Sorta, kinda goals
By Rob Coles
Resolutions and goals - big and hairy, SMART or otherwise didn’t work for me. I’m using “25 for 2025” instead.
It’s that time of the year again. The internet is full of annual reviews, resolutions, goal setting and other serious-looking planning by people who seem to have their life way more together than me. I have tried and failed at resolutions, SMART goals, Big Hairy Audacious Goals and most of the other methods I’ve tried. What has stuck, and I am only semi-failing at, is the idea of xx for 20xx (I started with 19 for 2019) - picking a matching number of things to do in the year. These can be big or small, personal or business-related. Some would count as goals but I don’t think of them that way. They are things I want to do, improve or learn. Some are more “Tiny experiments” than goals.
This was inspired by listening to the “Happier” podcast by Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft. The episode where they discus their 24 for 2024 lists is here . Lately also by Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s “Tiny experiments” book.
I have been doing this since 2019 and it has been the most successful method I have tried. I have managed to complete, or at least do something towards the majority of the items on the list each year. I have also added some items to the list that I hadn’t thought of at the start of the year. Having (and regularly reviewing) the list has helped me make progress.
Some of the entries on my list are repeated from previous years and some are new. The list isn’t set in stone, and I don’t beat myself up if I don’t complete everything. It is an intention, not a resolution.
My 25 for 2025 list
| No | What | Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annual Review 2024 | 1 |
| 2 | Refresh ‘when we die’ folder | 1 |
| 3 | Blog - 6 articles | 1* |
| 4 | Transition Scheduled Jobs | 2* |
| 5 | Read 40 books in 2025 | * |
| 6 | Edit Zipline videos GoPro | 2 |
| 7 | Learn Kotlin | 3 |
| 8 | Obsidian share-to Android app | 3 |
| 9 | Give blood at least 3 times | * |
| 10 | Advanced Health Directive AHD | 3 |
| 11 | Complaint free world | 1,4 |
| 12 | 6 Songs for the year | * |
| 13 | Justin Courses | * |
| 14 | Campfire | * |
| 15 | Positive Grid Spark 40 | 2 |
| 16 | Jason’s Ukulele book | * |
| 17 | Guitar Pro | 2 |
| 18 | Manually enter line a day to Obsidian | * |
| 19 | Ultimate Guitar - use sub | * |
| 20 | Retirement | 1 |
| 21 | Coffee machine serviced or replaced | 1 |
| 22 | Quarterly Quests | 1* |
| 23 | Snake Necked Turtle SOSNT | 4 |
| 24 | Noongar course | 2* |
| 25 | Tracking progress | 1 |
As you can see, some of these are relatively quick and easy, some are annual and some are ongoing. I try to split these up across quarters and they are included in my quarterly planning (see 22, Quarterly quests) so if something is planned for a quarter, or for all quarters (indicated by an asterisk) this is pulled into my quarterly planning process.
Each of these entries has a corresponding note, built with a template that contains:
- What
- Why
- Pre-requisites
- Tactics
- Supporting
- Tracking
- Definition of Done
I generally track progress in the note itself, as a sort of internal accountability, and in my perioric notes:
I have an monthly reminder to look at the 25 for 2025 note, and a printed version in the office.
This approach has worked well for me. I encourage you to give it a go!
Resources:
Gretchen Rubin design your year 2025
Image based on image from vecteezy.com