Last year I set a bunch of goals, and I thought I did pretty good working on them. Not amazing, but pretty good. This year, I want to attack goals a little differently, so I’m going to think about how to measure things first, then set up the goals.
One system of looking at goals is SMART. This stands for:
- specific
- measurable
- achievable
- relevant
- time-bound
In terms of my goals, I want to tackle some in this format in 2023, and see how this goes. With that in mind, I’m looking at things in this way. I have a few sample goals, but I need to think through these a little more.
Specific
In looking at 2022 goals, they were fairly specific, but not always. I didn’t define the personal ones well. The work and community ones were good.
In 2023, I’ll look to ensure I specify each of these in more detail and have something to measure against. I need to use the 6ws (who, what when, where, which, why) where possible.
Measurable
This is the big one. Do I have metrics by which I can measure things. Certainly percentage read for books, but what about my demos? Can I really get these to a percentage of done? Or just work/not working? What about the number of events? That’s easy, but does it include other metrics. I ought to ensure I try to put some sort of way to definitively note whether I’ve achieved something or not.
Examples could be:
- Send 12 SQL Saturday newsletters
- Reliable working process that moves data from source to target with more success than failure
- Volunteer 4 days
Achievable
This is interesting. I thought all my goals were achievable, but not easily. If nothing new came up or life didn’t get in the way, I could achieve those. I think I’m doing well here, despite not finishing everything.
Relevant
My career is in a weird place. I’m closer to the end, and my growth in Redgate is more focused on marketing and sales, so less on technology. The tech matters, as I consult with customers and train them, but I do a lot more things that are very different.
At the same time, all of the items I chose last year do help my career. Whether this is for content, for knowledge I’ll take to customers, for the recharging from volunteer days or reading. I don’t usually have a problem here.
Time-Bound
This is harder. No matter how I’ve planned, usually things get away from my and a portion of my schedule isn’t my own. I get asked to do things or assigned them, and that messes up plans.
Life outside of work can also get in the way at times, and leave me less time to work on my goals.
I’m going to tackle goals a little differently this year. I’m making them quarterly, thinking that’s a more manageable time-frame where I can predict some level of commitment.
We’ll see.
Aims for 2022
For this year’s goals, I’ll try to work within the SMART system for goals. The T here, will be aiming for quarterly re-alignment of goals with life.
I’ll still rate myself monthly and then roll those up for a quarterly review. I’ll adjust the goals quarterly as my schedule reveals itself. In terms of ratings, I want to use a school-type rating of A-F, but with these views:
- A – exceeding expectations for goal achievement, making almost all goals
- B – above average for goal achievement, making much more than missing
- C – average goal achievement, making some, missing some
- D – below average, missing more than making
- F – completely missing most
While I was mostly an A student in high school, with a good set of goals, I ought to be a B-C student. Life will get in the way, things will change, and I shouldn’t expect that I can devote as much time across the next few months as I plan for during this slow time of year.