This is not a toxic productivity episode!
I just realized that March is almost over, which means that the first quarter of the year is almost over and it might be a good time to take stock of our goals and try to squeeze a few things in before April starts.
So, whether you have personal professional goals, I want to take you through a quick framework for redefining and reassessing your goals to see if they’re really what you want to be doing. A lot has changed since January 1st (personally, politically, existentially), so your objectives and ambitions might have already changed.
I’m going to use my winter project goals from my Winter Wishlist post as examples of how to apply this framework to real life.
I’ve also made a template using my framework for you to print out. It took me way too long to make it in Canva lol. I’m an Adobe girl by trade and it’s been way too long since I’ve designed printables, but I refuse to use AI, so it was time well spent. Anyway! The link is below!
Framework!
* Status - Where are we in the process? Have you started? Are you almost done
* Figure out how much time it will take to fully complete this project.
* ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 = Totally forgot about it - not even started
* ● ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 = You wrote down some ideas, but still didn’t start
* ● ● ● 𖧋 𖧋 = You have a plan and supplies and started in earnest
* ● ● ● ● 𖧋 = You are well on your way and have a few steps left
* ● ● ● ● ● = Almost done, just needs finishing touches
* Effort - How difficult is this project? Do you need supplies or specialized equipment? Will you have to ask for help or be dependent on others?
* Use a scale of one to five stars how hard will this be to achieve?
* ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ = Easy peasy - done in minutes
* ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ = Not too bad - done in hours
* ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ = Ok, this is doable - done in a few days
* ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ = Good gracious - done in a few weeks
* ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ = Holy cow - done in a few months
* Value - (For work related goals) How much money will this project bring in, potentially? Is it a one-time fee, recurring revenue, what are your expenses?
* Figure out, using past data, how much you stand to make from this project.
* $ $ $ $ $ = Very low ticket - under $5 each / per sale
* $ $ $ $ $ = Giftable pricing - around $10 - 20
* $ $ $ $ $ = Same as your average order value-ish
* $ $ $ $ $ = One of the higher priced products in your shop
* $ $ $ $ $ = Life changing money
* Joy - How much joy does this project bring you? Do you love the process or the end result? Both? Did it turn out to be soul sucking?
* Figure out if this is something you even like to do. Your own delight is worth more than you think.
* ♥︎ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ = Thought you’d love it, not so much
* ♥︎ ♥︎ ♡ ♡ ♡ = It’s ok, but I’d rather do something else
* ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♡ ♡ = This is really fun and I do it over and over
* ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♡ = This rules and I want to make it my personality
* ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ = I could do this for the rest of my life and be so happy
* Plan - Now that you have a general idea about where your project stands, how much effort it will take, how much it will make you (if you’re doing it for work) and how much you like doing it, let’s decipher the little graphs.
* Status - Let’s only work on things that are 3 circles or more. The other projects can be moved to next quarter.
* Effort - Since we just have two or three weeks left in the quarter, let’s aim for projects that have less than 3 stars. We’re looking for days, not weeks if we’re talking multiple projects. Be realistic!
* Value - I want you to concentrate on the high status, low effort projects that will bring you between 2 - 4 monies. And put them in order of the most you can make for the time spent.
* Joy - I don’t want this to be an afterthought! Right now, the projects with less than 3 hearts are automatically moved and/or eliminated completely! Doing things you hate? In this economy? No ma’am.
Narrowing down: If you still have a lot of projects on your list, let’s make the joy the priority and order them by happiness. You can always move things to next quarter. It’s not that they’ll never get done. They just won’t get done right now.
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My Personal Projects!
* The Dining Room Remodel
* Status: ● ● ● 𖧋 𖧋
* Effort: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
* Joy: ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
* Plan: I have a deadline for this, so I’m planning on making steady progress here. This is #3 because I am dependent on help from Andy and electricians for our lighting.
* Attempt to Paint Frames
* Status: ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋
* Effort: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
* Joy: ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
* Plan: This one has the lowest effort and a high reward, so this is getting started this week. This project is #1 on the list!
* Hang Photos and Art EVERYWHERE
* Status: ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋
* Effort: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
* Joy: ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
* Plan: This one is going to bring a lot of joy, but I’m dependent on the thrift gods for it. She’s going to be #4.
* Basement & Garage Organizing
* Status: ● ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋
* Effort: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
* Joy: ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♡ ♡
* Plan: If I have concentrated time, I can absolutely knockout the garage in a weekend and the basement in a full week. But, these are lower priority because they are very low traffic areas, so I’m going to put this last at #5.
* Start Painting My Office
* Status: ● 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋 𖧋
* Effort: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
* Joy: ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎
* Plan: This is another deadline project, so just like the dining room, we’re shooting for slow and steady progress. I’m going to say this is my #2 priority.
I hope this was helpful and not super confusing. Once you start breaking down projects and get really honest with your timing and abilities and willingness to ask for help, it’ll get easier!
♡ Becky
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