Michelle here. October 1. A new fiscal year. I was excited. Sitting on the train on my way to work, I dreamed of what I would do as if I were planning a trip to Disney What favorites would I revisit and what did I want to explore? My daydream ended abruptly; the METRO stopped and we were told to disembark. Back to reality. As I considered the piles of work that need to be finished (plans that needed to be altered for this fiscal year), information overload set in. Where would I begin?
I started by asking myself questions to frame the year:
- How successful was I in accomplishing what I set out to do last year?
- What one or two things did I learn from what didn’t go well last year, and what did I learn from what went well?
- What one or two things do I want to accomplish this year that will truly energize me? What will I need to do to make them happen?
By focusing on doing just a few things, I am more likely to be successful than if I give myself a laundry list of tasks. And I need to be able to forgive myself if I don’t quite achieve everything on that list, like last year. One of my goals was to earn another ATD certification, but then life—other training, work priorities, and Game of Thrones (it was the final season, after all)—occurred. So onward! This coming year will be the year.
Marykate here. I love Michelle’s questions because they allow us to reflect and move forward with intention. This year I’m focusing on being present and mindful. That means multitasking needs to stop while I learn to focus on one thing at a time. I’m optimistic and look forward to what this will do for my work and me personally.
Michelle and I will document our journey to provide learning for ourselves and others in more than 40 government partner agencies throughout the year, including showcasing some related “whole person” topics like exercise that we, as learning leaders, need to embody, not just teach.
You can expect practical advice that you can apply. We’ll invite colleagues to join us in our discussion and look forward to you joining our learning community.
