Goals

Move

I’m moving to Jersey City in June and couldn’t be more excited. We are way ahead of the game having signed a lease three months in advance, bought a couch, and secured movers but there is still alot of work to be done. I need to purge/donate/giveaway much of the stuff that won’t be coming into the new apt.

• Recap – Crushed this. Moving was a tremendous amount of work. We used SvenMoving.com for the second time and couldn’t recommend them more highly. Packing took up most of May and unpacking we were done with about two weeks in. About one month in we are fully unpacked and starting to feel like we live in our new city.

Diet Coke reduction

I’m driving probably a minimum of 7 or so glasses a day and want to reduce this as I know it is not healthy and likely impacting my overall fitness goals. Replacing with more seltzer from my sodastream as well as coconut water and lemon juice. Aiming for 3-4 glasses a week. Writing this on April 10th so going to keep a log that lets me do 40x a month.

• Recap – Didn’t track but did well. Have been drinking way more ginger ale and seltzer which is a good step down. Working on drinking more water.

250 Stealth attempts

I failed on this last quarter and need a lower hurdle to crush. 5x a day is 400.

• Recap – didn’t track but I would say i did about 100. Now that it is in my second bedroom it will be easier to stay on top of. Also joined a 1 minute plank per day whatsapp group.

Target consulting specialization

I’m at the point of my consulting career where I need to develop a view on what I want to specialize so i avoid becoming a generalist and am able to take more leadership roles moving forward. Project Management is a strong skill of mine but needs to be paired with something more narrow. We are growing our merger integration and transition practice so I will dive deeper in this area.  Also by summer I expect my engagement to end so i will need to find a new project

• Recap – Made some headway on this. Had a great chat with my counselor about this about being more focused on a skillset and less about an industry which will give me a broader toolbelt of skills to pull from for different engagements.

Draft and publish EMS Post

Already have the outline just need to put to paper, get copy edited and then publish through my various social channels

• Recap – Drafted but didn’t publish

Redirect social media effort to LinkedIn by limiting Instagram and Twitter

• Recap – good not great.

Habits to work on

1. Stop emailing myself – if it is important it goes on the calendar
2. Use sent folder as homebox not inbox – i find myself getting distracted by my inbox and being reactive instead of proactive
3. Hit 150g+ protein – I am not losing weight becaus I’m working out a ton and not getting enough protein.

Recap – did all the above want to double down

Highlights

1. Double wedding weekend
2. Moving to JC

I sit here having tested positive for covid-19 last night which feels like a fitting end to 2021. My hope is 2022 will be what 2020 should have been for everyone  

Goals

Draft Case for Manager

In the coming year, I will be up for promotion to Manager at EY, and part of the journey is not just showing why I deserve it but also how the business will be better suited with me in an elevated role. Tactically this means I make a written case and then discuss it with leadership. I feel I am already performing at this level so feel confident about my chances. Ultimately it will partially come down to the number of seats our unit is allocated. If its 4 I have a strong chance if 2 it is unlikely. I won’t learn about the decision until spring / summer but the prep work is Jan – march.

• Recap: Completed well ahead of schedule. I am noticing a subtle balance between being a workhorse and a show horse. There are folks whose work do a bunch of work but don’t let people know about it and then the exact opposite. So to that point I made a one page sell sheet as opposed to the multi page decks that I have seen. 

Tracking spreadsheet

I want to focus more on processes and habits and less on direct goals. My hope is if I can build a better process around how i manage my life and goals everything else will fall into place. I’m tracking across 5 dimensions: meditation, exercise, logging food, personal progress before work, and journaling and only using social media once a day. Given how ingrained work from home is the only thing stopping me from doing this is me mentally making the space at the start / end of my work day  

• Recap: Did this for 6 weeks and realized it was more of a hindrance than a catalyst. I was mostly good with the habits but the takeaway is I need just bring back journaling that was affected earlier even if it wasn’t digital. 

Two Blog posts

Content has not been a priority for me for a while. I just hired someone to help me push out a few blog posts that are on my queue

• Posted one and started outlining another. Need to leverage my VA more to help me with this. 

Not To Do List

I wouldn’t quite call them bad habits but I want to be more intentional with how i use my time. Too granular to track but I want to focus on stopping these in the coming quarter

• Emailing myself reminders – I think of something and then shove it into my inbox to be used later. When its in my inbox it inevitably gets snoozed till later and later and becomes a thorn in my side. Instead I want to add these things to my calendar even if they are months or weeks out. Less processing power needed
  • I cut this down a ton and this is a good reminder. If it is important enough it goes on the calendar instead of living in the inbox. 
• No social media in bed – I find myself going into scrolling loops before bed and after I wake up. It is not great.
  • 6/10. Was good with separation at the start of the quarter but want to get better
• Keep my phone in a separate room for most of the day – Similarly to social media my phone takes up too much of my time and attention. Part of the problem is i need it for 2FA for certain work things. I have set it up so my favorites will ring through so i will be accessible in an emergency
  • Same as above 

Highlights

• Going to Charleston for Katherine’s birthday and to live southern charm life
• Bachelor party
• Finding an apartment and signing a lease and buying a couch 3 months ahead of schedule