Possibly because my Birthday is this month, or possibly because there’s always a back to school feeling in the air this time of year, I always feel like September is the real New Year for me. It’s a time when I review and refocus, as well as make plans and resolutions. This time last year I attended a Dare, Dream, Do Circle put on by Whitney Johnson, based on concepts from her book on how to set out on a path of personal disruption to seek our dreams. This past week I met (via conf call) with some of the other alumnae of the session, to re-look at where we are in realizing our dreams and whether we can support each other to continuing along the path.
It was an interesting call for me. We each took some time to tell the others what we’ve been up to with the evolution of our personal and professional dreams. For me it’s been a big year, with starting my consulting company and online resource platform as well as preparing to launch an online store. I’ve accomplished a lot, though it has been an innovative circuitous route and is still evolving. Meeting with the other members of our circle and having to verbalize my progress to others started a process of introspection. How am I doing? Would it help me if I found better ways to track my progress?
So often we keep or demand score cards on the performance of our subordinates or delegates. Have we thought of doing the same for ourselves? If we don’t have a board or investors to report to – who measures us? If we have these, do they measure more than tracking bottom line profitability numbers? What are our other measurements of success?
I actually do have a running idea of how I am doing, though it tends to be one of the plates I keep spinning in the air in my usually full life. At times, I’ve looked at ways to make it more concrete. I have at times kept a success journal for inspiration. And I definitely keep dashboard reports on the progress of my key projects. There is something real about actually writing things down and keeping a record of my progress on improving my personal learning and effectiveness.
So, I’ve decided that one of my resolutions or commitments for personal year starting Q4 2013 is to find a way to keep a scorecard that measures my definition of personal and professional success. Something that is easy to keep up with and visually motivating. Please share any thoughts you have on what you do in order to track and measure your personal success. I’m interesting in hearing other people’s experiences.
