Don’t write bad goals. Or do. Just write some goals.
As we think about next year, here's my two cents on how goals can prevent burnout, why they should be flexible, and how to align them with your core values.
I thought about doing a review of the trend topics of 2023. Then I realised that for me those were remote working, engagement surveys, workplace inclusion issues and AI stuff. Let’s not.
Then I thought, in December many of us start winding down and slowly thinking about our goals for next year (or, our managers make us set them for performance management).
So, let me be useful in my last newsletter of the year, and tell you what I’ve learned about goals 💪
1️⃣ Having goals can keep us from burning out. Honestly.
If you’ve ever felt exhausted for doing a thing and then went “Why TF am I doing this in the first place?!”, I’m with you (also, welcome to ADHD, the water’s nice).
Whether one likes S.M.A.R.T. goals, or personal O.K.R.s, or we just have a notepad somewhere - writing down goals (whenever they come to mind, not just in January) means we can refer back to them and remember.
It can save our sanity and a lot of energy, especially:
⚡️ When faced with a choice or an opportunity.
“Is this actually going to help me reach my goals or does it just sound nice?”
It’s not selfish to think of what do you have to gain. You can still choose to do things out of the kindness of your heart, but you’d do it consciously and measure your energy spend accordingly.🌧️ If something doesn’t go to plan, we have a fail or get bad feedback.
“Is this thing I apparently didn’t succeed at actually important for me?”
If it is important, then it’s good learning for the future. Gets you closer to doing it right. And if it’s not, it’s not. Why waste time feeling bad about something that wasn’t going to take you where you want to go anyway?
Even with energy exchange, we are still humans and we can’t do everything everywhere all at once. Goals are great for prioritising.
2️⃣ Goals are supposed to be reviewed and tweaked. They’re living things, not death sentences.
This year, one of my goals was to get more engaged in the design community through coaching, public speaking, LinkedIn and this newsletter. Then I lost my hair, and I didn’t feel like going out that much, or writing.
Failed goal? Nah. In the Summer I reconsidered if that goal still served me, and it clearly didn’t because it would have set me up for failure. I changed it to “Don’t disappear from the community just because you’re having a bad time”, and now I can celebrate that I still did a little public speaking, a little writing, a little coaching.
Think of 2020. Should we have put all our goals on hold? Some people did. Others regrouped and set goals that were more relevant and achievable in lockdown. Who do you think had the highest sense of accomplishment at the end?
My bet is on all those people who suddenly changed careers in 2021 😄
The gist is:
Every day we learn new things, and deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world. Also, things happen. It’s totally fine to change your mind on what you want to achieve.
It’s growth 🌱.
3️⃣ Goals should be driven driven by our values, not other people’s.
My values circle around communication, collaboration, community, fairness and belonging. And bunnies.
They are not necessarily the most appreciated values in a work setting, and often I’ve been told off for standing my ground too much, not minding my own business, and not trusting that higher leadership just know what they’re doing.
There were times when I tried to fight myself in order to fit in, and I got angry at myself for not succeeding. Biggest and most frustrating waste of time ever.
Our values matter. If we don’t treat them well, we feel it.
But if we respect them and base our goals on them, we’ll never have regrets 😊
Happy holidays, go set some goals.
And I’ll see you all in the new year! ❤️
Bonus tip: here’s a decent guide to understanding core values, with examples.
Bunny of the year
Brilliant as usual