Full Contact Christianity

One year dies; another is born. It’s a good time to reflect and set some new goals.

Since this is going to be one of those New Year’s posts on goal-setting, I want to acknowledge at the outset that goal-setting doesn’t always make sense. Real life doesn’t always lend itself to the strategic long view; I’ve had a few years where my life was so upside-down that surviving from one week to the next was all I could do. I know some of you are in that situation too. If it doesn’t make sense to set goals for the year, may God bless and guard you. Keep being obedient in the moment, and trust that in so doing, you’re following God’s strategy, and doing better than you could know.

Now, for the rest of you who can afford a moment’s reflection, let’s reflect a bit.

Back when I was a full-time seminary prof many years ago, I found myself regularly needing books that I just couldn’t afford on my meager salary. So I put the books I really needed to own on my Amazon wish list and would check it once a week to see if there was a bargain used copy available. Every once in a while, there would be, and I’d snap it up. (I gotta tell you, when there’s a book I really needed for research, couldn’t find in the library, cost $80 new if it could be had at all, and I can grab it for $10? That’s a thrill!) Over time, I noticed that a book didn’t stay on my wish list for more than a year or two; either I’d find it on one of my weekly forays, or I’d find that I didn’t need it after all.

Meanwhile, I also noticed that I’d gone my entire life without successfully keeping even one New Year’s Resolution.

The juxtaposition of those two facts suggested to me that I can actually achieve a goal, but there was something about the “New Year’s Resolution” scheme that just didn’t work for me. So I decided to take the scheme that was working and apply it to my goals, and just like that, “Amazon Wish List” goal-setting was born.

That first year, I set 8 goals spread across multiple domains of my life (body, spirit, and career, if I remember right). I didn’t do any strategizing about how I’d achieve them–no SMART workup, no scheduling, no nothing. I just did the same thing I did with my Amazon wish list: review the list once a week. Each week, I gave myself a simple yes/no grade on each goal. If I’d made progress toward that goal that week, it got a yes; no progress got a no. I resolved that I wasn’t going to beat myself up over a no, any more than I would beat myself up over a book on my wish list that I couldn’t get a good price on. I just forced myself to notice: am I progressing or not?

With nothing but a 3-minute weekly review, I hit 5 of 8 goals that year. For those of you who are keeping track, that’s 5 more goals than I’d ever gotten making a New Year’s resolution. It was worth doing again the next year, so I did.

I’ve refined it somewhat over the years, but I still use the same basic approach, and it still pays off handsomely. Here are some of the refinements I’ve found helpful:

• I’ve tweaked the categories a bit. Current categories are body, spirit, relationships, and calling.
• I generally allow myself 8-12 goals. More is too much to keep in mind. I do permit subcategories where they make sense (e.g., a goal to “go deeper in my friendships” will have subcategories for each person/couple I intend to go deeper with).
• While my weekly scoring is still a simple yes/no, I’ve moved to a different scoring system when I’m reviewing the whole year. Final grading options are 1 for an achieved goal, 0 for a failure to achieve the goal, and .5 if I didn’t hit the mark but made solid progress (= better than halfway there; no rounding up!) This year’s score is 12/20. (I don’t have 20 main goals, but there are subcategories.)
• I take the time to look for patterns in my year in review. For example, I’ve never missed a reading goal, so I know my “3 minute magic” approach to goalsetting works for me in reading (also for upskilling/continuing ed., relational goals, and certain types of calling goals). It does not work (at least not consistently, for me) in workout or major writing goals; those have to get a spot on the calendar, or they don’t happen.

That bit about looking for patterns, especially in failed goals, helps set the next year’s goals. Nearly every failure on this year’s list is either due to a too-distracted lifestyle or to a lack of specific, scheduled time to achieve the goal. That tells me that eliminating distractions and clearing dedicated time for major tasks are going to be high priorities in the coming year.

I’m still praying and thinking, but I expect to have a solid list of goals by the end of the week. What about you? What are the big pieces in your life? Marriage? Parenting? Career? Education? Fitness? Prayerfully and thoughtfully, set some goals in each area and review them once a week. See what God will give you!