Four Quarters: Evaluating Quarter One
There are four quarters in a game of basketball. There are four distinct seasons. Companies evaluate their business performance on a quarterly basis. It even takes four quarters to make a dollar. What I'm getting at is that we tend to divide things into four, if we can. It makes sense. Take an academic year, for example. If you think of the year as a whole, things can be very overwhelming. However, when you break that down into quarters, things become a lot more manageable. The same applies to our own lives. Every year, December comes around and you set your resolutions for the new year. You write your goals, you make a plan, and you swear that this year will be different. Then before you know it, it's March. You haven't made much progress on your goals, but you think to yourself, "There's still nine months left in the year, I have plenty of time." Fast forward to June. Summer is in full swing and you're enjoying the sunshine. In the midst of all of the enjoyment and fun, your mind drifts back to all the goals you set and how though you've made a little progress towards them, you're not where you're supposed to be.You shrug it off. "It's summer! There's plenty of time to get things done." Before you know it, fall has arrived. Back to school, back to work and the daily grind. No real break until around Thanksgiving. So, you're sitting at your desk and reflecting on the summer and all the fun you had. But wait! During all the fun, did you make the extra progress you were hoping to on your goals? Reality sets in, but you refuse to get discouraged. "Three months is plenty of time if I just buckle down and focus." Finally, winter is here (no Game of Thrones). Everyone is in town to celebrate the holidays and talking about all their goals for the new year. You lament because you didn't accomplish all that you set out to do. However, with the new year comes a fresh start. You write your goals, you make a plan, and you swear that this year will be different. Sound familiar?
For most people, myself included, it's not that they don't want to make a change. Rather, it's that there's no system of accountability and evaluation. What's the point of setting goals if you never check in to see what's working and what's not? How do you hold yourself accountable to ensure that you're making tangible progress towards your goals? If your plan doesn't include consistently checking in and evaluating where you are in achieving your goals, and making the adjustments necessary to keep making progress, you'll find yourself in another December writing your new goals, making a plan, and swearing this year will be different. That brings me to the purpose of this post. I am not immune to setting goals and failing to meet them. Nobody is, because we are human. However, just because we may have failed before, doesn't mean we're doomed to continue to fail. So this is me, putting my money where my mouth is and documenting the process as I try to meet the goals I set for the year.
I started this post with a point about dividing the year into quarters. It's what most major corporations do to evaluate their profitability and determine what the next actions will be. I'm applying this same idea to hold myself accountable. Every three months, I'll be evaluating and reflecting over everything that occurs within the quarter to make sure I'm keeping myself on track to meeting my goals by year-end. I have three major goals for 2019. Goal one: make a complete career change. Goal two: improve my physical and mental health by losing a specific amount of weight by the end of the year. Goal three: establishing good finances by building my savings and eliminating debt. Quarter one (January - March) has been devoted to addressing goal number one.
My year kicked off by bringing in the new year with prayer. At first glance, one might think that I was already starting off on the wrong foot. How does praying help you make a career switch? I come from a family that has always been a part of a church. Over time, I developed my own relationship with my faith. With that said, it was important for me to spend the first moments of the new year praying for guidance as well as the strength and wisdom needed for the months ahead. So far, I have found that to have been time well spent and continue to pray every day as I move towards my goals.
The rest of January was spent planning and mapping out my next steps. The first step is to decide what my new career path would be. This required an honest analysis of what my skills are, what I am interested in and would I need to go back to school. After this reflection and further research, I determined that my next career path would be in tech. Specifically, I wanted to become a software developer. I was excited! For the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful for the future in terms of my career. At the same time, I was also terrified. I was terrified because of step number two, which was to inform my parents about my plans. The purpose of telling them was twofold: out of deference and respect for their previous help in my education and career, it was only fair that I let them know that I intended to make this life change. There were tears and definitely some questions, but that's a story for another day. The second purpose of telling my parents about my new goal was to enable them to keep me accountable. Teamwork makes the dream work, as we like to say. Thankfully, my parents have always been on my team. With steps one and two out of the way, it was time for step three. That brings us into February.
My February began with researching all the different possible ways of becoming a software developer. It was also the beginning of my official transition into a new career field. I launched this website as a way to put out my portfolio, continue to develop my writing and establish my personal brand as I venture into this new path. I spent the majority of February going back and forth trying to determine which program would be the best fit for me. Halfway through the month, I concluded that Praxis (a year-long program with a focus on getting young professionals into apprenticeships in tech, marketing, operational and sales roles) was the best avenue to gain the experience I needed to become a software developer. I applied, got into the program and started on the pre-course work necessary to start the program in March.
So far, I was trucking along. Two-thirds of the way through the quarter and I was making steps towards getting into my desired new career. The thing about achieving your goals is that there are bound to be setbacks along the way. Which brings me into March. March was filled with setbacks. Due to unavoidable reasons, I would be unable to begin the Praxis program on time. The program was gracious enough to work with me in trying to be able to start in May. Which was great! Though my goal would be a little delayed, I'd still be able to achieve it. Or so I thought. Here was the next setback. Though Praxis was able to put their participants in tech roles, this required the participant to already have certain tech skills. This was something I was unaware of at the time of application. I was presented with an alternative; I could continue with the program and pursue a marketing role with the hope of eventually transitioning into a tech role. However, that would still require me to learn the necessary skills on my own. After having an honest conversation with the program's community director, we both agreed that I would likely benefit more by enrolling in a coding boot camp. This was difficult because it felt like I was giving up after already putting in time and effort into the program. It took another conversation with Hannah (the community director of Praxis) to see that it wasn't giving up, but rather it was making the necessary pivot to be able to accomplish my career goals. So, with a little bit of sadness, I ended March by withdrawing from the program and starting the process of researching coding boot camps.
My overall assessment of the quarter is that progress was made. My objective was to work on my goal of making a career transition. I identified what I want to do next. I informed my support system of my plan. I took the appropriate steps to execute that plan. I experienced a few setbacks that required me to make the necessary pivot to continue to make progress towards my goal. Even though I ended the quarter having to go back to the research phase, it is important to not only acknowledge the little progress that was made, but also what I learned along the way. I learned how to make use of resources available to me. I learned how to communicate with those who are in positions of power. Finally, I learned the importance of being able to pivot when faced with inevitable setbacks. All valuable lessons I will be taking with me into Quarter Two.
Looking to Next Quarter: The focus will continue to be on Goal 1 as well as beginning to take action steps towards Goal 2: Improving my physical and mental health.
Proposed action steps for Quarter Two include:
Researching and applying to coding boot camps
Complete necessary pre-course work for coding boot camps
Interview with coding boot camps
If necessary, decide which boot camp to formally enroll into
Doctor evaluation before changing eating/fitness plans
Researching new fitness plans,
Establishing new eating habits
I have a lot to work on for the next few months! It’ll be challenging, but I’m looking forward to making continued progress and applying what I’ve already learned. Here's to the next quarter!