Every January, the same discourse begins about New Year’s resolutions—why you should make them, why you shouldn’t, why most people fail by February, foolproof ways to stay on track, etc. I’m firmly in the “why you shouldn’t” camp.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m not against goal-setting. Quite the opposite, goals are a guiding force in my life. But the culture around resolutions has less to do with goals and more to do with remorse about the previous year’s missteps.
January is when the failings of the last 12 months snap into focus. I didn’t use that gym membership. I left vacation days on the table…again. The basement is still disorganized. And on it goes. All this underachievement inspires newer, loftier goals. More days at the gym, a longer vacation, a massive cleaning project.
However, the problem with the previous year’s resolutions usually isn’t the size of the resolutioner’s ambition. It’s the lack of a plan to get those things done. That’s why I prefer goals instead of resolutions. And this isn’t only a semantic trick.
Just after New Year’s Day, I write an informal list: a handful of categories on which I’d like to focus (e.g., Health, Career, Finances, etc.) and bullet points about what I’d like to achieve under each category. The key is to make these bullet points short and relatively specific—say, start an emergency savings fund and deposit $200 each month—and then schedule regular check-ins to gauge my progress. At each check-in (I prefer weekly, monthly, and quarterly iterations), I’m not always on track. But when I look back at the year, including those weeks, months, or quarters when I fell below expectations, I’ve made improvements in my life.
That’s the ultimate purpose of a good plan. It may be designed to achieve a specific target, but even in the event of failure, it leaves you better off than before. That’s my hope for this year’s planning issue, that it gets the wheels turning, moves you to action, and, regardless of the outcome, makes a positive impact.
As opposed to running articles about the art of planning, we’ve taken a different tack, focusing on compelling ideas that can inform your 2025 plans. From immediate needs (emergency prep) to long-term objectives (aquatic technician training), these stories highlight the value of planning and offer novel ways to put these ideas into practice.
Problems may vary in size and scope, as will agency budgets, populations served, and the number of staff members onboard. But planning remains vital—not just identifying a North Star but mapping out a way to get there. This month, let these stories be part of your journey.
