It’s almost the end of January, almost the end of the first month of 2019. There’s that feeling of time speeding up again, and there’s that notion that I need to have some goals for this new year written down before this month ends.
About two weeks ago, having slowly settled back into my daily grind after the hectic interlude of the Christmas holidays, I started thinking about how I was going to set my goals for the new year. I knew I wanted to make things better, to make myself better, but I wasn’t sure how to do so. What I did know was that I couldn’t expect new results if I didn’t try new ways.
I started to look for a framework, a way of pondering and articulating what I wanted out of 2019. I came across several online articles and videos with plenty of wisdom and practical advice, but I kept going back to one of my favorite TED Talks, a popular talk given by writer, author, and speaker Laura Vanderkam, entitled “How to gain control of your free time.”
I remembered how engaging and empowering, how plain and practical her words were. She spoke about choosing our priorities so we can build the lives we want in the time that we have. She told that memorable story of a busy woman who suddenly, unexpectedly found an “extra” seven hours in her very busy week to take care of having her broken water heater fixed – a story that showed her audience how time is elastic and how time can accommodate our priorities.
So, I chose to go back to Ms. Vanderkam’s TED Talk because I remembered how she gave two simple, practical strategies for figuring out one’s priorities. She suggested that you do two things: 1) imagine that it’s already the end of this year, and 2) make two documents for yourself: a year-end performance review and holiday letter. By transporting yourself to the near future and picturing how you want that to be, you can start to have a better idea of the steps you need to take throughout the year to get you to that ideal future.
My 2019 Performance Review
I wrote down her suggested three categories (to help balance out my goals): personal, relationships, and career. I started imagining how my fantastic year-end performance review would look like. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
- Personal: feel fitter and stronger because of regular yoga and strength training, completed my goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge
- Career: successfully relaunched my freelance writing career, posted on my blog at least two times a week and gained a hundred new followers, halfway done with writing a book
- Relationships: (still working on this)
My 2019 Holiday (or Christmas) Letter
I’ve started on a first draft, which I’m sure will go through several edits. I’m trying to switch between a planner-pragmatist hat and an easy-optimist one, and here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
“Dear Reader,
It’s been a year of minutes and milestones.
My daughter was home for her summer break from college. We had a lovely week with the family in Thailand. Back home in Singapore, we had many fun, familiar Sunday dinners out. We had popcorn and Netflix afternoons. I enjoyed cooking her favorite mac and cheese again, and again. I loved the hellos, still dreaded the goodbyes.
My mother-in-law celebrated her 70th birthday and my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Wonderful stories were shared, gorgeous photos were taken and precious memories were made on those blessed days.
I’ve succeeded at becoming a career relauncher. I still write for the love of it (yes, my blog is going strong!), but now I’m also a regular paid contributor to a few publications! And, I’m halfway through writing a book! I’m thankful that this has been a year of more writing, more words.
There were days when I found my focus and days when I learned to just go with the flow. There were moments when I would forget my thoughts and moments when I would forgive myself. But always and every day, I held fast to my faith and I said thank you for family and friends…”
Whether it’s January or June, it’s never too late to set our goals, to figure out our priorities, to build our lives as we want them with the time we have. I’m still working on my vision for the year ahead, but it’s looking good so far. How are your goals for 2019? How do you see yourself at the end of this year, looking back at the year that was?