My Words
- Last Updated: 6 months ago
A few years ago, I came across a productivity approach from Chris Brogan and Mike Vardy where you choose three words to be guideposts to point you in the direction of what you want to focus on. They aren’t goals, rather they are intended to be flexible and easy way to align with decision making over the next twelve months. Projects and activities that hit on multiple words get a higher priority than those that only hit on one (or none) of the words.
My Words for 2022 - 2023
Intention
Explanation
“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives choice, not chance, determines your destiny.”
Aristotle
Health & Fitness
Explanation
“It is better to make many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.”
Proverb
Personal Connection
Explanation
“Communication is merely an exchange of information, but connection is an exchange of our humanity.”
Sean Stephenson
My Approach
Here are the rules that guided my approach in defining this year’s words:
- No more than three words / phrases so I can focus on what matters most.
- A “Year” starts in the end of June to coincide with my Birthday, but I’ll start working on My Words a few months in advance. This is because:
- Setting goals / resolutions on a calendar basis is arbitrary; we do it because it’s an easy starting point.
- I usually need to define goals and objectives for work in the first quarter. Defining My Words on an off-cycle helps my work and personal focus areas to inform one another.
- I’m kicking around the idea of publishing an “Annual Report” every year on my Birthday as a record of what I’ve done an accomplished in the last 12 months. Linking My Words to that report seems like a good idea.
- Link each word to a quote. I happen to like quotes and thinking about how they apply to my life. I think tying each Word to a quote helps reinforce the importance of the objective.
- Share My Words with everyone. A lot of research shows that people who document and share their goals are more likely to achieve those goals than people who don’t. It creates internal and external accountability and forces you to be more mindful of the goals.