85 - Elements for executing the things
Crucial elements for successful execution
I’ve always been one of those “New Year” people. For me, a new year feels like hope, like a new opportunity to go again. I don’t necessarily think that the newness of the year makes me a new person, I just like the idea of newness and like to use it as an opportunity to take stock of things and plan how to navigate the rest of the year.
In the past, I used to write down a list of New Year’s resolutions which I would never look at till the end of the year and then be surprised and disappointed to find that I hadn’t achieved any of them. I now understand that getting things done requires some degree of planning and a lot of execution and this has helped me change my approach.
I still like to outline things I would like to achieve at the start of the year. Once upon a time, I was a vision boarding girlie, but in the past few years, I’ve been using YearCompass as my planning guide. I also keep a list on my phone of things I would like to do/work on. It is always interesting to see what things I have managed to complete or not complete and why I was or wasn’t able to complete them.
A couple of weeks ago, I was away from my usual gym and at the end of my workout, I was feeling pumped and decided to try a pull-up. One pull-up. Somehow, I found myself doing not just one, but FIVE pull-ups. I was so excited that I set up my phone to record myself and I was able to repeat another FIVE pull-ups. Let’s just say I was very excited, so excited that I am tempted to re-type this paragraph in all caps.
I’ve always considered having the ability to pull yourself up as a significant indicator of strength and I had put down-get better at pull-ups - on my list 3 years ago but didn’t really do anything about it for some time. Last year, I started doing assisted pull-ups once a week on back and biceps days. Every week, 10 reps x 5 sets, different grips, all assisted. I hadn’t even considered trying an unassisted one and didn’t expect that I’d be able to do one, much less 10.
This little incident was the highlight of my week and I thought it would be a good intro to sharing some tips on how to work towards desired goals. I also found a helpful framework in the book I’m currently reading - The 12 Week Year. The premise of the book is to increase the urgency to execute plans by redefining your “year” as 12 weeks. Not very realistic in my opinion but the book has a lot of valuable insights, including a list of elements which are considered crucial to successful execution.
Key elements to the 12 week year
Vision - Start with a clear vision of what it is you want to achieve and why. A lot of times when this word is used in self-help books, it alludes to having serious and lofty aspirations, which is not always the case for some of us.
As one who has many vanity-oriented goals, my vision can simply be the fact that I want to be able to drop into a full split the next time I’m on the road for carnival.
Your vision can be whatever it is you want for yourself, as long as it is important enough to you and you are able to keep that in mind when things get hard.
Planning - Now that you have a vision, the next step is to plan towards making that vision a reality. In planning, it is important to also be realistic. Consider your current capabilities/circumstances/responsibilities when making a plan. There’s no point in making a plan that you will not be able to follow. I always advise starting small. Think of the smallest thing you can do consistently to get you closer to your goal. Using my split in de middle dream as an example again, it is the reason I started #yogasundays 3 years ago and if the reports from my last dancefloor performance are to be believed, I’m much closer to my goal than I realised.
With planning, it also helps to write down your plan and keep it somewhere you can refer to easily. I have taken to making a list at the beginning of every week. I don’t always get to tick off all the items on my list and tend to have some carryovers every week, but the act of repeatedly writing them down helps increase my chances of eventually getting them done.
Measurement - In the book, the author talks about measuring both lead and lag indicators as this will provide feedback on what progress has been made and help with making any necessary changes.
Leading and lagging indicators are two types of measurements used when assessing performance in a business or organisation. A leading indicator is a predictive measurement, for example; the percentage of people wearing hard hats on a building site is a leading safety indicator. A lagging indicator is an output measurement, for example; the number of accidents on a building site is a lagging safety indicator. The difference between the two is a leading indicator can influence change and a lagging indicator can only record what has happened. - intrafocus.com
This makes sense and sounds like a great idea. Personally, I focus more on my lead indicators. I just make sure that I am showing up consistently and building my habits and expect that someday the results will follow. It also helps that I no longer give myself set time frames to achieve most things. I am usually satisfied with the knowledge that I am putting in the required work because sometimes that matters even more than the desired result.
I started giving myself a gold star on my calendar for every #yogasunday and I am pleased to report that I have not missed a single week in 2 years. While the full split has still not happened, my feet can now touch the ground in downward dog so I know I am making progress.
Time use - Time is such a finite resource and yet the most squandered one. How we use our time is crucial, yet it is so easy to lose time when it hasn’t been properly apportioned.
I’ll admit that this is one I still struggle with. I’m very good at distracting myself with Twitter and Instagram. Having identified my main distractors, I am taking small measures to take back my time. I deleted the Twitter app from my phone many years ago then proceeded to log in on my mobile browser so that did not help too much, but is still an improvement from when I had Tweetdeck permanently open on my laptop. I have now logged out of Twitter on my mobile browser and shall hope for the best but I’m also not making any promises.
In the book, the author suggests assigning blocks of time for different things, but I’m not on that level yet and honestly do not think life is that serious.
Accountability - In the book, accountability is defined as ownership. “A willingness to own actions and results, regardless of the circumstances.” I like this definition of accountability. When it comes to personal goals, there’s no one but ourselves to check in or make sure that we are following through on the plans we have made. Many times there are no major consequences so it is easy to fall off unless you hold yourself to account.
I started posting a weekly #yogasunday photo on my Instagram page as part of my own accountability process but the fact is that nobody will call me out if I miss one or five. I’m the only one who can hold myself accountable for the goal I set for myself.
The ability to take ownership of your actions and results is essential if you’re going to achieve anything for yourself. Having an accountability partner can also be helpful.
Commitment - This is similar to accountability. If you’re serious about your vision, then it is necessary to commit to the actions that will get you there. Things will not always be easy. There will be times when you just don’t feel like doing that thing and it is your commitment that will help you push past some of the barriers you might face.
The more you show up, the stronger your commitment muscle becomes and over time, you’re less likely to accept excuses you’d have made to yourself in the past. I recently had to improvise with a bedsheet over a cardboard box for my #yogasunday because I didn’t have a mat available and that just didn’t feel like enough of an excuse not to get it done.
Commitment also builds character and every time you show up for yourself, you’re casting a vote for the person you want to become.
As always, my main take away is that you should figure out what works for you and do just that. Not everything will work for everyone and that’s okay. I like to share what has worked for me in the hopes that it might be helpful to someone but none of this is law.
I think it is also important to give yourself grace and a healthy dose of realism when doing the things. We sometimes measure the wrong things or do not give ourselves a realistic time frame to achieve the things we set out to and then beat ourselves up for it. Remember that somethings will take time, and thats’s okay too.
In the words of one of my favorite creators, Progress and Perfection can not share the same seat.
This week I read
Evil Eye by Etaf Rum - This is a story about a young Palestinian American woman who is navigating life in America while dealing with marriage and motherhood compounded by mental illness caused by intergenerational trauma and it was a very heavy book. It didn’t help that the author harped on about the suffering quite a bit.
It does remind you how much women have to go through, even the privileged ones amongst us. How important mental health is and how trauma can literally be genetically transmitted. It was not a happy read.
The 12 Week Year - I’m still reading this one and while I have no intention to define a 12 week period as my year, it is a good reminder of the important basics. There are eight elements in the book but I only picked the ones that resonated with me. I think the 12 week thing might be better applied towards organizational goals than personal ones but all of the elements can still be applied in our personal lives.
The book is longer than it needs to be and does become repetitive at some point but I’d say still worth reading.
This week I listened to
Episode #179 of The Knowledge Project where Shane and Dr Gio Valiante talked about developing Discipline and Resilience. Valiante is a performance coach for many top athletes and it was interesting to hear his views on how consistent practice measures up against raw talent. He also shared his thoughts on ways to gain advantage and how we can develop disciple and resilience in work and life. Very insightful conversation as always.
I’ve been very gentle with myself and easing myself into the new year. I’m taking my high dose vitamin D and feeling a little better. I’m sleeping better so I think I’m less irritable. I still have intermittent crying episodes, more on some days than others. The good thing about sharing is that none of my friends are too alarmed when I randomly start weeping.
Super grateful to everyone who checked in on me. I promise I’m better.
I do hope the year has started off on a good note for you and you have some nice things to look forward to this year.
Here’s wishing you a year of executing the things that bring you closer to the life of your dreams.
Chioma.
Never heard of the YearCompass! Downloading it now, a lovely read as always!