Sequencing goals for 2022

OK, we’re done. We’re well and truly done with 2021.

If you like how that sounds, then you’ll love this: 2022 can be the year for you. (Feel free to add a little dance step here.)

Although 2021 wasn’t a total washout – plenty of folks improved their work lives, for example – it’s certainly a good year to put behind us. We can do that by focusing on the future.

Traditionally, January is when we set goals and review what we’d like to change. That’s a good idea but the pandemic has been adding a wrinkle.

For one thing, some of the questions people are working through go way beyond the “lose 10 pounds” kind of resolutions. Keep a job, leave a job, start a business, retire? Go back to school? Move to another city or state? Buy a house? Downsize to less expensive housing?

While it can be difficult to plan amidst so much uncertainty, the real issue here is trying to juggle multiple large-scale goals all at once.

This is the time for a super-sized goal-setting strategy: sequencing.

You already know about dividing large goals into smaller steps. While that’s still important, it doesn’t tell you which goals to prioritize. Without a bigger perspective, you risk dabbling in everything without actually completing anything.

Sequencing is a strategy I use in my counseling practice, but also for myself, to help organize goals logically and avoid being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of change the goals represent.

Here’s an example, made up from a real person but with the details blurred. Greg is 55, has a bachelor’s degree in communications and a job he doesn’t adore in nonprofit marketing. He’d like to teach communications in a community college but knows he might need a master’s degree. He also wants to pay off his mortgage and he definitely doesn’t want a student loan. But what about the cabin he’s always wanted? And the novel he keeps starting?

Right, that’s a lot. But it’s all possible if Greg identifies which attained goals can be leveraged to achieve the others – if he sequences, that is. He must also accept that some goals will need several years to unfold.

To start, he lists his goals: teaching career, master’s degree, paid-off mortgage, cabin, no student loan, novel.

Next, he confirms data and assumptions: What’s the mortgage balance? Is a master’s required for teaching? Where and how much are cabins he would like? The trick here is to avoid getting lost in the weeds. He doesn’t need to visit cabins, for example – a rough idea from a Realtor’s report is enough for now.

Creative thinking also helps. What if his remaining mortgage needs 15 years on his current salary, but only six with a 10% salary increase that’s directed to his house payment?

Or, what if he could sell his house and purchase a condo outright, while partially paying for the cabin? He’d still have a mortgage, but it might be smaller.

And what about that master’s? If he learns that the subject doesn’t matter as much as the degree itself (frequently true), he could shop for programs that fit best with his schedule. But what about the cost?

Remember that job he doesn’t love? This could be key. If Greg were to job hunt in the current market, a 10% raise and tuition reimbursement would not be unlikely.

Here’s a possible sequence for Greg’s goals. Year one, switch jobs. Year two, start an online master’s degree. Year three, enhance teaching skills, perhaps by training others on needed subjects at work. Years four, five and six: Continue working fulltime, complete master’s, teach an evening course to test the dream, pay off or sell the house.

If nothing goes terribly wrong, Greg could be positioned to start a teaching career at age 62 while living in a debt-free home. Now he can put some attention to that novel.

On the other hand, if Greg starts with the novel, he might hesitate to switch jobs, or he might not find time for the master’s.

Likewise, beginning the master/s without tuition assistance could prolong the mortgage payoff. In his case, starting with a new job is the key for organizing and accelerating the other goals.

If you want 2022 to be the start of something new for you, think big and then think in sequence. With strategy, this year could be a turning point in your life. Happy planning to you!