It’s almost the new year!  I love it when the new year rolls around — it’s a like a blank slate, a chance to start fresh.  I’ve mentioned before that I don’t make “resolutions”; I set goals.  Whatever you call them, you’ll get much farther with them if you start off right.  That means that your first step — or at least a first/early step — probably needs to be “sharpening your axe.”

Be Prepared — Sharpen Your Axe

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Desk Size, 5.5 x 8.5 InchesIf you’re not familiar with the concept of sharpening your axe, it’s about preparation. If a woodcutter goes out at the beginning of the day and his axe is dull, he’s going to have a hard day. He may say he has a lot to get done — a lot of trees to chop down — so he doesn’t have time to stop and sharpen his axe first. But the truth is, a few minutes spent sharpening his axe up front will enable him to be more productive all day. Cutting down trees will be faster (and less frustrating!) with a sharp axe than with a dull one.

When it comes to resolutions, goals, and projects, we sometimes get so gung-ho we essentially set out with a “dull axe,” lacking the tools or information we really need to get the job done. Keeping that in mind, along with David Allen’s principle of “next actions,” many of my January goals are preparatory goals that are the first steps — a.k.a. next actions — toward larger goals for the year.

Different goals require different things, of course, and your needs won’t be the same as mine. But if your goals for January don’t include anything similar to this, take a few minutes to consider whether they’re truly not needed for what you want to accomplish, or if you’ve inadvertently skipped some essential preparatory steps.

(Among other things) my January goals include:

• Create a plan for menu planning.
• Research china cabinet glass.
• Research computer desk options.
• Brainstorm date ideas.
• Create reading chart.
• Compile journaling prompts.

See how these are preparatory for the more “action-oriented” steps to come later?  I need to replace the glass in my china cabinet — that’s the ultimate goal — but I can’t do that until I’ve figured out where to get it and how much it will cost.  I want to make progress on my “to read” stack — that’s the overall goal — so I need to have a way of tracking what’s on the list and what progress I’m making.  There are various ways I could do that, but I decided to use a chart format, so I need to set up the chart.  You get the idea.

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In many cases, the first thing you’ll need to do is formulate a plan.  In other cases, you’ll need to gather information, resources, and/or tools.

A plan might involve breaking something down into smaller pieces.  If you’re making a list of 100 things you love to do, you might decide to break that down to 10 list items per month (giving you some wiggle room for months you may fall a little short).

It might mean deciding on methods that will lead to a certain end result. If your goal is to lose a certain number of inches or calories, or to be at a certain fitness level by the end of the year, your plan might involve which exercises you’re going to do when.

It might mean setting up milestones so you can check your progress.  If your goal is to lose fifty pounds this year, you probably don’t want to wait until December 1st to check in!  You might want to have lost ten pounds by March 1st, twenty-five by June 1st, etc.

It might mean creating a means of tracking your progress.  My reading chart is one example.  Other examples would include a chart for checking off Bible reading, the classic “thermometer” to track progress toward a financial goal, or marking weight or measurements on a daily calendar.

Sometimes we don’t have what we need to even get started, though!

If you’re starting a new diet, you might need recipes (or even instructions, depending on the diet). If you want to start exercising, you might need equipment, a “system” for which exercises to do when, exercise videos, or a gym membership. (The details, of course, will depend on your needs.) If you want to read through the Bible, you might need a Bible reading plan.

Take a few minutes to go back over your list of goals/resolutions, and ask yourself if you are currently equipped to move forward on that goal. If not, what do you need in order to do so? Make finding that tool, goal, or resource your very first step!