The OffBeat #17: Rhythms of Your Year
Getting into the groove
One of my best bosses liked to talk about the structure of time in terms of rhythm.
Whenever I launched a project, he’d task me with identifying what its rhythms would be; in other words, the cadence of meetings, the reporting schedule, the set of success metrics and their timeline. Like in music, rhythm can evolve (or even drastically change) but mostly not before getting into a groove for a while. A groove, after all, is both the “feel” of the beat as well as a routine.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to evaluate your rhythms. Here’s what mine look like:
Work life
ANNUAL PLAN:
A set of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and a strategic roadmap for my team
A high-level personal goal for each of my focus areas: People, Process, and Strategy
BIANNUAL PLAN ADJUSTMENT:
A rejiggering of the annual plan, as needed, for the back half of the year
QUARTERLY GOALS:
5 personal SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals per quarter — 3 business, 1 professional development, 1 DEI
A quarterly focus for each of my 3 concentration areas: People, Process, and Strategy; these focuses are derived from their respective annual goal (see above) and they’re what my quarterly SMART goals ladder into
A sync with each of my skips (direct reports’ direct reports) every 8 weeks
MONTHLY GOAL & CAREER CHECK-INs:
A monthly pulse meeting with each of my leaders to gauge progress towards, and blockers against, their SMART goals and leadership development plans
A monthly self-reflection session to record accomplishments and gauge progress towards, and blockers against, my SMART goals and quarterly focuses
WEEKLY MEETINGS:
A Monday sync with my leadership team
1-1s with each of my leaders and with a small set of key cross-functional partners
Personal life
ANNUAL PERSONAL REVIEW:
A reflection on the previous year, and a look ahead to the next year:
An annual word to provide north star direction
A set of daily practices to commit to
Annual goals derived from a Big Picture Goals list, in 3 focus areas: Self, Relationships, and Career
Annual family photo album
Annual family time capsule (my husband and I answer the same set of questions each year, since 2014 — we’ve since added our dog and our son)
QUARTERLY GOALS:
A personal goal for each of my focus areas that ladder into their respective annual goals (see above)
Other rhythms that have crossed my radar:
Hollywood producer Brian Grazer has biweekly “curiosity conversations” with smart and interesting people across industries
A co-founder I worked for organized his week based on meeting type; for example, he stacked up his Fridays with external 1-1s — he took networking meetings on that day only
The Stagen Leadership Academy encourages a weekly “focusing” session to plan and prioritize your work during a specific day and time
Many newsrooms, including a magazine I worked for, hold a daily editorial meeting to kick off each work day
Like I said, just as in music, the rhythm of your life changes — and the examples above are not exhaustive. But having a rhythmic backbone creates structure and consistency within which you can flex and experiment. It’s all about freedom within a framework.
Have a great week and a great start to your year,
Allison