Now that my children are getting to be of an age where we can start to do more active things outdoors, we have started to introduce them to all kinds of new experiences. While it is a learning curve for us as well, trying to remember the limitations that we started out with and how to address those, I have come up with a series of “Adventures” for us to embark upon. These adventures are geared towards sparking interest and love for the natural world around us and seeking out knowledge and experiences that can’t be found in the massive array of digital experience channels that many people get sucked into.
This series will outline some of the different adventures that we have taken and are planning to take throughout the year. After all, what better inspiration to fuel the development of a creative mind to see the wonders that nature has in abundance? Join us as we take this journey and share with us the adventures that you also are exploring.
Goals are now set, we are getting ready to kick this year off in style and it is time to start working towards those first set of milestone targets. Ringing in the new year is always fun and I for one can say I don’t always make it to midnight. Still, the changing of the year is a time to celebrate both what has passed and what opportunities lay ahead.
Measuring Change
As a Developer, I have developed a fondness for data in all of its forms, from tracking the changes made, to tracking how far we have come on any and all aspects of a project. As an artist, I tend to leave that all by the wayside and try to take a “devil may care” attitude to my creative endeavors. This year I am changing that for two reasons:
I want to actually make measurable progress and show visible improvement in my creative pursuits.
I want to stop letting life and other things consume all of the free time I have that can be used to further number 1.
When I was defining the set of Goals that I wanted to work towards this year, I paid particular attention to how to measure the progress and what the end state of that goal would look like for 2023. As a byproduct of that focus, the goals that I have set are more concrete in definition and criteria for success, two things that have been very vague in the past, and I have worked to bring them closer to specifics.
Several of the Metrics I have settled on are:
Number of Occurrences during a set time period
Completion of a project during a set duration
Specific quantitative targets each quarter
Now, I know that seems vague and it can be when looking at it out of Context, which is why I am setting up a Goal Tracking page to help me keep track of each of the targets on my 2023 List.
Tracking Goal Progress
Tracking Goals Progress
As referenced above, progress will be posted on the Goal Tracking page and updated weekly or monthly as time allows. I have already set up a reminder to complete this task along with my regular review routines.
Why spend all of this effort to manage your goals?
I believe that for progress to be made, you need to know where you stand. Having a way to see where each of your efforts is at a given moment is extremely helpful in this regard. When I am unsure of where I need to prioritize my efforts, time, and energy I can look back here and see what needs to be addressed next.
Why am I putting it out on a public site?
One word, Accountability. While I am confident in my ability to make progress, adding the external layer of people that can be watching as well as positive pressure on the process makes it all more real to me.
Using Instagram and Etsy to get more content and products out there is already in the works so what is the harm in sharing more?
What success looks like…
It is easy to say that seeing all of my goals completed would be a measure of success, however, that seems too simplistic of a solution. I would consider myself successful in 2023 if I have made measurable progress toward my goals and see the requisite progress in my abilities and skills. I would expect that means that a significant number of the goals that are laid out would be completed, but that I would also be adjusting the list throughout the year to add more and adjust the vectors of the ones in flight to be conducive to my long-term plans.
The best place for me to be in a year is in a better position than I currently am. What am I willing to do and sacrifice to get there will be the deciding factor on where this leg of my journey will end up.
