Annual Review Part 3 of 3 – Setting My Sights

Setting My Sights, My Vision, and My Visualization

Clarity is everything. And, as expected, during this time in December when I put all of my client work and business to the side to obtain clarity, crazy things happen. This has so impacted me this time around that, akin the video from Stefan Sagmeister during a TED talk (at the end of this post), I have committed to taking, at the very least, a client sabbatical next year from my birthday (November 17th) until January 1st.

The level of clarity I have obtained during this time about my gifts, my personality, how I truly want to be interacting with clients, with YOU, with my family, with the humanitarian field…ah! Words cannot express.

A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words…

And, that is just it! Words cannot, in fact, express what I am trying to communicate many times.

One of the powerful revelations I have had is how darn visual I am! Even my writing is visual in nature. (One of the highlights of blogging for me has been in choosing the picture!)

In just the past few days I have experimented with sketching the ideas and concepts that are rolling around in my head. The connections I make often supercede my ability to verbalize them to an audience.

However, my ability to draw them, illustrate them…that’s another story! So, 2010 will be a year of creating visuals. Though my writing is very important and a life-direction, it will wrap it self around the images I see in my mind.

After having communicated all of that (in words), I hate to disappoint you, but the following Mode of Operation and Major Goals for 2010 are all written. Never fear, the visual for planning the year will be coming soon.

Without further ado, the following is the over-arching system I would like to use for 2010. This has been evolving really, over the last few years. Just after the M-O are some of the bigger goals I have for 2010.

It is all out there now, so hold me accountable!

The Modus Operandi

Daily

Review my Google Calendar and Moleskine. Daily is: Fitness, Study planned study materials, Plan, Act. Journal and sketch. E-mails once in the a.m. and once before bed. Make calls for 30 minutes a day to make personal touches with following. Before bed, review the day (rank it according to the Sparked Ranking system) and plan the following day. Review Master Vision. Update as necessary.

Weekly

Take Sunday as a Big Picture day. Review the previous week. Rank according to the Sparked Ranking System. Plan the following week. Review RescueTime.com. Plan appts for the week as well as the following week. Review Master Vision. Gauge the progress of the projects. Update wall calendar. Update Google Calendar and Moleskine accordingly. E-mail family update. Visualize the week.

Monthly

Take 2 days out of town. (Go to Vero Beach, travel on a short trip to family, etc.) Review the previous month. Review finances (www.mint.com.) Adjust budget. Review RescueTime. Adjust calendar. Interact with advisors. Rank according to the Sparked Ranking system. Review Master Vision. Plan study materials. Update wall calendar. Update Google Calendar and Moleskine accordingly. E-mail extended family and friends update. Visualize the month.

Quarterly

Take 3-4 days off, but in town. The point is to take the time to reorganize, empty inboxes, do a GTD, put files away, clean room, take care of car, etc. Review the quarter’s finances and time management. Interact with advisors and key friends. Do a Lakeland Talks and catch up with network. Rank the quarter according to the Sparked Ranking System. Review my Master Vision and adjust/edit if necessary. Plan study topics, then choose the materials. Update wall calendar. Update Google and Moleskine accordingly. E-mail extended family and friends and following. Visualize the following quarter. Do normal Monthly and Weekly tasks.

Semi-Annual

Take 3 – 4 days out of town. Review the first half of the year. Rank it. Set my mind on not winding down for the year but resting and then relaunching. Review the Sparked Rankings and limiting beliefs. Meet with advisors, friends, for honest feedback. Do normal Quarterly, Monthly, and Weekly tasks.

Annually

Take November 17th – December 31st as a client sabbatical. At first, decompress. Rest. Be with friends. Then, review journal entries, blog entries, e-mails. Review the rankings. Zero-base: knowing what I now know…would I use the Ranking System, would I meet with clients, would I study this topic, would I..?, etc. Retool the tools if necessary.

An interesting note of observation I had while I was writing this is that with each increasing segment, not only did the time frame expand, but the “level of zoom” (how detailed and task-oriented versus big-picture, idea-oriented it was) increased. The more I approached the Annual Review the Bigger the Picture became. This is interesting. I see another visual popping into my head. Must…note…now.

The Goals

In looking at these goals, keep in mind that these are some of the “big rocks.” My main focus at this point is the Master 3 – 5 Vision and the goals that come with it, which I will post in a little while. From the Master Vision, there are a bunch of little things that need to be accomplished which I will not necessarily belabor here. (Although, some of those many small things are useful, I think, for those just starting out creating their vision.)

For now, here are some big ones:

THE BIG VALUES: WRITING (incl. VISUALS & SPEAKING) & MISSIONS

Writing:

Write daily
Finish Principles in the Raw
Launch PitR for our local community and friends and family, including the PitR Launch Party
Present PitR to a minimum of 20 publishers this year
Write the Spark-Ignite-Explode Overview
Write the Sparked Guide
Create the Visual Guide to Annual Planning

Missions/Philanthropy

Work in Haiti 3 times this year
Create the Visual Guide to CPI’s Approach to Missions
Outline the Visual Strategy for a Healthy, Hopeful Haiti

THE TLE (The TOTAL LIFE EXPERIENCE Categories)

Relationships:

Transfer to a Personal Touch approach as opposed to a Constant Contact approach.
Implement a calendar system for contacting friends and family.
Speak to my nuclear family once a week.

Work I Enjoy

Limit client work to only that which a) adds to or fits into the above goals, AND b) allows me to consult in the mode of Creation by Visualization, Creationeering by Visioneering.
Serve at work knowing that it is providing a means to continue my work and laboratory for the mission of Activating & Equipping, Motivating & Inspiring the young generation to accomplish their dreams of human service, to facilitate a world revival in Philanthropy (the love of man, serving one another in phileo love)

Fitness:

Maintain fitness level.
Eliminate most toxins except coffee and chocolate from diet by…
buying groceries and…
preparing meals each week.

Provisional Interdependence & Community:

Launch Lakeland Talks to meet the Quarterly Criteria of meeting with close friends, catching up. But it will also serve as an environment to proliferate our ideologies of success, significance and values.
Create tools for the Community to be accomplish self-development and life-empowerment with.
Launch The Sparked10 (more on this soon ;] )

PERSONAL GROWTH STUFF

Study:

Read 51 books: 80% in the areas of Writing, Infographic Design, Humanitarianism/Philanthropy, and Human Development/Self-Improvement (including Spirituality), 20% in the areas of Philosophy (incl Easter Thought, ie samurai, bushido) and Classics . This does not include articles and blog reading. The specific reading list will be forthcoming on my bookshelf.

Travel:

Travel to 2 new countries. (I missed a new country this year! GAH! I will make up for it this year certainly.)
Work in Haiti 3 time this year.

Summation

I think that covers the biggest items. Completing these will stretch me. They will cause me to have to grow in certain areas, change in certain areas and obtain a new level of focus.

As I said before, I am putting this out there, so hold me accountable. Let me know if you got any insight out of this small series by commenting below. Thanks a ton. Have a GREAT year. Thank you for making this year amazing!

–grant

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Photo by Mixy Lorenzo

Video of Stefan Sagmeister on ‘The Power of Time Off’