How to avoid the temptation to set unrealistic goals for 2024

Plus a reminder (or two) that the Academia Made Easier Reader Survey 2023 is open until January 1. I would love to hear from you!

Hello and welcome to Academia Made Easier. I am so glad that you are here.

The week before the holiday break in academia can, in my experience, best be described as Getting It Off My Desk(top) Week. Loose ends are being tied up, grades are being calculated,  last-minute get-it-in-before-the-break journal articles are being submitted, and emails are flying (and not just the “happy holidays from the department of whatever” emails – why oh why are those a thing?!?!?). We are all anxious and/or excited to put the current year behind us (buh-bye 2023), enjoy some downtime with family and/or TV and/or a good book, and then gear up for next year.

As you might expect, I very much hope that you will give yourself the time and space to truly enjoy some downtime over the holiday break. Watch something bingeworthy. Eat something chocolatey. Wear stretchy pants every day, covered with as much pet fur as your animal companions can generate. Truly enjoy the time off and if at any point a voice arises in your head saying “I should quickly check my email,” politely respond to it “Oh, go fuck yourself” and return to binge-watching and chocolate-eating. Not because you “deserve” it or “earned” it, but because you are human and life is short and work truly can wait.

Of course, at some point in there (say, December 30), your mind will naturally turn to the year ahead as it will be imminent. You might start thinking about what you want to accomplish in the next year, your resolutions and goals and all of that good stuff. You might get tempted to come up with a giant master plan or feel some internal pressure to create a Big Goal for the year ahead. And if that floats your boat, great. But I am writing today to suggest that there is a gentler option to consider. And that’s what today’s small thing to try immediately is about. 

One Small Thing to Try Immediately: Choose EASY goals for the year ahead

I am sending this out on December 21, a day on which you likely aren’t thinking of your goals for the year ahead. Nor should you be: there are shows to be watched, chocolates to be eaten, and stretchy pants to stretch out even more before thinking about next year’s goals. But I did want to get this idea in front of you. I thought about writing this and then having it scheduled to send on a more appropriate date (say, December 30). But then I worried. What if some major world event occurs and I seem insensitive for not acknowledging it in my prescheduled post? What if some major personal event occurs (hit by a meteor, abducted by aliens) and I seem to be haunting your email inbox from the great beyond? Or what if nothing major happens (my much-preferred option!!!) and I seem to be a hypocrite for telling you to enjoy time off and then sending you an email during your time off?  Not good.

So instead, I am channelling Getting It Off My Desk(top) Week energy and sending you this idea before you need it in hopes that you remember it when you actually (might) need it (say, December 30). And the idea is this: instead of setting big goals or SMART goals or stretch goals, choose EASY goals.

I first introduced the idea of EASY goals (yes, I made it up myself - I do love acronyms!) in “How to set goals that aren’t completely delusional” (January 2022). I reminded you of them in “How to set EASY goals for 2023” (December 2022). And I also had the pleasure of speaking about them with Heather Ross on the Better Me podcast (check out EP 78 EASY Goals, Motivation, and Time to Think (with guest Loleen Berdahl).)

Why do I keep talking about EASY goals? Well, because in my opinion, EASY goals are kinder than other goal-setting approaches. And also, I just love the acronym. While I hope you will go back and read the original January 2022 newsletter (and the December one, and listen to the podcast), here is the idea of EASY goals in a nutshell: set goals that are Energizing, for which you have Agency, that are Small, and that are truly Yours. This is all better explained with a table, so see below!

How do you set EASY goals? To quote myself (ahem):

Setting an EASY goal is (wait for it) easy. Just write a draft goal (or take an existing goal) and then ask yourself: Am I energized when I think about working toward this goal? Do I have full agency to achieve the goal? Is the goal small enough for me to achieve in three months in light of my other responsibilities? Is the goal yours or is it something that you feel you should want? 

(The switch from “me” to “you” in that last question troubles me, but I see that Past Me wrote it that way to keep the acronym. EASY is just better than EASM.) If you want examples of how to change draft goals into EASY goals, please see the table below, which appeared in the January 2022 post. 

One of my own EASY goals for 2023 was to make Academia Made Easier more responsive to reader feedback and as I explained in “How to get the Academia Made Easier content you want in 2024”, I used a reader survey to get there. And this year I am doing it again with the Academia Made Easier Reader Survey 2023.

This brings me to my plea invitation: please take a few minutes to complete the survey and let me know what topics you are interested in hearing about in this newsletter next year. The survey is short, all questions are optional, and it includes THREE dated pop culture references. I will close the survey on Monday, January 1, 2024 (time dependent upon when I remember to do so!), so please complete it by the end of the day in your time zone on Sunday, December 31, 2023. Thank you to everyone who has generously completed the survey so far!

Until next time…

Well, this marks a wrap on my 2023 Academia Made Easier newsletters. I truly wish you a relaxing break full of whatever makes your heart happy. I am excited to reconnect with you in the new year. 

Stay well, my colleagues. 

P.S. Um, did I mention my survey? Here is the link again: Academia Made Easier Reader Survey 2023. I have been reading responses as they come in and I really do love to hear from you. Thank you again to everyone who has responded thus far! ♥️

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