Issue #156: Listamaphobe
Jan 4, 2008
ListamaphobeJim Hill, RightBrain/Co-FounderHere we are four days into 2008. How are those New Years resolutions holding up? Didn’t make any? Already forgotten? Too soon? Come on, it’s the season of the list! Best of, Worst of, Gift Lists, Wish Lists and Resolutions. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a list (#3 - PETA’s Top 10 Animal Cruelty Phrases “Officer, I swear the cat was already dead when I swung it”). We’ve (hopefully) cleared the Gift and Wish lists by now, so let’s focus on New Years resolutions. They can be a cultural hangup, maybe even an obsession. Of course I need to lose weight, exercise more, procastinate less, ad nauseum ad infinitum. Heck, the list of popular New Years’s Resolutions looks like a list of the most popular scammer ads on Craig’s List. Looking at that list I do see some common threads. Dissatisfaction with current circumstances, and ill-defined goal statements. In fact. they all look pretty vague to me. Vague is wishy-washy and wishy-washy lacks commitment. Are you setting yourself up for failure with a wish-washy list? You betcha. I can relate. I’m a marginal list maker at best, but I have to ask myself why? When I actually make a list I know that I greatly improve my chance of accomplishing the task. I’d better sharpen a pencil and find some paper. (Make those steps 1 and 2 on my list and I’m already a winner!). But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves with our 2008 list. Let’s take a few minutes to look at our 2007 accomplishments. Take a few minutes to write down the things you did last year. If you made a list for 2007 find it. If not, it may help if you start with some categories (sweet - another list!). For example my categories look something like this:
Yours doesn’t have to look like mine but just making this list might reveal some priorities for you. Now add in your accomplishments and review them. Take some time with this exercise and dig deep. 2007 had a lot in it, and I bet you did a lot of great things even if they don’t just pop into your head at a moments notice. Once you have your “Accomplist” in hand it’s time to look ahead to 2008. Do you want to build on last year’s efforts? Need to revisit some areas that didn’t go well. Enter the New Year’s Resolution list. But make them specific (I swear it’ll help). Which statement has a better chance for success in your mind? Lose weight or Lose 20 pounds by July 1, 2008. I’m sure we all agree that the second versions are much more actionable. I’ll share one of my quirkier goals from last year that didn’t get done, and how I’m going to improve it for 2008. 2007: Sell a cartoon In 2007 I identified a desire, but I didn’t create a plan. Consequently, it didn’t get done. I have some sketches, some written notes but didn’t sell anything. A stack of SASE’s taunts me from the other side of my studio. Oh who am I kidding? I didn’t even prepare the SASE’s. Now, here we are in 2008 and instead of caving in, I’m throwing down my own personal gauntlet (well, I would if it wasn’t attached by a string to my other gauntlet). 50 cartoons sounds like a lot right now, but I have a plan. I’m going to break it down month-by-month and that gives me a target of 4 cartoons a month. That’s totally doable but still leaves a lot to planning and execution. And that’s OK, because as I’m discovering, lists lead to more lists. And I’m learning to love the list. Related LinksPopular New Year's Resolutions- Put me down for a few of those. What Does Your To-Do List Say About You? - Listen to Talk of the Nation's profile of listmakers. To-Do List Blog - Sasha Cagen's blog on the joy of lists. Ta-da Lists - Free online list making tool. A personal favorite of mine. Celebrity Resolutions - I can totally relate to Will Ferrel's resoultion. I hope my wfe will uderstand. Warning - not safe for work (language) Quote of the Week"Where there is a will there is a way," is an old and true saying. He who resolves upon doing a thing, by that very resolution often scales the barriers to it, and secures its achievement. To think we are able, is almost to be so - to determine upon attainment is frequently attainment itself. |
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Coaching Quickie: ListamaphobeAre you a glazomaniac?Follow the link above to vote for your response. While you're there lend us your feedback, or share some goals with fellow readers. Check back next week for results! Last Week's ResultsCoaching Quickie: Bumps in the Road If you missed it, you can read last week's newsletter online here. |
