A roadmap is more effective than new year resolutions

Every December, most of us forget our failed resolutions, diluted in the course of the year, or right at the end of March. Yet for most of us every January we succumb to enthusiastically making new resolutions. We share with our family and friends. The fitness clubs collect subscriptions, the health and drug stores sell their miracle diets and supplements. I personally consider this a comforting sign of optimism, a renewed faith in individual and human will power. The half empty glass population considers this wave of good intentions an expression of delusion and lack of disciplin.
Once I stopped making new year resolutions. I felt something was missing like a season not showing up in the cycle.
I then decided to use some management techniques I had successfully applied with my teams when creating our business plan. I designed a roadmap for the whole year.
I organize my brainstorming in an inspiring location. It does not require traveling to the Himalayas. Creating your own inspiring sanctuary is a well known zen practice. If you don’t have one, first action of the year : locate and create your inspiring spot where creativity can flow.
I then take paperboard sheets and initiates a mind mapping exercise covering the professional and personal goals. The process has evolved with practice. Thanks to my experence of mapping digital ecosystems I interconnect topics where synergies emerge. This is a no limit exercise. I will face enough barriers in the course of the year.
For practical purpose I split the personal and the professional mapping but I always connect them. I lay down the large sheets and the dependencies stand out. Who can complete challenging and ambitious goals without health and energy ? How can we start very new and daring endeavors without a rich network and learning ?

One key element of the whole exercise is the well known STOP - CONTINUE - START. The mind mapping drives positivity and I tend to drop good actions before they are fully completed, start many new exciting items without realistically decide what I need to stop. The STOP list is always the hardest to finalise. I make a rule to make the STOP list as long as the START column. This activity tends to kill the excitement and the enthusiasm, it also introduces a healthy dose of realism and forces the necessary prioritisation.
This year I have improved my life roadmap exercise as I now call it by making a drawing representing the new year and defining a 6 words motto symbolizing the spirit.
Once you are happy with all the items of your roadmap :
- identify one or two buddies with whom you will share. It can be a personal friend for the personal side.
- a professional buddy with whom you know you will exchange during the course of the year
This year I have made a large Trello board to help me track my progress as I have struggled with my discipline and daily routines last year

I still keep it open as I believe in serendipity and want to leave some room to follow-up on opportunities.
Last but not least CLOSE at the end of the year and celebrate. See what you have achieved, reflect on the surprises that erupted, learn from your failures. You will have then the right mindset to enjoy the year end festivities with a greater sense of purpose.

My 2020 6 words motto