It’s a tale as old as time.
A year comes to a close, we get excited, write down a list of resolutions even Santa can’t make come true. We gear up for the new year (usually in the form of getting dressed and partying all through new year’s eve). And the rest is history.

By the time we open our resolutions document again, it’s already November and we might as well just refurbish it and prep it for the coming year – and we’re really going to do it this time!

… you get the picture.

The importance of having clear goals to better ourselves, whether on an individual or business scale, goes without saying.

However, how do we break this vicious cycle of untouched resolutions? How do we create self-promises that actually see the light of day?

I personally experimented with all sorts of things. I put a vague plan, like “improve weight”, so that any fluctuation on the scale marks a check (it didn’t work). I made wish-lists that are better suited being a life’s bucket list than a year’s resolutions. Incrementally, I kept reworking my resolutions game-plan because I wanted it to work. I’m a list keeper (for lack of a stronger PG word), so the idea of having a year-long list that I tick as I go along makes a lot of sense to me. Last year, my approach was much more realistic, focusing only on a few things I wanted accomplished, with quarterly marks that kept me going. It worked pretty well, until I lost track of it halfway through the year.

For this year, I wanted resolutions not only for myself, but for 247studios as well. All of us at 247 studios wanted plans that gear us forward and upwards to make sure we don’t get stagnant over time. We found the perfect approach that is very actionable and yet, not task-based at all. Introduced by Chris Brogan, the three word approach felt intuitively right and made sense on both personal and business fronts.

The way it works is that you choose three words (not phrases) that steer your year. They put you in the right mindset of what you want accomplished in the coming year. They’re simple enough to be remembered and integrated into everything you do. Instead of writing 20 things you want to accomplish, write three words, the implementation of which will naturally achieve the 20 things you originally wanted and more.

So, our three words for 2016:

Root:

A problem we usually fall into is get consumed by all the client work that we forget all about ourselves. Like a relationship where you’re focused way too much on the needs of the other person that you forget all about your own. This is very problematic, inhibits growth, and ultimately, kills the relationship. So this year, much more self-love. Much more rooting. More personal marketing, more brand development and more leads and sales analysis. Giving the time for ourselves will root us in so that we grow sustainably and not burn out.

Reach:

This is very straightforward – we want to do our best to reach out properly to new clients, new suppliers, new team members. We also want our brand message to be reachable.

Detail:

Nuanced. We want to pay more attention to the details in our creative process, in our business strategy and in our day to day endeavors. As they say, the devil is in the details.

All three of our words are both nouns and verbs, with expandable meanings and actionable core. The application of those words so far has been seamless, because you don’t have to worry about an arbitrary plan anymore. You’re focused on a vision.

What’s your vision for 2016?