After almost a month in Wisconsin, I am not doing quite as much as I would want. Unlike college, there is simply not enough time, or energy, to be as spontaneous. Faced with the fact that I cannot do everything, I am obliged to prioritize. As a result I must do a better job of setting goals.
While I was still in college, I traced goals for myself twice a year. Back in those days, I did not have to be very good at it; in many ways, a lot of the work was pre-done for me, so I did not have to be very specific. Since I was generally satisfied with everything else if I got good grades, I did not put a lot of effort in measuring. With so much energy everything seemed attainable; with so much time, relevant. And, since I lived in the time frame of a semester, my goals were, by consequence, time-bound.
A lot has changed since those great old college days. For starters, nobody talks about semesters anymore; instead, people talk about fiscal weeks and quarters. By the same token the days have become more fixed, like high school: the only typical thing about a day in college was that they were not typically the same, except I mostly woke up around 7 am every day; a typical weekday now is only similar in one way -- I wake up by 6 am, which is still 7 am eastern time. However, the most striking difference is this: As a student, I got to do a lot whether I set goals or not; as a working person , after a month, I am not getting much done without setting goals. Therefore I have decided to implement a new tool I learned at work: SMART goals.
SMART -- Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound -- goals. At work, I have to set SMART goals which become the basis of my evaluation at the end of each rotation. It seemed like a good idea to do the same with my personal goals, since, as I mentioned before, I am not getting much done. Given limited resources I have focused on three things for this quarter:
1. Study Portuguese
-- read news in Portuguese for 15 minutes every day
-- memorize 3 words every day
2. Keep in touch with friends
-- call or chat with 2 friends (not from the area) every week
-- update blog weekly
3. Review and improve goals monthly
I have many more goals I want to work on; however, for the time being, I am going to read some news.
ahh really cool to see your goals!
ReplyDeletefor the leadership lab thing i'm doing we also have to set SMART goals in the categories of physical, spiritual, social, emotional, intellectual, and professional. Still formulating mine though :)
Jason! Now that you have a phone number, you are next on my list of calls. :)
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