Article

So many tools, so little time… Starting the year off right!!

Dec 31, 2023

Y’know… it’s crazy.  All the advice, different resources available, information coming at you… I choose to see it as all good intentions, but how do you find the right resource(s) to help you reflect in the way you want to as we enter this bold, new year?  I went through the 20, yes 20 page, Year Compass, and where it was good to help me dig into the different parts of my life, my hyper-achiever kicked in and the exercise became more about completing it than really getting something from it.

Next I went to the good old approach of “drawing it out”.  How would you capture your year last year and how would you paint the year ahead?  Now I don’t fancy myself as much of an artist, but I do get clarity from drawing a path and seeing what was on this path that made it straight or uphill or an easy cruise (by primarily using different colors and simple words).  And then … I did the same for 2024.  What obstacles can I imagine, what opportunities, what cross-roads / decisions might I face?

And then, just like Goldilocks, the next one I found was just right.  For me, and my hyper-rational side, I love a good 2×2 matrix.  This resource from the Harvard Business Review provided a way for me to look through 16 key areas of my life and rate them on a scale of 1-10 in terms of the level of importance for each and the level of satisfaction for each.  In this great article “Use Strategic Thinking to Create the Life you Want” by Rainer Strack, Susanne Dyrchs, Allison Bailey, there’s also a worksheet that helps you reconnect with your purpose and values and THEN decide what you want to do with it all. HBR_My_Life_Strategy_Worksheet.  Clarity, accountability, and identifying what support you might need / like along the way.  Not a bad way to start the new year!

If I can be of help in coaching you through this reflective period (and any bumps in the road along the way)… just reach out!  Happy New Year all!

Robin Yates

With decades of experience, I creatively partner with clients to design an exciting and manageable way forward. I’ve always wanted to help those doing important work discover (or rediscover) the joy of working towards a world-changing mission. Yates Advisory allows me to do just that as, first and foremost, an “Executive Enabler”!

Get in touch

Telephone

914-843-5002

Email

robin@yatesadvisory.com