January 2024 Planning Tips: Projects, Not Resolutions
Resolutions don't get done, projects do
Most of us start the year with renewed energy and renewed excitement to “get after” our New Year’s resolutions, goals, and projects — especially if we really took recovery time seriously during the holidays.
Our January planning tips 👇 center on the idea that resolutions don’t get done, projects do. It’s a riff on a quote from Start Finishing, “We don’t do ideas; we do projects.”
For most of us, resolutions are just a fancy word for ideas, wishes, or aspirations. The root of the word is “resolve,” as in “I resolve to do xyz.” But for a lot of us, resolutions don’t carry the weight of a promise to ourselves. And so by February, many of those shiny January 1 resolutions (statistics say up to 80%) don’t survive the turning of the calendar.
Projects, on the other hand, are where the rubber meets the road and where we really gain traction on our goals. Projects are the container for perspiration and inspiration.
Download your free January weekly planners and get started turning your resolutions into doable, finishable projects.
January Planning Tips
1. Think projects, not resolutions. There’s a reason most resolutions die before the end of January. Resolutions are often nebulous (”I want to lose weight”) and more goal-oriented than process-oriented. Instead, make your resolution a project.
Start with a SMART goal that makes clear what you want to do and by when (”I intend to lose 20 pounds by March 31”). Note, too, the change from the weaker verb “want” to the stronger one, “intend.” “Resolve,” above, is another strong verb.
Break down that bigger goal into smaller chunks: “I intend to lose an average of two pounds per week.” 20 pounds can seem daunting, but two? That’s doable!
And then add in the How: “I intend to lose an average of two pounds per week BY: tracking my caloric intake every day to assure a daily 500-calorie deficit, walking 10,000 steps every day, and lifting weights three times a week.”
2. Focus on leading indicators, not lagging indicators. These ideas come from the business world but apply to personal and creative projects, too.
Leading indicators are the actions you take; those things you can control.
Lagging indicators are the results of the actions (which you generally can’t control).
So, for the weight-loss project above, don’t just track your weight on the scale. Instead, track your progress and consistency on each of those individual tasks/habits you articulated — the activities within your control. Did you track your calories? Did you walk today? Did you lift weights three times this week?
Other factors may alter the results (you may not lose 2 pounds every week, and you may not ultimately lose the 20 pounds by March 31), but if you focus on what you can control — the process, your actions, your consistency — it’s more likely you’ll hit your goal than if you obsess about the end result: the number on the scale.
3. Identify people who can help you finish your project. Remember that most ambitious projects don’t get finished by the efforts of just one person. If you’re planning to achieve more than a moderate success on your project, you’ll need a success pack to help you. What parts of your project can you turn from “how” problems into “who” solutions?
4. Plan your victory lap at the beginning. When you finish your project and achieve your goal, what are you going to do to celebrate? What victory lap will be most motivating for you to stick with your project despite the inevitable setbacks (because you will have them; we all do) and help you cross the finish line?
These tips apply to any type of resolution-becomes-project: personal, work, creative, household, family, volunteer, whatever.
For more tips and strategies on using project frameworks to do more of your best work (whatever that means to you), check out my award-winning book, Start Finishing, and its companion workbook, the Start Finishing Field Guide.
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And if you’d like even more support kickstarting your year, upgrade your subscription to Pro and get access to our first (of four) 2024 Quarterly Planning sessions on January 24, 2024, 11am PST.
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