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Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

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Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#51

Post by ISL »

dmje wrote: post #43

This may be an unpopular opinion on HN, but I just don't get it. The whole notion of setting personal goals, working out tasks and sub tasks and strategies and charts - like, you deal with all that stuff in your work life. Give it a rest. Be with your family. Look at a sunset. Read a book or two. Paint or play the piano. Eat well, go for a run. Do things that are good for you and other people. Spend less time on your…

Myself, from ten years ago, would agree.

Today, between balancing life goals, family responsibilities, and professional obligations, I need organizational systems to hold it together. In another twenty years I don't think I'll need the same structures again.

For me, an organizational framework is the difference between reactive and pro-active. It need not be elaborate, but I need one to augment my own weakness and ensure that everything that needs doing gets done.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#52

Post by zeckalpha »

tonymet wrote: post #9

First off, I like the exercise. I think it’s healthy as a form of journaling and more people should be introspective in this way. But I’d like to ask what problem is this trying to solve? In a large org, the OKRs are driving alignment and accountability. But for an individual, i think the bigger challenge is motivation, discipline, dedication, commitment. So what I mean is, I don’t think individuals have a problem kn…

> we all know we need to lose weight and reduce BMI

This is not only untrue but is actively harmful to those with lighter bodies.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#53

Post by thelittleone »

ISL wrote: post #51
dmje wrote: post #43

This may be an unpopular opinion on HN, but I just don't get it. The whole notion of setting personal goals, working out tasks and sub tasks and strategies and charts - like, you deal with all that stuff in your work life. Give it a rest. Be with your family. Look at a sunset. Read a book or two. Paint or play the piano. Eat well, go for a run. Do things that are good for you and other people. Spend less time on your…

Myself, from ten years ago, would agree. Today, between balancing life goals, family responsibilities, and professional obligations, I need organizational systems to hold it together. In another twenty years I don't think I'll need the same structures again. For me, an organizational framework is the difference between reactive and pro-active. It need not be elaborate, but I need one to augment my own weakness and en…

Same for me. I found it difficult to balance energy across work, life, wellness. My over focus on work meant I didn't get as much exercise in, which for me is an important outlet and endorphin booster. So would carry more work stress home. Ultimately built a simple notepad system for balancing which has improved my balance a lot.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#54

Post by loteck »

Appreciate the spirit of the post and wish the author success. Well-meaning comments here ridicule the idea of structuring personal goals, either in this way specifically, or entirely. They ask, why not just live your life?

That perspective may misunderstand those who are engaged in a multitude of activities that are all extremely worthwhile, which does include relaxation and self-care, but may also include nurturing a marriage and developing oneself, or developing a child.

There is finite time & opportunity in the author's day, and he is perhaps acutely aware he must choose his time expenditures wisely. It is good to step back, admit this, and install structure to support your true and prioritized goals.

Otherwise, we may easily find ourselves neglecting activities that are dearly important to us, like connecting with a spouse.

To those that say: "just do less," I would say: there is a time where that suggestion will become natural law for each of us. Enjoy your abilities while you can.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#55

Post by thelittleone »

jvanderbot wrote: post #49
sh_123 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you share more about your process? I'm very interested in learning more. How do you track your daily data points?

I have a text file in a known location. It's backed up on git. I can open and edit that file quickly using bash. From within VIM I can quickly commit to reduce the # keystrokes. More details: https://github.com/jodavaho/bashlog#git-integration (Really though, you can just save as an environment variable your file location) The text file is structured with space-delimited text, like this: https://github.com/dkogan/vnl…

Thanks for sharing. Would you consider writing a blog post on your process?

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#56

Post by tharkun__ »

spieswl wrote: post #14
tonymet wrote: post #9

First off, I like the exercise. I think it’s healthy as a form of journaling and more people should be introspective in this way. But I’d like to ask what problem is this trying to solve? In a large org, the OKRs are driving alignment and accountability. But for an individual, i think the bigger challenge is motivation, discipline, dedication, commitment. So what I mean is, I don’t think individuals have a problem kn…

That last statement is crucial. I was surprised to see how in-depth and detailed these objectives are. Not to knock the author, mind you; the dedication to breaking these things into granular tasks is impressive. Rather, I feel that there's little room for flexibility in taking an OKR approach to personal development. Case in point, I had a personal objective to do more service in the community in 2020. The way I had…

What you were thinking of before was not a KR. It was an individual task to achieve the KR. There is so much bad KR advice out there. Making each KR an individual task is exactly how OKRs (well its one way of doing that) fail in companies.

The objective you had was kinda fine even though it certainly has the connotation of volunteering in person. But if you just make the KRs something like "increase time I help the community by 5 hours per week" then the individual tasks can adjust without making you fail the OKR. Well sure you really envisioned doing a full "work day" each week for habitat for humanity. Covid hit so now you volunteer at the "teens in trouble hotline" for 8 hours a week. KR checked!

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#57

Post by texasbigdata »

dmje wrote: post #43

This may be an unpopular opinion on HN, but I just don't get it. The whole notion of setting personal goals, working out tasks and sub tasks and strategies and charts - like, you deal with all that stuff in your work life. Give it a rest. Be with your family. Look at a sunset. Read a book or two. Paint or play the piano. Eat well, go for a run. Do things that are good for you and other people. Spend less time on your…

It’s tough because it’s probably both.

Perhaps in the short time being more flexible and in the moment is better, while over time Marshall Goldsmiths maxim regarding goals not surrendered of “unrealized ambitions end up being frustrated yearnings for the soul” might hold.

Your solution sounds more European and likely better for overall satisfaction. However, if you for some reason did want to get to grade VIII on the piano and the ability to watch and notice the hues at sunset didn’t come with a mental cue to deep down legitimately let go of that (not to be Buddhist) inkling of desire, then you’re in trouble.

Throw in a Canadian quarter to your halfpence.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#58

Post by texasbigdata »

thelittleone wrote: post #53
ISL wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Myself, from ten years ago, would agree. Today, between balancing life goals, family responsibilities, and professional obligations, I need organizational systems to hold it together. In another twenty years I don't think I'll need the same structures again. For me, an organizational framework is the difference between reactive and pro-active. It need not be elaborate, but I need one to augment my own weakness and en…

Same for me. I found it difficult to balance energy across work, life, wellness. My over focus on work meant I didn't get as much exercise in, which for me is an important outlet and endorphin booster. So would carry more work stress home. Ultimately built a simple notepad system for balancing which has improved my balance a lot.

Discipline is the only thing that allows my life to not completely fall apart. I believe it’s common in depression, to take an edge case, to lose “routine” either as a preceding or correlated or succeeding event.

Re: Setting up personal OKR (objectives and key-results)

#60

Post by texasbigdata »

tharkun__ wrote: post #50
raverbashing wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not bureaucratize my life plans? I keep my objectives in my head. No need to write this kind of thing down and keeping scores of myself. And whatever happens happens. I don't need to bog myself down with some corporate invention.

Couldn't agree more with this (and the OP). Life changes. All the time. What about your plan for Q2/Q3 2020 to finally do that world cruise you had been waiting to do all your life? Riiiiight. Now having some sort of principles you live by and to keep yourself honest maybe write them down somewhere (read The 7 habits of highly successful people), sure. Quarterly goals with OKRs? Sorry that already doesn't work at wor…

An alternative “system” that unfortunately works with your criticism while still being a system is simply a value aligned “DIDMB” (did I do my best....to say something nice to my spouse? To start the day with clear goals, etc) question list self served at night.

A score of “10” on eating well might mean one thing while on PTO and another on a busy travel day where simply not grabbing the king size snickers at the airport convenience store is a massive win. So it’s relative to your ability and to the environment and to where you are that particular day.

I personally paid a young teen to call/text me daily with the question list for about a year and tremendously enjoyed it (as in benefited from it).

But sorry to agree with you by jamming another system in :)

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