I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, but I'm definitely a goal setter. Here we are in the last few hours of February, and I'm blogging because I want to meet the goal I set for myself to blog at least once a month....which isn't as often as I'd like, but is the start of a habit. Today started with goal-keeping, too: I logged 3.1 miles on the treadmill, just enough to get me to my goal of 52 miles for the month of February. Most days, I also complete my goal of doing at least a little leisure reading (which feels more like a gift to myself than a task!), and the Habit List app has helped me to stay accountable for the scholarly writing time that I've aimed to carve out each week.
In this shortest month of the year, it's been a challenge to keep goals. February is a busy time, and the cold weather and dark mornings can make it hard to stay energized. But I do try to stick to my goals--not because the milestones themselves are so important, but because I'm trying to develop a set of habits and practices--to go beyond doing and to work on becoming or even being a particular kind of person. Last fall, reading some of David Smith's ideas about practices got me thinking: it's not just what we produce, but who we are from day to day--all those little moments that add up.
For me, meeting goals requires a lot of help. This blog entry? Inspired in part because I've got a great accountability partner who is a prolific writer--and who sent me an encouraging note earlier this week asking how my blogging was going. (Thanks, Troy!!) Running? If I weren't using RunKeeper to set and track monthly distance goals on my phone, I can assure you that my total distance this month would at best have been closer to 40 miles. Seeing a graph every time I log another run ("You've accomplished 78% of your goal!") and receiving motivational emails are both big helps--which still surprises me, given that this feedback is automated. How about my goal for academic writing? That one is especially challenging, so I'm glad that I have both a tracking app and the social support of a whip-smart writing group. They keep me honest about my progress (no, I may not bring that same piece back to the group for yet another round!) and they help me remember that this is something I want to do--something I'm motivated to make time for and that is worth the hard work.It's that mix--goals that I've set personally, attention to habits, and a system that guarantees me some external nudges--that has me thinking. How might this same combination of goals, habits, and nudges help those I'm responsible for teaching and growing?
More specifically, when I'm teaching courses or working with faculty on professional development, how might I help others to identify goals that are important to them? To establish and maintain the kinds of habits and regular practices that help them to be stewards of the time and talents entrusted to them? To take advantage of external nudges like private tracking systems (such as the Habit List app) and social networks (like accountability partners and learning groups)?
I'm hoping you have ideas and resources to share. If you'll send them my way, I'll write about them in my next blog post. Thanks in advance for the nudge!
