- Personal Effectiveness Tips
How do you judge progress in your life? How do you know when you have improved an area of your personal life? This months tip will help you become better at quantifying progress-in any area of your life.
Most people are familiar with metrics (ways of measuring progress) in their professional lives. We measure the strengths of company stocks through using statistics such as annual earnings growth, or ROI (Return On Investment). We measure sales growth in percentages, we measure company growth in percentage increase in net income. Conversely, we also measure progress through the use of declining metrics, such as reduced long and short-term debt, or a reduction in inventory.
In our personal lives, however, we seem to lose sight of the power of metrics in quantifying our success. We set goals to become a better spouse or partner, or goals to become more organized in our life, but without proper metrics. By learning to statistically track our progress in these areas we can build momentum and confidence towards attainment of these goals.
The following are some metrics that you can use to help quantify and track progress in your personal life:
In relationships:
- # of dates with spouse or partner per week/month,
- # of play-dates with children and family per week/month
- # of phone conversations/email discussions with friends per week/month
- # of new people met per week/month
In health:
- current blood pressure readings
- current LDL (bad) and HDL (good) cholesterol count
- # of trips to the gym per week
- # of pounds lost per month (doing this weekly is less effective)
- (for men) measurement of waistline
- average resting heart rate
In finances:
- dollar amount of consumer debt (less is better)
- dollar amount invested monthly in stocks/mutual funds/bonds
- average monthly net household income
- dollar amount invested monthly in a qualified retirement plan
In general:
- # of vacations taken a year
- # of new books read per year
- amount of times engaged in personal hobbies per month
- amount of time spent doing pro-bono or charity work per month
Through utilization of any of the above metrics (and I'm sure there are many more I did not think of, but you get the idea!), you will be able to track your progress with any personal goals you set. Most people fail in their goal setting (and this applies to businesses also, but that's another newsletter altogether) because they fail to measure progress properly. Statistics don't lie; they invalidate all of the rationalizations that our minds can produce. Use them in your life in every area possible, and watch yourself grow.
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- Questions for Growth
- In what area of your life (spiritual, health, family, career, finances..?) would you benefit the most from using a new statistic?
- Who are the three people you most admire (in terms of what they have accomplished in their own lives) in this area of your life? Is there a way you can recruit them (through a phone conversation, email, in-person discussion) to become a mentor/friend/helpful acquaintance?
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- Reality Check
This month's reality check involves opinions. Opinions, as we all know, are the cheapest commodity available today. This is simple economic principle, where supply and demand dictate pricing. Opinions are overly abundant, and are offered to us whether we want them or not. They may come in various disguises, such as constructive criticism, thoughts on a situation, or intended helpful advice about a problem we are facing.
We spend entirely too much time and energy seeking the opinions of those not qualified to give it. Probably 90% of the advice given to us in our lives is worthless. Haven't you ever gone to see a movie that you were told was not worth the price of admission, only to come to your own conclusion that the film was fantastic? Of course. Conversely, haven't you told someone not to eat at a certain restaurant due to the extended wait and rude wait staff, only to be told later that they thoroughly enjoyed their dining experience? Sure. I know I have.
The bottom line is this: if you must take people's opinions to heart, seek the opinions of those with more experience or qualifications than you in that area. When working on my golf stroke, I could care less what my golfing partner advises. However, when a golf pro tells me how to mechanically fix that slice in my game, I'm all ears. When I am solicited by various stock brokers who want my business, I ask them how much money they personally made in the market last year. Most brokers find that question inappropriate (they are not used to someone actually pushing back a little), but to me, it is perfectly relevant. If they have done better than I have in the market, then they deserve my business. Keep it simple, then. If you want to improve in any area of your life, seek only the opinions of those that have already done it.
That's my opinion, anyway...
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