Appraise yourself

As another year draws to a close, and as you prepare yourself for the inevitable frenetic return of the work-life treadmill, you might allocate space for some deep thought. Not about others, your work, your family, but yourself. You.

Organisations of all shapes and sizes love to use staff appraisals to ensure that performance, engagement and motivation is optimised, supporting the achievement of corporate goals.  So why not use an appraisal yourself to help realign your own individual success, health and, most importantly, happiness?

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The Personal Appraisal

Many of us make new year's resolutions where traditionally we set ourselves ambitious goals which lose their lustre after only days, but why not think about what you want to achieve over a longer period and rather than one dimension, think about the key areas that will contribute to your overall happiness. Significant life-changes can rarely be achieved in days (without creating pain for others) so why not develop habits that will move you towards your new state of balance over weeks and months.

What measures should you use in this appraisal?

To create the best measures for you,resulting in a plan that works, consider the follow 7 tips:

1. Avoid output measures.  These are the headline measures that you will either be successful at or not (what I call the "1" or "0" mentality).  You know the ones: "I'll earn £100k by the age of 25" or "I'll be a size 10 by June". The classic output measure is usually financial - better to find input measures that will enable you to be more successful: network more, improve sales presentations, increase visibility.... 
2. Create balance.  We are bombarded by information all the time, are under continual pressure to perform, sleep too little, see too little of family and friends and often seek solace through unhealthy choices. So make sure your measures address this imbalance by considering health and happiness.
3. Be true to yourself.  The top regrets of the dying are as good a place to start as any.  Number 1 is "I wish I had the courage to live my life not the life others expected of me". So what do you really want?
4. Allow yourself the time for clear thinking.  Work should only be part of your life - not all of it.  How much time each day should you have to be happy? What should you do during that time and who should you spend it with? 
5. Positive habits.  Aim for positive actions that will lead to your destination rather than just stopping doing things - create reinforcing positive experiences that make you want to do more of the same. 
6. No man is an island. The big danger of this introspection is that you need to ensure the resultant plan factors in your nearest and dearest - you need them to be successful, so involve them.
7. Commit.  Whatever your choice for appraising yourself (draw a picture, write a plan, create a daily reminder....) you need to commit to it by communicating to others. Hold yourself to account.

Chris Lorimer is a successful self-employed management consultant who lives in Devon, UK, with his wife, children and his co-worker, Minnie Lorimer