Three thoughts for 2022
Hi,
A small and enthusiastic group took part in the YearPlanDay last Thursday, which I really enjoyed doing. Some of you have told me that looking back over 2021 turned out to be a much more positive experience than you expected, and that was my experience too. So many wonderful moments I had long forgotten.
If you haven’t gotten around to it yet, no worries: There’s still time to hold a YearPlanDay of your own. Even just doing the highlights exercise for 2021 will mean a world of difference for your year to come. And it’s fun to do.
So pick a day this week or next and get started. I’ll post the kickoff video, which you can unlock with your preorder. You’ll find everything else you need here.
However you started off your new year, I wish you all the best for 2022. And speaking as the Work in Progress guy, I hope you have lots of good weeks in the year to come—weeks where you get to the things that matter most.
During the YearPlanDay, I hit on three themes that I’d like to share with you again here. Three things to keep in mind as you make plans for this new year.
Do you control your tools? Or do they control you
It won’t surprise you that I’m a big nerd when it comes to smart structures, checklists, and optimizing the processes that help me do better work. But those oh-so-handy tools can turn into limitations for my own growth. I have to take a fresh look at them from time to time to make sure they’re still helpful.
The goal? I want tools that help me out, not tools that become an end in themselves.
From software to your daily or weekly routine: Look at whether it helps or hinders you. Do you stick with it because it’s familiar or safe? Maybe because you can hide behind it to some extent? Would you be better off without it?
That’s why I added the category “Routines” to my brainstorm for 2022.
What if Covid’s here to stay?
Like most people, I long for a world without Covid. That can mean shelving my plans and ideas, until a future date when things go back to some semblance of normal. But what if that life without Covid never comes? It’s a prospect that’s hard to swallow.
Still. Say we’re stuck with this thing. If you choose to take that as a given, what would change? What would you do differently?
You may find that opens up new options and fresh ideas. Puts the focus on what’s possible, instead of what’s not. Parks the whole Covid thing, instead of parking your plans.
This past year, I did very little work on my network. Didn’t meet many new people, didn’t do enough to maintain relationships I already had. I kept thinking: That’s for down the road. Because it seemed less feasible at the time and less fun.
But now I’m turning that around: If the goal is to talk to new people, how could I use the current situation to my advantage? Maybe I could meet people an ocean away, who previously seemed out of reach. After all, many folks are now accustomed to online meets.
How do your plans change when you consider our current plight as permanent? What about where you live, the kind of work you do, how you work, and how you keep up with friends and family?
Where can you push limits and dream big?
I believe we’re capable of much more than we tend to think. And I can’t stand being told to slow down. The biggest barrier to reaching new heights is almost always yourself.
The brainstorm phase of your year plan is the ideal place to really go all out. To think beyond all the nice little boxes we make for ourselves. No one else will read it; no one’s going to hold you to it. So go ahead: forget feasible. Drop doable. What would you do if there were no limits—in terms of time, money, or anything else? What if all your obligations vanished today or were taken care of by other people?
I always gain fresh insight when I temporarily cut out all limitations. Of course not everything is possible, but it continues to amaze me how often that “Yes, but” is mostly just in my head.
Three thoughts to bear in mind when sketching the contours of your new year. Hope they help you make some progress on big plans for 2022!
Have a great week,
Rick
produced by the language girl