![]() Nahdia said, "Are professional goals easier to set, and stick to, than personal goals? After all, aspirations within our careers are often built on the pre-existing foundations of our companies, and so provide us with a ready-made framework around which we can organize and arrange our ambitions. Only 11 percent of people surveyed set themselves personal goals since COVID began, compared with a still modest 13 percent before the pandemic. I'm going to relax more, spent time in nature, laugh more, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy weight.īut Nahdia's research shows that, generally speaking, we are not good at prioritizing genuinely "personal" goals. Similarly, when my husband is home again, I'll have clear boundaries around work so that I'm not "sort of" with him while working disjointedly, and feeling frustrated by both. Not half-working and half-visiting - I want to be with them and be fully present. When it's safe to do so, I'll visit my parents. "We've all had so much more time to reflect on where our priorities have lain in the past, and where they should actually lie."įor me, my priorities are spending quality time with the people I love and care about. But during COVID, this increased to an astonishing 75 percent. "Before the pandemic, 52 percent described themselves as having personal goals and a development plan. "And as we bid farewell to a tumultuous 2020 and look forward to a more stable 12 months, people are slowly but surely starting to exercise more thoughtful control over aspects of their lives. Nahdia said, "In the post-Christmas lull, it's normal to evaluate your personal and professional goals for the coming year. Nahdia Khan is Emerald Works' Head of Learning Community and Customer Voice, and she was my co-host for Friday's #MTtalk Twitter chat. Surveys conducted by Mind Tools' parent company, Emerald Works, show a huge increase in the number of people setting goals for 2021. So-called "Big Hairy Audacious Goals" have been be replaced with small, consistent, but nevertheless powerful actions.Īnd I'm not the only one reassessing the way I approach goal setting for 2021. My traditional goals - all centered around career, learning and financials - now include more personal aims, and more learning. Flexibility will help me bend and adapt." A New Approach for 2021 Now, my first goal for 2021 reads, "Be flexible in everything, all the time. I'm usually very flexible in my life and work, but that has never been reflected in my goals. I actually need different types of goals to reflect the likely ongoing unpredictability of 2021. Hours and hours of heart-deep "ugly crying."īut, sitting down with my coffee, I realized that I had set 2021 goals with a 2020 mindset. I, who had powered through similar events so strongly last year, fell apart spectacularly. But someone must have hit the "repeat 2020" button. I had set goals, planned work, and started 2021 with a clean slate and big ideas. Our plans were in tatters, our holiday once more just a mirage. My husband had returned to work in West Africa and, days away from coming home, we learned that a surge in COVID cases had closed the borders once more. Just as I was congratulating myself on the way I had handled our situation and life in lockdown in South Africa, the virus bit back - hard. Goal Setting in Lockdownīut the Coronavirus was not finished with us. ![]() It was only a few weeks ago that I had described the pain of an enforced six-month separation from my husband, then the joy of our reunion and our plans to celebrate with a dream holiday to replace the one we had to cancel. I was trying to pick up the pieces after yet another hammer blow from this remorseless pandemic. ![]() I was struggling with the realization that all my confidence that I had learned the lessons of 2020 had disappeared - along with any confidence that my goals for 2021 were now in any way relevant. One morning last week, I sat at home drinking coffee instead of being out for what I call my "sunrise run." I savored every mouthful, searching for any gratitude and positivity I could find. ![]()
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