuming you’ll have customers without knowing, you’ll at least have one customer if you create something that meets a need you have. Maybe I was only writing from the perspective of what I was building at the time (this website/podcast). At the time, I needed to set goals and build something that my family could critique as I went, so it would loosely apply here.
Finally, the last lesson I captured was actually one of the most valuable I’ve ever practiced. Prior to accepting my current job, I found hobbies I could sign-up for that required me to be home by a certain time each weeknight. This prevented me from staying late at work and ensured I was taking care of the fun stuff in my new city. Some people probably don’t need this barrier, but I did since I was living alone at the time and really had no other reason not to work until 6pm if I felt like it.