I Gotta Get Better at Resolutions

Hi everyone, after a brief holiday break we are BACK! As our first post of the new year I wanted to talk about a challenge I ALWAYS struggle with – resolutions.

Oui – they are the worst. Declaring our intentions for change over the next 364 days is like Babe Ruth pointing to the fence when he steps up to bat. Except I’m not a Babe Ruth so its more like me pointing to the fence when I step up to bat. Bold – but quite likely to fail.

This year, three big aspirations I have are:

1. Increase my skills in statistical analysis
2. Improve my self-care
3. Potty-train my toddler

In years past – this would probably be where I’d leave it. But not today! – today we use our understanding of continuous improvement to increase my chances of success! The two most common reasons I stumble on my goals, is that I fail to do these fundamental steps; define, and track

Define:

We’ve talked about this topic a lot – in order to be successful we need to have a clear understanding of what success is. “What do I actually mean by X?”

1. Increase my skills in statistical analysis
   1. What this means to me: I feel comfortable using statistics it to design and execute experiments and process analysis, but I’d like to understand it thoroughly enough that I can clearly explain and defend my choice of methodology to both laypeople and fellow experts.
   2. I’ll consider myself successful in this when: Indicators might include the following – statistical expertise is mentioned in my performance review at work, I deliver analysis findings in an executive setting with no confusion re: the methods used, friends/colleagues seek my advice on measurement problems they’re working on.
2. Improve my self-care
   1. What this means to me: This means that outside of work I’m taking active steps to grow myself intellectually, spiritually, and physically.
   2. I’ll consider myself successful in this when: This goal is less outcome based and more process oriented. I’ll feel successful when I’ve developed at least one consistent habit to support each of the areas of growth (intellectual/spiritual/physical).
3. Potty-train my toddler
   1. What this means to me: My son Jake is able to consistently express his need to use the bathroom and do so with minimal help from an adult.
   2. I’ll consider myself successful in this when: Jake is able to go diaper-less during the day and have <1 accident per 14-day period.

Track:

My attention span okay, but there is no way I can keep an eye on a goal that spans weeks or months without a little help. So based on my definitions of success, let’s make these trackable so we can easily monitor our progress/lack-thereof.

1. How to track “Increase my skills in statistical analysis“
   1. Progress in “Statistics and Probability” course in Khan Academy (currently 33% complete)
   2. Completion % of textbook “All of Statistics”
   3. Attendee feedback from analysis presentations I give at work and informally
2. How to track “Improve my self-care“
   1. The # of times I engage in a “self-care” habit each week (i.e. 45 min. exercise, read/listen to something inspirational, complete language or statistics lessons). Goal is >= 15
   2. Self-evaluation on Likert scale of the statement “I feel enriched and strengthened by my daily activities” (may change this depending on quality of results)
3. How to track “Potty-train my toddler“
   1. I plan to track 3 key metrics to measure progress – with #1 and #2 making a ratio I’ll monitor
      1. # of visits to the potty
      2. # of prompted visits to the potty
      3. # of accidents

And that’s it guys, these are three of my top-level resolutions going into 2021. I’ll do some updates to keep ya’ll posted on progress (especially the potty-training, that’s gonna be an intense process change w/ some interesting data!).

Happy resolution-setting!

Note: I didn’t include one key dimension of goal setting – Milestones. Once you’ve defined your goal with clear metrics to track, the next step is to draw a dotted line between point “A” and “B” and set periodic check-ins where you can assess and pivot if a change is needed.