New Year, New Goals, New Frames
What with the new year, I thought it befitting to write an entry about new year’s resolutions. I have never really been the type of person to come up with goals for the new year. Goals, in general, I absolutely have them. For some reason, though, I always viewed a new year’s goal to be a requirement; a bit contrived; a duty you were prompted to take on throughout early life in school to develop good habits; an assignment, regardless of its effect on quality of life.
When I set a goal, it’s because I have been moved in some way. I have seen something that leaves me feeling prompted to make a difference in my own life to avoid ever getting close to what I had just witnessed. Like seeing a car accident and immediately deciding: I never want to be in that situation. I am now a hyper-vigilant driver. My own personal neglect on the road will never be the reason for a car accident. Or, peer-reviewing a student’s critical essay that was written the night before it was due. You then decide that you will always spend way more time than necessary on any task to reduce the risk of sounding like you don’t know what you’re talking about/doing. The results of procrastination.
I read an article that was passed on to me from a TeamSoft consultant that focused on procrastination and how to go about framing the goals we set for ourselves. The article is just the thing you want in front of you when you’re thinking you, yourself, are a procrastinator. We all have our moments (well, about 80% of us) and that is just the sentiment in this article. Click below to read it:
“[Only about] 20% of us are actually chronic procrastinators (and this figure holds world-wide). The rest of us, simply have moments when we struggle to take action. With guidance and some measure of awareness we can move through the problem.” –Dr. Marla G.
I like this quote, not because it allows you to think about yourself as a member of “the rest of us,” but because it holds the opportunity for a goal. By including yourself in the larger 80% of people who struggle to take action, you are still someone who struggles to take action every so often. Instead of settling with being a part of that statistic, I would like to be someone who knows exactly how to take action no matter the task. Someone who understands that the incentive of being a “get it done” kind of person is worth it enough. Then again, that’s just how I’m framing it.
