Why do so many people fail at sticking to their New Year's resolutions? The failure is generally a result of a) setting unrealistic goals and/or b) not creating a plan consisting of achievable smaller sub-goals. The latter I believe is what ultimately gets people to the point to just give up, even on realistic, attainable goals.
Resolutions are nothing but goals and those in turn are projects so they should be treated as such. If you are serious about making changes in your life, you need to create a project plan for each goal. I am not talking about a full-blown, elaborate project plan but it should have some of the basic components.
Problem Statement
Use the 5 'Ws' (Who, What, When, Where, Why) to define the problem you are looking to solve. Divide it into three components: vision (what happens when I solve the problem, or desired state), issue statement (describe the actual problem, or current state), method (how will you approach getting from the current state to the desired state). This seems logical for the stereotypical goals such as 'lose weight' or 'quit smoking' but what about goals such as 'learn French' or 'buy the car I've always wanted'? It is even more critical to define the problem statement for those kind of goals because if you cannot state what the problem is, then you are probably not passionate enough about it to consequently pursue it in the first place.
The problem statement for 'learn French' could be something along the lines of: "I want to be able to go to Paris and get around the city by myself, including hotel, cabs, restaurants, museums and other attractions (vision). I have no knowledge of the French language (issue statement). I will use tools such as Rosetta Stone or Live Mocha to get a basic understanding. Then I will seek out French speaking people in my area on Twitter to get some real life experience... etc. (method)."
The problem statement for 'buying the car I've always wanted' could be something like this: "I want to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a Ferrari to reward myself for the successes in my career (vision). I don't own a Ferrari and I have not done the research on what the financial impact of buying a Ferrari would be and what I would need to do to afford it (issue statement). I have $10,000 in savings that will serve as my down payment. I will research how much the minimum down payment will be and how much a monthly payment will be based on my credit score and other factors. I will make lifestyle changes (if necessary) to save up additional money for the down payment and to be able to afford the monthly down payment.... etc. (method)"
If you cannot clearly state what you are trying to do and why, then you probably don't really want to do it in the first place and should revisit the motivation behind the goal. Often we feel like we should pursue certain goals due to external pressures from family and friends, work or society, which is why they end up on the list. If magazines are the reason you want to lose weight, not your health or comfort, then you probably should reconsider that goal.
Define the Scope
In project management, scope defines what the deliverables are in terms of time, money, and quality and what the project objective is. It documents the common understanding of the project of all parties involved. Now you may ask yourself how this applies to a new year's resolution that has no other parties involved besides yourself: You are the project manager AND the customer. You need to keep yourself in check. Define your deliverables, what the cost is, how long it will take and what the quality you are looking to achieve. Then make yourself stick to it.
'Lose weight' is not a deliverable and does not include any measurements to determine if the goal has been achieved (i.e. the project has been completed), therefore we need to define it in a little more detail.
The scope for 'lose weight' could be something like this:
I will lose at least 15 lbs (quality) between 01/01/2012 and 06/01/2012 (time). I will join a gym i the week of 01/01/2012, share my weight loss goal with a trainer and ask them to develop a training plan for me to follow. I will also consult with a dietitian during that same week to create a food plan that I can stick to and that will enable me to reach my weight loss goal in the provided time frame (deliverables). The total estimated cost is $700 which includes a gym membership for 6 months, consulting with the dietitian and purchasing healthier foods, etc. (cost)
In this scenario, the trainer and the dietitian also become your customer, as you feel accountable to them in reaching your mutually agreed upon milestones. Adding 'customers' like that to your project will be helpful since minds are capable of quite the trickery when you are solely relying on keeping yourself in check.
Work Breakdown Structure and Milestones
You've set a basic timeline in the scope statement but you need milestones that break up the goal into smaller chunks. In order to figure out what those milestones are, you can create a simple work breakdown structure, or as I like to call it, sticky notes on a wall.
Start with the end goal on the top sticky note, then build a 'pyramid' downwards that contains all of the things that need to happen to fulfill your goal. The first row of sticky notes (or whatever tool you use) below the initial goal sticky note will be your sub goals, anything below that will be specific action items. In the example for 'lose weight' above, the sub goals (or milestones) would probably be set by your trainer and dietitian. But if you chose to not consult either one of them and for other goals, you would have to create them yourself.
Once you've determine all of your sub goals (or milestones) and action items you can plug them plug them into your predefined timeline, creating a work back schedule. A work back schedule means starting with the end date in mind and working your milestones in to fit the timeline you've set for yourself.
Examples:
'Learn French' sub goal 1: Rosetta Stone -> action items: complete level 1, level 2, level 3, etc.; sub goal 2: Meet French speakers -> action items: join French society in my area, follow French speakers on Twitter, etc. sub goal 3:.....
'Buy the car I've always wanted' sub goal 1: Determine cost -> action items: research car dealers and cost of new and pre-owned Ferraris: sub goal 2: Determine financing -> action items: sign up for Mint.com to understand the trends of my spending and determine where I can cut costs, talk to XYZ banks to find out the best financing options, etc., sub goal 3:....
Risk Mitigation Plan
No this is not overkill. It's common sense. With every goal we set for ourselves, we inherently know what the risks are to achieving it but we barely ever take the time to clearly outline what these risks are and how we can mitigate them. If we can prevent issues (once a risk occurs it becomes an issue) from occurring or have a plan in place for the case that they do occur it will be much easier to deal with them and to stay on track.
What are things that you know will be hard to do or stick with in regards to your goal?
What things have occurred that have kept you from achieving this or other goals in the past?
What issues have others had that you know who tried to achieve the same goal as you?
Once you outline what the risks are, create action steps you can take to prevent them from occurring in the first place and action steps you can take in case the risks turn into issues.
Let's stick with
'lose weight' for potential risk and mitigation examples:
Risk: Project at work will reach its peak in March and I will have to work longer hours which will cut into my work out time.
Mitigation Plan:
Preemptive action steps: Ask/plan for additional resources during that time to keep impact on my schedule to a minimum; plan to keep other after work activities to a minimum during that time; plan with spouse/partner for them to take on more household chores during that time; etc.;
Reactive action steps: Use lunch hour to work out at gym; bike to work; delegate work to others whenever possible to free up time; etc.;
Communication Plan
This again may seem like overkill, but ask yourself the following questions:
Do you need support from others to achieve your goal?
When and how do they need to be involved?
How will you communicate the need for their involvement and the level of support you need to them?
If you don't have clear answers to these questions you should put a little more thought into it and create a basic communication plan. Look at all the other components of your plan to determine whose support you will need. Create a basic matrix listing all of the people you need to communicate to and then answer the what, how and when question.
For the 'lose weight' example, there are already a few hypothetical people outlined above: the trainer, the dietitian, the spouse/partner, and the stakeholders and the project team at work.
Now you certainly don't want to communicate the same things to all of these parties.
Your stakeholders for your project at work do not need to know anything about your goal. All they need to know is that you need more resources and you need to create a work related reason when you present to them.
Your spouse/partner will need to be communicated to in much more detail. You will have to get their buy in because you will need a lot of their support in sticking to your diet and work out schedule. You may even ask them to stick to the same diet so that you don't get tempted. Not the mention the potential additional chores they might have to take on if the risk relating to your work project becomes an issue.
How would you communicate this?
How will you gain their buy in and 100% support?
What concerns may they bring up?
Are there any events in their life that you haven't considered that might collide with your plan?
All things to consider.
End Note
All of these tools can be very elaborate and time-consuming to create so don't over think it. Keep it basic and simple. You don't want to create more work for yourself. Just put a couple of hours into the planning phase so that the execution phase can go much more smoothly.
Are there any other PM tools/strategies/principles you can think of that could help with sticking to resolutions without creating a ton of extra pre-work? Let me know in the comments.
