Set your 15 goals for 2021 while its still cold !

I have spent my 2021 new year eve in Hakuba- Japan which is around 3 hours’ drive towards north-west from Tokyo. A cold enough city for me to wear at least 4 layers while going out to sight the marvelous scenery. Contemplating into the fascinating scenes around, has inspired me to plan closing 2021 in style after the tragic year we all have undergone. I want to make 2021 a memorable year for me.

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. " Benjamin Franklin

Setting the new year resolutions is inevitable success pillar for everyone. Well, to put it another way, actually after I have set my targets for 2021, I started to stare at people around me and wonder how they can live without having their goals set!

I have followed the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) system with an additional development I have introduced. To run ideas into actions, The OKR system is followed by giant companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and LinkedIn. The system is thoroughly explained by John Doerr in his book, Measure What Matters. But in this article I am shedding the light on the practical implementation of the OKRs into the personal goals not the corporate goals. I have performed below 7 steps to conclude my OKRs.

1- Set inspirational and memorable 3 Objectives. I am pursuing, Career, Personality and family.

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." Albert Einstein

2- Break down each objective into actionable 5 Key Results to achieve each objective. That led to my 15 KRs which I will go through in details below. 

"If it does not have a number, it is not a Key Result." Marissa Mayer

3- Design a Numerical Target for each KR. The critical skill in setting your KRs, is the ability to interpret them into measurable objects. As example, don`t set KR as "I will read books". Instead, "I will read 5 books". The target must be realistic and with additional ~30% to challenge yourself and stretch your limits. As example, I know that I will be able to read 3 books only, however I am targeting 5 in order to spend more effort and get the best out of myself. At the end it is good to read the 3 books, but it will be awesome if I reach 5.

4- Set x Points for each KR. So, if I will read the 5 books, I will score 80 points, which is 16 points for each book I read.

Totally I have set 1000 points and distributed to each KR based on the priority I would like to give. I would like to achieve 700 points as minimum.

5- Determine the week level Timelines for each KR during the year. As Parkinson`s law says, "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion". You must have a definitive timeline for each and every KR which you have to follow religiously, otherwise you will keep all KR to achieve in December 2021 specially if you are diagnosed with "Student Syndrome".

6- Record your points on a weekly basis and Review the overall progress.

7- Share your goals with a mate you trust.

My Personal Objectives and Key Results in 2021

Objective 1- Career Rise Up -  400 points

As the trees holding high, I will end up this year in a better place than where am I now, regardless all the ongoing disruptions in the world. I have set 5 key results to rise up in my career.

(KR1, 120 points) As a salesperson I have set my first KR as hitting X million dollars sales. You can set your own KR based on your work nature, but remember that it must be coupled with a numerical value.

(KR2- 80 points) Submit 2 Patents. Many would think it is impossible, however I do believe that everyone has unique thoughts and ideas in his field of study or work, which can be patented. If you don`t know it so you have to keep searching about your talent and uniqueness and what you want to change in this world. Patent can by even a slight improvement on existing product, system or framework.

(KR3- 80 points) Accomplish 4 Paid Professional Certificates. As I have just completed my PMP (Project Management Professional) certificate in December which is globally recognized and hold by 1M person. I found that such certificates are essential for career growth. Having a commitment to study a subject will force you to focus and achieve your goal.

(KR4- 40 points) Enroll in PHD program. The academic accomplishments have never failed to promote career nor personality. I do believe that contentious studies improves morals not only field experience. Whatever your current educational level is now, step up to the next level this year!

(KR2- 40 points) Publish 2 scientific papers. If you are learning enough you will come up with new thoughts and conclusions to share, hence you add value to the society .Our ultimate goal is to make the world a better place to live.

Objective 2- Senior Level Personality - 300 points

As old as these trees, I would like to end 2021 in a high note of wisdom and seniority. My definition of a senior person is a good reader, writer, listener and hence, effective communicator. And this is all about my objective to have a senior level personality where I have designed below my 5 KRs to nail it.

(KR1, 80 points) 5 Books Reading. This might sound like a little number of books to read in a year, However I see it is quite enough for me considering the other endeavors I am pursuing. So far I have chosen 2 books to start with, The First 90 Days, by Michael Watkins and Nineteen Eighty-Four Novel by George Orwell which I know I am quite outdated by not reading it till now.

(KR2, 60 points) Publish 15 articles. This is what I am doing right now writing this article, I still have 14 more to do. I have set a target of 2 articles per month during the first half of the year, then starting June I target 1 article a month as I will be more busy with my career objective in the second half. I will be cross-publishing in Medium and Vocal.media platforms.

(KR3, 50 points) Networking - plus 200 connections. I see it as a win-win technique and crucial for success as it guarantees a mutually beneficial relationships with people you newly meet. I have a target to talk at least 5 minutes a day with a stranger - someone who I meet for first time - may be while attending a meeting at office or while queening up to pick my coffee at morning .The beauty of networking that it can grow exponentially when your new connections can introduce you to more people who you never met.

(KR4, 30 points) Emotional Intelligence courses - 60 Hours. Aiming to manage my heart beats in the stressful situations or while presenting the quarterly results to the CEO. I will attend 5 hours course per month in Emotional intelligence.

(KR5, 80 points) New 1008 language Words. That`s only 3 words a day! I have chosen Spanish language which I would like to improve my vocabulary in.

Objective 3- Family first - 300 points

Like the family inside this home are feeling warm however the snowstorm is blowing outside. I want to keep my family safe, by achieving financial stability and maintaining a healthy lifestyle with below 5 KRs.

(KR1, 60 points) X USD Saving. Where X is my average saving of last year+30% , the 30% is quite a stretch in order to push myself on achieving a tighter target. Maybe I will hit this extra 30%.

(KR2, 100 points) Buy 2 assets. Even few grams of gold are enough just to dip my toes into the water. Also, I will explore more about Bitcoin or buy a small apartment with installments.

(KR3, 70 points) X USD income from Investment. I must learn a new way of income rather than relying only on my salary! I have set a challenging X value to myself and I will keep trying different ways to materialize it. Starting with few dollars’ earnings in the first quarter of the year then increase till I reach my target at the end of the year. There is no harm of getting even 1$ a day, I will definitely gain more later after I learn which lucrative way to follow. I will be trying Freelancer.com, which I could achieve 300$ a month previously. Also monetizing my skills of video editing in addition to few dollars from writings. Furthermore, I will explore 2 ideas for investments with friends. Well, I will not leave any stone unturned until I get my targeted X.

(KR4, 35 points) Lose X kgs - Target weight Y KG. I have set a daily weight target for myself for each single day in 2021, defiantly the target weight is decreasing until I reach the Y kg in the 3rd quarter then I will have to sustain it in the 4th quarter. I have a habit of checking my weight every morning. This year, I will record my actual weight on daily basis at my iPhone Health app, to monitor my target fulfillment. If I cross the targeted weight I don`t earn the 0.73 daily points for this KR, which is kind of motivation for myself to keep my weight and accordingly health on track. 

(KR5, 35 points) Run 2688 KMs . This is like you I am running from Paris to Moscow passing through 7 countries! Can you imagine that this means only 8 KMs to run/walk a day. I am using Health app in my iPhone which automatically records how many KMs I walk/run every day also I am using Adidas running app (Runtastic) which is amazing to record your workout and can view your route and speed.

This emphasizes that we should never underestimate the small starts, the small wins lead to a glory at the end. Reading 20 minutes a day is reading 1 Million words in 12 books. Running 8 KM a day is crossing 7 countries. Saving 10 $ a day is a trip to Maldives in a 5 starts hotel.

Manage the progress

To operationally mange my OKRs. I have just used Google sheets (you can use a specific OKRs software or any available template). I am planning to record my points every week, currently as I am super excited, I am visiting it every day and waiting the week to end to record my achieved points this week.

If I achieve 700 points that will be astonishing, however I am willing to raise the bar. For each key result I know that the realistic achievement is 70%, however exceeding the 70% is like the toughest extra rep at the end of the workout set, which grows the muscle mass. Eventually, the euphoria of exceeding my limits will compensate any pain I have.

Now I am off to my next target for this week after I have scored 4 points writing this article.