You Can Do Anything. But Not Everything.

I have been researching successful new year resolutions and talking to people about their own plans for self or business improvement in the new year. Over the next few weeks I’ll share some of that with you.

Along the way I’ve encountered an?interesting trend. Very few people I speak to have a single, overriding, compelling and inspiring goal. Instead, lots of the?people who write or call me, folks who are enthusiastically approaching the new year and their resolutions, have?a laundry list of resolutions. The lists are a bit like “honey-do” lists — but instead of chores, these are lists of changes, improvements, projects, hopes and so forth.

One client wrote that she is so excited about her plan for the new year because she has been meaning to “lose 35?pounds, make much more money without working harder, travel more, have better sex and get fit”.?And that doesn’t include her business goals—another long list.

I had to work hard not to fall off my chair in peels of laughter; not because each and every one of these isn’t a great goal, but because doing all of them at once is a disaster in the making.?I love her inspiring energy and her drive to transform every aspect of her life and enterprise. But without honing the list, as brilliant as this particular woman is (and she is), she probably won’t succeed at any, no less all of them.

There is lots of research showing that we, as a species, are remarkably weak at multi-tasking.?Of course, that’s no secret. In our day to day work, people who have even a smidgeon of knowledge about the science of productivity have long since begun to attend to reducing their multi-tasking. We time block, turn off alerts, reduce other distraction and set the stage to focus on a single thing at once.?

You sure;y know that you cannot talk on the phone and read email, or be on a conference call (and be present) and read your Twitter feed.?I write about often. But, if you disagree or haven’t read much about it, for the sake of this conversation, take my word that it doesn’t work (for anyone). And before you bring up Sherlock Holmes (who seemed to do this effectively) let me remind you, he is fictional!

It turns out that?the same limitation?holds true for our personal operating context, not just our task management.?What do I mean by “personal operating context” (POC)??I am using this term of art to describe the sort ofgeneral state of mind governing our days over time.

Your POC dictates specific choices you make in the moment (do I have cheesecake or fruit?), your willingness and freedom to designate time (every day at 6 AM I exercise) and your over-arching navigation through the week, month or day (one-on-ones with direct reports every other Wednesday, regular strategy review on 3rd of every month, etc.).?

So, over the course of a three month period, our POC can really only be in 2 or 3 states.?Imagine you are in a committed relationship and actively cultivate being romantic attentive and loving.?That is one element?occupying your mind, intentions, and general governing orientation. It makes you set aside time for dates, plan trips together, text sweet nothings during your lunch hour and so forth.

Now add to that your commitment to your business. You think about your revenue goal, attend to the key strategic theme, manage your team—including their anticipation of upcoming key dates and milestones, unblock their progress, keep them focused on the macro goals and ensure they maintain strong cohesion. That is a second occupant of your POC.

According to the data on how successful people are in fulfilling their goals, just two more will max out your ability truly?to deliver the goods. One of those might be the big resolution goal to get fit. Or it might be a commitment to coaching your daughter’s team. Or it might be your intention to raise the next round. But our human brains cannot switch tracks often enough?truly to focus adequately on more than 3 or 4 significant POCs that dictate our actions, choices and time allotments.

What does this mean for considering your 2023 resolutions and goals? It means that, like every good business strategy, your resolution?involves choosing something and choosing NOT something else. At least for now.?

So as you plan your new year reinvention, start with the resolution that you feel is most auspicious, or compelling, or scary, or hard, or whatever — it doesn’t matter what criterion you employ.?But whatever device you use to choose one, do it, and make that THE ONE!??Bear in mind,?it’s not the only one forever. But it should be?the only one for January 1, 2023!

If you want to have an extraordinary 2023, consider adding executive coaching for your leadership and management teams. It’s a gift that will deliver massive ROI, both in employee satisfaction and measurable business results. Schedule a call with me to chat about how your team might leverage coaching to accelerate their own growth and that of the organization.