How to Apply EOS (Traction) to Your Personal Life, Part 2
How do you use a personal version of EOS (Traction) to align your yearly, quarterly, and weekly goals with your long-term vision? Here’s how.
Welcome back!
Last week, we discussed using a modified version of EOS (Traction) to develop your long-term vision. We established your core values, discovered your passions, wrote a 10-year target, built a “lifetime” wishlist, and then created a 3-year picture of how your life could look in, well, three years.
(If you missed last week’s newsletter, you must start there. Can’t skip ahead!)
Today, in part 2, we’ll walk through pages 2 and 3 of this download, called a Personal V/TO. (Excel, PDF, or Google Sheets) By the end of this newsletter, you’ll have a very specific annual goal “parking lot,” a 1-year plan, rocks (goals) for the next quarter, and the beginnings of an “issues list” to work on in the years to come.
Let’s dive in!
Setting Up Page 2 of the Personal V/TO
On page 2 of the download, you’ll find the annual goal “parking lot.” This is a list with seven subcategories you’ll often return to to add, delete, and modify goals. Never consider this sheet “finished.”
Take an hour or two and brainstorm goals you’d like to accomplish next year in each category. (If you’re doing this in January - June, make your list through the end of the year you’re in. Otherwise, set your end date as the end of next calendar year.)
Make sure to consult your 3-year Picture often, choosing annual goals that support your vision for how you want life to look.
I find thinking through my goals by category much more effective than brainstorming more generally.
Additionally, if you’re like me, you’ll find that you “over-perform” in some areas and “starve” others, creating an unhealthy imbalance. Listing your goals by category sheds light on this imbalance and hopefully encourages you to address it.
For example, I’ll usually have a ton of ideas for “relationship,” “physical,” and “business,” but fall short in “community.”
Setting Up Page 3 of the Personal V/TO
1 Year Plan
Future Date - Enter a target date one year from now. (Feel free to “round up” to 12/31 of next year to keep things simple.)
Income - If you like to use income as a personal metric, or if income is important to you, fill this in. Otherwise, delete it!
Net Worth - Same here. Some people love to use this as a personal “scoreboard,” and others could not care less about such silliness!
Measurables - What numbers or metrics would you need to meet to consider your 1-year plan having been completed? Perhaps you find yourself disconnected from a specific family member: might this be a certain number of 1:1 interactions with them in the next year? Perhaps you’re an aspiring writer: might this be the number of pages you’ll write in the next year?
Goals for the Year - Using the annual goal parking lot on page 2, choose a handful of annual goals you want to accomplish in the next year. Once you’ve selected 5-10, put them in order of importance. (This is critical later in our set-up.) Don’t feel pressure to choose all the goals. Inevitably, you’ll have to leave a few goals off that you’d like to accomplish. Alas, life is about making such choices. Not doing so often leads to paralysis, of sorts, due to feeling overwhelmed. Fight the urge to choose too many; instead, rest in the idea that you’ll be working on the most important ones in the coming year.
Rocks (next 90 days)
In the EOS ecosystem, “rocks” are a common synonym for “goals.” It stems from this concept, which I think about most every day.
Future Date - Enter a target date by selecting the date 90 days from now, then “rounding up” to the end of the quarter. (Example: 9/9 would round to 9/30…)
Income - If you like to use income as a personal metric, or if income is important to you, fill this in. Otherwise, delete it!
Net Worth - Same here. Some people love to use this as a personal “scoreboard,” and others could not care less about such silliness!
Measurables - What numbers or metrics would you need to meet to consider your next quarter a success? It’s a little more difficult to establish these in the short span of a quarter, so do your best or leave blank if nothing seems to inspire you.
Goals for the Quarter - Using your goals for the year you prioritized in the left-most column, ask yourself: What goals would I need to accomplish in the next 90 days to give me the best chance of achieving my annual goals? For example, you have an annual goal of completing the Odyssey Alcatraz Swim. So, in the next quarter, you’ll set a goal to join a health club with a lap pool and swim at least three times a week. Repeat this process by looking at each of your goals in your 1-Year Plan and developing a quarterly goal that supports it.
Issues List: As you walk through the first three pages of the personal V/TO, you’ll stumble upon obstacles. These are physical, mental, or emotional roadblocks in your life. You’ll recognize them because they start with “yeah, but…” As you come across these, jot them down in the Issues List. You’ll come back to these each quarter, and we’ll develop a plan to break through them over time. (That’s in part 3!)
Great work!
Do you realize what you’ve done?
You took your longer-term vision (3-year), turned it into an annual goal “parking lot,” and then boiled it down to exactly what you need to work on in the next 90 days. This may sound simple now that you’ve done it, but I assure you, less than 5% of the population does this in any intentional manner. Be proud of yourself!
Next week, we’ll cover the final page of the V/TO and then talk about the “cadence” of staying focussed on this system, up to and including what you’ll be doing each day.
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[Jump to Part 3 of this series]
Books of Note: Two trilogy recommendations in a row?!?! Yup, this week I want to mention some of my favorite pieces of historical fiction: The Civil War Trilogy by Jeff and Michael Shaara. (Father started it, son then finished it without skipping a beat.) Get up close and personal with the names you recall from history class via vivid detail and excellent dialog. Yes, it’s fiction, but the historical accuracy in these books is off the charts. You’ll enjoy it, I promise.
I’d love a follow over on X (Twitter) and Linkedin, as I post things there that are either too brief for the newsletter or are just entertaining things I come up with over a responsibly-sized serving of Blanton’s.