🗂️Project management, but for your growth
How supervising your life with the OKR framework could be the key to achieving great things this year - Newsletter #9
Recently, I tried something interesting. I tried applying the OKR methodology to my personal professional goals. We all are familiar with this framework through our work projects or team objectives but not so much with applying it to ourselves.
About the Framework
For the reminder, the « OKR » framework stands for « Objective Key Results » and consists of establishing objectives to be achieved, shared by all, and measures of the achievement of these objectives (key results or KPIs).
To be honest, I believe the framework to be useful in all aspects of life. Both personal and professional. It’s clear, easy to apply and reference to track progress and provide direction.
OKR as a framework encourages you to set the goals that matter to you but also to set the key step actions required to achieve it. It’s the special recipe you need to follow to challenge yourself, grow and develop skills. And you’re the one figuring out the ingredients you need to make sure the cake gets baked in the best way possible.
Applying the framework usually used for big projects or at the company scale to your personal growth could be the best way to plan how you’re going to achieve your objectives. The interesting thing is it works for any type of goals : professional, personal, side hustle…
Why you should incorporate the OKR framework
It’s transparent and clear: The framework is straight to the point and easily approachable.
It’s easily measurable and trackable: The OKR methodology is a great way to set goals and track progress as they already incorporate the SMART elements we should follow when setting goals.
It’s proven effective: There’s a reason all companies use it, the Key Results should be approached as actionable and realistic steps.
It keeps you accountable: With a clear vision of « what » and « how » to achieve, you then get a clear picture of what needs to be done.
How do I apply it to my personal and professional goals?
The framework, applied to personal growth, is exactly the same as used for corporate projects. It consists of an objective broken down into two to three clear and measurable key results.
An easy way to break it down is to determine a « what » and a « how » for every goal you set for yourself.
You can go back to my issue from a few weeks ago to use as your base to get started.
Example
In order to properly share an convey the proper way to use the framework, here’s an example of my own « professional life OKR » I’ve set for the year.
On top of setting up my objectives and corresponding key results, I’ve made myself a « proof table » where I enter evidence I’m progressing and achieving my goals. It consists of measurable evidence but also verbatim of positive feedback I receive suggesting I’m on the right track.
Hence the importance of making sure your progress is measurable when doing the exercice. Seeing yourself moving forward will be the encouragement you’ll need on the journey, make sure to understand clearly the goals you set for yourself, what needs to be done to achieve it and stay away from mindless planning as much as possible.
Tracking weekly and rating my confidence along the way has also been helpful to ensure I keep moving.
Hope this helps making this year the year you crush all your goals!
See you next week,
Maïssane 👋
⏰ This Chapter in a nutshell - your key takeaways under 10 seconds of reading:
Experiment with applying OKR methodology to personal and professional goals.
Emphasise clarity, measurability, and accountability in your goal-setting.
Implement a "proof table" for tracking progress and weekly confidence ratings.
✍️The quote of the week
« If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or things. »
- Albert Einstein