Measuring data can help you determine whether you’re reaching goals that you’ve set for yourself or your organization.
No kidding, right?
Then why have I never applied that to my own goal-setting for the new year? Honestly, I could Xerox (or if you prefer, Save As or Command C) my goals from one year to the next because they were usually the same ones, over and over.
I’m all for “If at first you don’t succeed….” but this was ridiculous.
This Penelope Trunk blog post – The secret for keeping a New Year’s resolution: KPIs – is what is different about my own resolutions this year.
I’m going to set and then follow metrics for my resolutions, just as I advise and train tourism/hospitality clients to do with their social media. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is simply a fancy way to say metrics.
** Resolution One: higher level of physical fitness. The KPI or metric I’ll use? The number of days per month that I mark some sort of physical activity completed on our kitchen calendar. I’m making it stupid easy for myself so I’ll quit over-thinking.
Goal: 21 days marked at a minimum
** Resolution Two: better grip on finances and follow our own budget more closely. KPI for this is how many times during the year that we still have a decent amount of money left in our checking accounts the day before payday (actually my husband’s payday – mine is a US Navy retiree pension.) I totally swiped this from Penelope’s post because it was so sensible and clear, and I’m getting quite tired of the wild swings in income from the entrepreneurial life.
Goal: A decent amount of money in the bank the day before payday, twice a month. A “decent amount” is defined as enough for a small grocery run.
** Resolution Three: Get going writing my book, The Elastic Waist Entrepreneur. KPI to track is the number of words written per week, up to about 60,000 words, which is reasonable for a nonfiction book.
Goal: 2000 words written per week at a rate of 500 words/day, writing 4 days a week, with one day for organizational/outlining work and trying not to work weekends.
Would KPIs work for your New Year’s resolutions? Would they make 2014 the year you actually achieve the goals you’ve set?
Sound off down in the Comments!
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